LIV Golf reportedly has continued its signing spree over the weekend with Matthew Wolff, Carlos Ortiz and Eugenio Chacarra expected to join the upstart circuit for its event this week at Pumpkin Ridge in Portland.
The LIV Golf Invitational Series previously announced 45 players for its 48-man field at the second of a scheduled eight events.
Wolff, 23, claimed the individual 2019 NCAA Championship title as a sophomore at Oklahoma State, turned pro that June and won the PGA Tour’s 3M Open in just his third event. Playing as a sponsor’s exemption, Wolff canned a 25-foot eagle putt from the fringe on the final hole to edge Bryson DeChambeau and Collin Morikawa. Wolff further showed his potential by finishing fourth at the 2020 PGA Championship and shot 65 at Winged Foot in the third round of the U.S. Open later that year to assume the 54-hole lead. He finished second to DeChambeau and rose as high as No. 12 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
With his unorthodox swing and charismatic presence, he appeared to be on the verge of being the Tour’s next breakout star. However, Wolff struggled adjusting to Tour life and took two months off from golf last year, citing the need to address his mental health. Wolff has missed the cut in seven of his last 12 starts this season, without a single top-25 finish, and has plummeted to 77th in the world ranking. He shot 66 on Sunday at the Travelers Championship, where he made his PGA Tour professional debut in 2019, and finished T-55.
Wolff’s jump to LIV was first reported by The Telegraph of London. It has been rumored for weeks, most notably after his image was included in a LIV Golf sizzle reel promoting the fledgling circuit that is backed by Saudi Arabia’s PIF Investment Fund.
Sports Illustrated reported that Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz has decided to join LIV Golf, too. The 31-year-old Ortiz won the 2020 Houston Open. He is ranked No. 119 in the world. Last week, Mexico’s top-ranked player, Abe Ancer, also made the leap to LIV, giving the circuit a viable Latin American presence.
As noted on Golfweek on Saturday, Chacarra, the No. 2-ranked amateur in the world, was reported to have signed with LIV and planned to forgo his senior year at Oklahoma State and turn pro to compete in the 48-man field in Portland. Writing in Spanish, he noted that he had “received an opportunity I could not turn down,” adding, “it is one of those trains that pass once in a lifetime.”
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