Sports briefs: Brooks Koepka accuses LIV teammate Matthew Wolff of quitting on the course

GOLF

Koepka not a fan of Wolff

Brooks Koepka has accused LIV Golf teammate Matthew Wolff of quitting on the course in Hertfordshire, England, telling Sports Illustrated he has “basically given up on him."

Wolff, who won in his third start as a pro on the PGA Tour in 2019, joined LIV Golf last year and plays for Smash, the team captained by Koepka. He has finished out of the top 30 against 48-man fields in his last five events, including a withdrawal.

“I mean, when you quit on your round, you give up and stuff like that, that’s not competing,” Koepka told Sports Illustrated. “I’m not a big fan of that. You don’t work hard. It’s very tough. It’s very tough to have even like a team dynamic when you’ve got one guy that won’t work, one guy is not going to give any effort, he’s going to quit on the course, break clubs, gets down, bad body language, it’s very tough.

“I’ve basically given up on him,” Koepka said. “A lot of talent, but I mean the talent’s wasted.”

Blixt in Deere Classic lead

Jonas Blixt heated up on the back nine at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, playing his last six holes in 6 under for a 9-under 62 and a two-shot lead over Grayson Murray in the first round of the John Deere Classic.

McIntyre leads HimmerLand

Scottish golfer Robert MacIntyre led the Made in Himmerland by two shots after an opening 6-under 64 in Farso, Denmark. MacIntyre made five birdies in seven holes on the back nine of the European tour event. Ross Fisher had to endure tougher conditions in the morning of wind and rain and posted a 66. He was alone in second.

NHL

Kings' Kopitar extended

One of the last remaining links to the Kings' Stanley Cup championship teams and one of the best players in franchise history is extending his stay in Los Angeles. Captain Anze Kopitar signed a two-year extension worth $14 million and is now under contract through the 2025-26 NHL season at an annual salary cap hit of $7 million. — AP