Talor Gooch became a shock trade in the LIV Golf offseason, as the 2023 individual champion made the move to Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC in place of Matthew Wolff
Talor Gooch has jumped to the defence of fellow LIV Golf star Matthew Wolff, after the pair were involved in one of the very first trades on the breakaway league.
Gooch had a fantastic year in 2023, winning three times on the LIV configuration before taking home the individual title in Jeddah in October. Surprisingly, in the most recent offseason, RangeGoats captain Bubba Watson chose to trade out the recently crowned champion.
Gooch, who left to join five-time major champion Brooks Koepka, will defend his 2023 title in Smash GC colors the following year. Matthew Wolff made the opposite move.
The trade was questioned by many, especially from a RangeGoats point of view. Watson had given up arguably LIV Golf’s most prized possession in Gooch in exchange for a man who finished with just two top-10’s and 27th in the standings in Wolff.
Addressing the move, Gooch admitted that with Wolff still only 24, it does make sense for Watson to take a gamble on the out-of-form star. He told LIV Golf’s Fairway to Heaven podcast: “Usually you don’t want to sell a stock when its low, usually you went to sell a stock when it is high.
“Usually you then don’t want to buy a stock when it is high, usually you want to buy a stock when it is low. As Bubba [Watson] is wanting to build his team for the future, Wolffie is a world class talent… Matt Wolff is seven years younger than me. This is a guy that he can build around for a long time.
“Yes, on paper it may seem lopsided, but when you kind of dive more and more into it starts to make more and more sense.” For Wolff the decision would have been any easy one, having endured a tough season with Smash both on, and off the course.
In July, his former captain Koepka remarkably took aim at the 24-year-old after he withdrew prior to the final round of LIV Washington DC in the summer. Koepka claimed he had ‘given up’ on his teammate Wolff, who he labelled a ‘wasted’ talent in an explosive interview with Sports Illustrated.
In the aftermath Wolff responded, admitting he had been left ‘heartbroken’ with his captain’s words, whilst opening up on his personal mental health battles away from the golf course. Wolff continued to compete alongside Koepka for the remainder of the 2023 campaign until his offseason trade earlier this month.
Despite his difficulties, Wolff has the support of his new captain, Watson, who gave the 24-year-old high marks after his recent transfer. “Matthew Wolff is 24 years old, when you think about it,” remarked the Rangegoats captain.
“At one point, he was ranked in the top 15, give or take. Victor Hovland and [Collin] Morikawa were also in that group with him. I have faith in Matt. I attempted to acquire him when I first entered the league two years ago, and I did the same last year when Brooks acquired him.”
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