Matthew Wolff and top amateur join LIV Golf ahead of second event
Matthew Wolff is the latest PGA Tour player to leave for the LIV Golf series.
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The list of pro golfers joining the LIV Golf series continues this week as Matthew Wolff, Carlos Ortiz and Eugenio Chacarra will round out the 48-man field at Pumpkin Ridge.
Wolff is the headlining name of the bunch, ranked 77th in the world, and once tapped as a future star of the PGA Tour. That might still become true — it is unclear how suspensions or future litigation may shake out — but for now Wolff joins the list of players ineligible to compete PGA Tour events.
The 23-year-old, one-time Tour winner has battled poor form in recent years after a rapid ascent to No. 12 in the world in late 2020. Wolff led a wildly successful college career at Oklahoma State, and quickly earned Tour membership after winning the 2019 3M Open. But in the 20 months that have followed his T2 finish at the 2020 U.S. Open, Wolff has finished in the top 10 only twice. His joining the LIV field was first reported by James Corrigan of The Telegraph, and confirmed by GOLF.com.
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Ortiz, ranked 119th in the world, is similarly working through a stretch of poor finishes, missing eight cuts in 19 events this Tour season, with zero top 30 finishes in the 2022 calendar year. He competed in the Travelers Championship this weekend, shooting 74-77 to miss the cut. Ortiz will join fellow Mexican golfer Abe Ancer in the camp of new commits to the LIV series.
They’ll be joined by Chacarra, whom college golf fans would recognize for his recent playoff loss at the NCAA Championship in May. Chacarra was the 2nd-ranked amateur in the world before announcing this weekend that his first event as a professional will be the Portland event. Speaking with Spanish golf journalist Hugo Costa, Chacarra said his LIV Golf recruitment happened very quickly, eventually leading to him committing for two years of events. If he plays well enough to finish among the top 32 players, he’ll be able to compete for a third year of events, too.
“They give me the opportunity to play two or three years with top professionals and be a millionaire,” Chacarra told Costa. “If any person put these figures on the table, I would not hesitate. I respect the critics, there are envious people and people who like to give cane. I’m not worried, I’m not aware of the networks. I just want to work and improve.”
Chacarra did not go in to detail on the amount of money he signed for, but said that it will provide “a radical change of life for me and my future family.”
Other players who did not compete in the LIV Golf London event, but have since joined ahead of Portland are listed below:
Bryson DeChambeau
Patrick Reed
Pat Perez
Brooks Koepka
Abe Ancer
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