Matt Wallace Explains Why He Turned Down LIV Golf

Speaking to The Telegraph, Matt Wallace revealed that he had been approached by LIV Golf in its early stages but it's the "highs and lows of golf" that keeps him going, not the monetary value.

Wallace, who recently claimed his first PGA Tour title at the Corales Puntacana Championship, is indeed good friends with Talor Gooch, the first player to secure back-to-back LIV titles and, in the process, picked up around $10 million. However, to Wallace, the two wins were simply "a cheque and a trophy."

"I saw my mate Talor Gooch has earned £19 million on LIV now or something," stated Wallace. "Great for him. But there was an article online saying that his decision must be justified and I look at it and go what’s justified about it? That he’s won £19 million? He got no world ranking points, no FedEx Cup points, nothing from it apart from a cheque and a trophy and he’s beaten a few players on there. Awesome. He’s probably playing the best golf in the world but that is kind of all he’s got from it.

"I know he likes his wine, so he’ll have bought a bunch, but for me the things that get me up in the morning are world ranking points, FedEx Cup points - and then the money. Because the first two take care of the third. That’s what gets me buzzed."

As mentioned earlier, Wallace was indeed approached in the initial stages of LIV Golf and, in fact, named his price to join. However, according to the 33-year-old, he "didn't even understand the concept", adding "(I) was told to pluck a number out of the air, so I did and it was genuinely obscene."

In the interview with The Telegraph, he went on to add: "But then, when it was happening, I was slowly declining in the rankings and I’ve just never been about it. It’s not been a thing for me. I love the highs and the lows of golf. Yeah, I won in Puntacana but I’ve now missed the last three cuts.

"On that Tour, you can’t miss a cut and experience those lows. You’re just taking the easy road, which I don’t have any qualms about with some of the players. If I was in their position at that stage of my career, maybe I’d have done the same. But some of the other players that have gone, well it feels like their careers have kind of ended a little short. They could’ve done a lot more things."

Along with LIV Golf, Wallace also discussed a number of other factors, one of which surrounds the Ryder Cup, an event which he heartbreakingly missed out on in 2018, despite being one of the in form players in the World with three victories in a six month span.

Now though, following his win back in March, Wallace is arguably in the fray for the event in Italy, with the Englishman more determined than ever to secure a spot in Luke Donald's European side. "I know I could do well at the Ryder Cup. I love sport and this is the huge sporting event that I feel this close to and can be a part of," he stated. "It means so much to me, but I can’t let it be so much to me. This is my third campaign in trying to make it, and the last two haven’t worked out in my favour. So this one will be different."