[ad_1]
Matthew Wolff is back on the Tour after two months of absence.
Jeff Haynes / USGA
SAN DIEGO – Matthew Wolff walked into Torrey Pines 4th hole on Wednesday, pitched a tee in the ground, waved his trademark swing, felt the left-to-right wind from the Pacific, brought the club up and down the outside, dropped him into the lunge and torpedoed his TaylorMade into San Diego skies, the ball flying toward the center-right of the fairway.
He smiles. Punch. Sheathed his driver. Then he walked over to chat, ready to answer the question that has been on the minds of all golf fans.
How are you, Matt?
He stopped himself. Took a deep breath. Took into consideration.
“I’m fine.”
The last time a US Open was played Wolff looked like a world champion. On Sunday at Winged Foot last September, he held the 54-hole lead and walked to the first tee chatting on his phone, oozing carefree jock swagger. And while it didn’t close that day – he finished second, behind Bryson DeChambeau – all signs were that he had officially arrived. A few weeks earlier, he had finished T4 at the PGA Championship. A week later, he finished T2 at the Shriners. He rose to 12th in the world. The best pros were pouring out of his game. “We all know how talented Matt is,” said Rory McIlroy. Everyone believed in Matthew Wolff.
Except Matthieu Wolff.
“I’ve tried so hard to be perfect,” he said Wednesday, nine months later, on the eve of another US Open. “A lot of guys here try to be so perfect. And I want to please everyone, I want to make people happy, I want to play well, I want people to support me. Sometimes it’s a lot of pressure, and I think it got a little intense, it got too much.
Tour Confidential: Who has the best result at the US Open: Bryson or Brooks?
GOLF editors
George Gankas, his trainer and longtime confidant, walked alongside Wolff all afternoon, dialing the turn in his backswing and keeping the mood light in between.
“How’s Matty Wolff?” He gestured as Wolff bit into a bunker shot within range and threw his corner at his caddy, Nick. “? He’s pretty good. He is cowardly.
Wolff has not played competitive golf for two months. The last time he did so he signed for the poor Masters score and got a DQ. This came after an 83-WD at the WGC-Concession and a 78-WD at the Farmers Insurance Open. Since that second place in Las Vegas in October, Wolff has played 10 tournaments without placing in the top 25. Over time, the frustrations escalated. His patience wore off. It didn’t take a body language expert to see Wolff was out of his game.
“A bad shot, it goes down,” Gankas said. “That’s what he’s working on: taking things a little more lightly. He’s looking for that happy place, if that makes sense. He works to be good with himself.
“It’s a great life I live, and I know it,” added Wolff, aware that not everyone has a natural empathy for the young and the wealthy. “But I think there’s a lot that people don’t know about being a professional golfer, or a professional athlete in general. Mental health has been talked about a lot recently in the world of sport. And I don’t put myself in the spotlight; I’m not the type to speak out on topics or anything. I just think it’s important to take care of yourself and make sure you’re happy. I tried to work on it.
US Open picks and best bets: which are picked by the experts and a player
Nick piastowski
When Wolff is on, he’s all the way. At a GOLF magazine photoshoot in the fall, he was on. He was enthusiastic, lively, the life of the party. It’s not common for the subject of a cover photoshoot to verify the photographer’s assistant, but Wolff did. (“How are you? Do you need something? Let me get you some water, wait. I’ll get some water.”) He has a way of getting people around him. feel special.
He has a harder time doing the same for himself. His profession demands the pursuit of perfection, but it also requires the pursuer to recognize that his goal is unattainable. This is where Wolff struggles.
“Golf can be f — brutal,” he says succinctly.
Wolff skipped the PGA Championship. He skipped the Memorial. He needed a break. Instead, he has spent the last two months spending time with family and friends, recharging his batteries. He had bought a house for Jupiter that was meant to be his training ground, but he hadn’t been there in months. Oklahoma, where he attended school, feels a lot more like home.
But now he’s back. Wolff’s peers are also happy to see him. Xander ScHotele came over for a hug on the beach. Sam Burns crossed a fairway to say hello. Bubba Watson, who has been open about his own mental health ups and downs, spoke at length with Wolff on the beach.
“The people have been super nice,” Wolff said. “You remember everyone goes through stuff. “
On Thursday he will be in the limelight again, once again in the breach, taking on competitive golf on a grand stage, keeping the score in stroke play for 72 holes. Bettors don’t think much about his chances – he starts at 200-1 or more on some books – but that’s how he prefers it.
“I love to fly under the radar,” he said. “It’s awesome.”
Six years after the controversial US Open, Chambers Bay is ready for another
Dylan Dethier
“He’s not a favorite to make the cut,” added Gankas, uninvited. Does Wolff know that? Gankas smirked. “I made him aware of it. He likes it when people doubt him. The more doubts we can have from others, the better for him.
Happiness is a complex equation.
There is, of course, a chance that Wolff will make these books look silly. It’s built for a course like this, with a long rough and room to run. As he was hitting the pilots on the firing range, he worked his swing speed into 120s, his bullet speed approaching 190. Bomber numbers. The ball jumps off his clubface.
“The rough doesn’t affect him in any way. It’s weird, ”Gankas said. “At Winged Foot, the guys were coping with the rough. He would take 8 irons, 6 irons, hit him on the green like nothing had happened.
There is some added challenge coming back to the Tour for the most punishing golf test of the year. But Wolff insists he’s thrilled to be back. He followed the game, even in his absence, and as you talk to him you constantly remember that he is an excitable 22 year old.
“Glad to see this guy Wilco [Nienaber] bomb it, ”Wolff said. “It could be the longest on tour!
It’s part of this week’s goal: to have fun.
“I’m not here to ‘bounce back’,” he said. “There are goals I have in mind this week that are a bit different from the goals I had before.”
The way Wolff talks, it’s clear he’s trying to convince himself. He wants these goals to be his, so he will make them exist, even if it doesn’t come naturally.
“I know I’m very hard on myself. I know I do. But I’m starting to realize that it’s not fair to me either, ”he said. “I’m trying to start having a little more fun. “
[ad_2]
