Brooks Koepka has a new LIV teammate.
After months of criticizing teammate Matthew Wolff, Koepka’s Smash GC team traded Wolff to the RangeGoats in exchange for reigning LIV individual champion Talor Gooch.
The move ends a months-long drama between Koepka and Wolff, which began this summer when Koepka ripped into Wolff and called him a “wasted” talent.
“I’ve basically given up on him,” Koepka said at the time.
Koepka didn’t back down the rest of the season, and in the LIV team championship said that there’s “only three of us on our team,” referring to his brother Chase and Jason Kokrak.
🚨 IT’S OFFICIAL 🚨
— Smash GC (@SmashGC) December 7, 2023
WELCOME THE CHAMP @talorgooch TO #SmashGC 🏆 pic.twitter.com/mA5M2F6RKa
Koepka’s team will look decidedly different in 2024, first with the departure of his younger brother, who was relegated after finishing in the bottom four of the individual standings. (Chase Koepka also withdrew from this week’s LIV promotions event, which could have seen him rejoin the league for next season.) Last week Koepka announced that he’d signed former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, and then he rounded out his squad by landing Gooch, the 32-year-old Oklahoman who just enjoyed his best season to date, when he became the league’s first three-time winner and banked more than $35 million in earnings.
After finishing sixth in his first LIV season, Wolff dropped to 27th in the standings this year.
The trade now gives Koepka’s team two of the top three individual performers from last season.
“We had our own battles on the course last season,” Koepka said. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say how excited I am to see him on the podium for our squad now.”
Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats team on Thursday also traded Harold Varner III to the 4Aces in exchange for Peter Uihlein.