One Year After Ugly Brooks Koepka Rift, LIV Golfer Blames Cut-Throat PGA Tour Environment as Reason Behind Mental Health Decline

Starting the 2023 season on the wrong foot, the young 25-year-old of LIV Golf became popular for all the wrong reasons. At the same time that Matthew Wolff’s mental health was deteriorating, he found himself embroiled in a rift with his former captain, Brooks Koepka. For the 2024 season, Wolff jumped over to Bubba Watson’s Range Goats GC, ending his beef with the 5-time major winner. And as for his mental health, it has been back on track too; however, there was once a time when it declined exponentially.

In the latest episode of Fairway to Heaven, podcast host Jerry Foltz and Su-Ann Heng asked the LIV pro to share about a time when he was low on morale to spread awareness about mental health. Taking a look back at the year he debuted on the PGA Tour, 2019, Wolff began narrating his early struggles with golf and declining mental health.

The 25-year-old described that the negative phase started right after he left college and started his professional career. When he was on the PGA Tour, Wolff recalled that many eyeballs were on his every step, and that did multiply in attracting endorsements. However, it had a negative effect too. He added, “It was awesome, but I think it just became a lot, and I put a lot of pressure on myself.” The LIV pro further explained that this pressure came from his past results, as he had never been a bad golfer before but was now struggling to play better.

Wolff was the NCAA Division I Individual Champion, and he always knew he would turn pro. However, when Wolff made his professional debut, the outcome was not what he had anticipated. The golf pro was only able to win once before he joined LIV Golf in 2022. He even missed 17 cuts and was made the top five only seven times. Notably, there was another reason for the LIV star’s declining mental health. And it involved Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa!

Matthew Wolff recalls debuting with Hovland and Morikawa

In 2019, along with Wolff, Viktor Hovland, and Collin Morikawa also received PGA Tour cards. And while he struggled, as per the LIV star, his rivals “got off to such hot starts… and then kept on running and running. Look where they are now.”

As Hovland and Morikawa scaled the stairs of success, it became increasingly difficult for Wolff to continue being part of the winning circle. The 25-year-old won his maiden victory at the 3M Open in 2019. However, after that, it was challenging to win again. Subsequently, Wolff began comparing his career trajectory to theirs, as Hovland had already won twice in the 2020 season. Wolff added, “You compare yourself… I felt like I could do what they were doing.” However, he could not, and it became really hard to cope.

The extreme pressure eventually led Wolff to even remove himself from all social media so as not to self-destruct further. The LIV pro still doesn’t indulge in social media, and this has helped him come a long way mentally. Now, arguably a new person himself, Wolff believes he can bring back his prime. And given how his game has been improving, there is no doubt that he just might.