Koepka Drops Wolff, Adds Gooch to Smash GC

The writing was on the walls months ago that Smash GC’s Brooks Koepka was looking to drop Matt Wolff from the team after publicly disclosed that “given up” on the George Gankas protégé. But while many may have expected that Koepka would get the short end of any trade, it appears that he’s exceeded expectations with his changes for the 2024 LIV Season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by RangeGoatsGC (@rangegoatsgc)

In exchange for Wolff, who finished 27th overall during the most recent LIV season, Koepka has brought on board current No. 1 Talor Gooch, who is coming off a career year during which Gooch won $36 million (or approximately 4 times his total PGA TOUR earnings over a 7-year stretch) while racking up 3 wins—Adelaide, Singapore and Andalucía—in the process.

While nobody expects Gooch can remain this hot, this is, undoubtedly, a welcome change for Koepka, who has longing to replace Wolff—who is joining Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats GC (whether he stays there remains to be seen)—since mid-2023.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Smash Golf Club (@smashgc)

Gooch, however, isn’t the only change to Smash. Just last week, Koepka brought Graeme McDowell—who finished 42nd in 2023—on board to fill the void left by Chase Koepka, who was relegated. Notably, Chase was expected to compete in the upcoming LIV Golf Promotions event scheduled for this weekend at Abu Dhabi Golf Club to earn his way back onto LIV. But the younger Koepka unexpectedly withdrew from the event, perhaps ending his chances at rejoining Smash this upcoming season.

Smash finished 8th for the 2023 season, so it is certain that Koepka is looking to move this new team up the leaderboard in 2024.

Cover image via Sports Illustrated