“Only three of us” - Brooks Koepka excludes Matthew Wolff while discussing the "Brotherhood" of Smash GC

The rivalry between Brooks Koepka and Matthew Wolff is not going to end soon. The five-time Major champion has a three-shot lead at the LIV Golf Jeddah following the second round on Saturday, October 14. He sets his eyes on defending the title.

During a press conference after the second round, Koepka was asked a question about the brotherhood of his team Smash GC. Answering the question, Keopka only mentioned Jason Kokrak and his brother Chase Koepka, excluding Matt Wolff.

Koepka said:

"There’s only three of us on our team. I mean, obviously my brother, I’m pretty tight with him, and then — I’ve enjoyed being around Jay for the last — I’ve been pretty close with Jay for maybe the last three years. I’ve enjoyed being around him. He’s a good player, super talented. It’s been fun to be around him, and he’s played pretty solid this year. Yeah, I can’t say anything bad about him.”

Brooks Koepka criticized Matthew Wolff for his work ethic and attitude earlier this year. Wolff spoke to Brooks' leadership in reaction to Koepka's comments.

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"I've basically given up on him"- When Brooks Koepka called out Matthew Wolff

Earlier in July, in an interview with Sports Illustrated, Brooks Koepka had some stern words for his teammate Matthew Wolff. The 2023 PGA Championship winner said that he had given up on Wolff and accused him of not working hard.

Koepka said:

"I mean, when you quit on your round, you give up and stuff like that, that's not competing. I'm not a big fan of that. You don't work hard. It's very tough. It's very tough to have even like a team dynamic when you've got one guy that won't work, one guy is not going to give any effort, he's going to quit on the course, break clubs, gets down, bad body language, it's very tough. I've basically given up on him—a lot of talent, but I mean the talent's wasted."

Matthew Wolff plays for Smash GC under the leadership of Brooks Koepka. He struggled with his game in mid-season events, which infuriated Koepke and he slammed him for his degrading performance.

In response to Koepka's remark, Wolff told Sports Illustrated that he did his best to score better for his team. Wolff said:

"I'm here, you know, trying to do what I can to play the best round of golf and that's going to help the team. I'm just here to focus on myself and try to play some good golf and that's what everyone's really trying to do, because golf is trying to put the best score up and then if that helps your team it's great."

Later when he was asked if he wanted to switch his team, Wolff nodded his head without making any comment. Smash GC also removed his name from its social media bios.

However, Matthew Wolff still plays for the Smash GC and at the moment sits at number 25 in the LIV Golf standings. If he needs to qualify for the next season, he has to have a good finish at this week's Jeddah tournament.