Getty Image / Scott Halleran
Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee has arguably been the most outspoken critic of LIV Golf since Day 1. So much so that Brandel was once the target of a $750 million defamation lawsuit filed by Patrick Reed that later resulted in Reed potentially owing millions in attorney’s fees after a judge ruled Patrick had filed “meritless lawsuits in order to stifle free speech.”
As recently as March, Brandel Chamblee had been critical of Jon Rahm’s decision to leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf by tweeting “but his family will be better off” after Rahm signed a contract estimated to be between $300-$600 million over the next 3 years.
Chamblee also took aim at Anthony Kim’s decision to come out of retirement to join the LIV Golf Tour. He claimed Anthony Kim didn’t come back to compete but “because a dictatorial murderer paid him millions because he thought he could use his “celebrity” to help launder his murderous reputation.”
Now, despite being as outspoken of a LIV Golf critic as anyone, it seems Brandel Chamblee has come to the realization that the only way for the PGA Tour to succeed in the long run is to make a deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund which backs LIV Golf. He said so on the Golf Channel late Thursday night:
🚨🤝💰Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee says it’s time the PGA Tour complete a deal with the PIF: "So the time is now, to Rory's point about making a deal, I wouldn't have said that a year ago, but it is the better end of the bargain.”
(Via: @JCAGOLFReport)pic.twitter.com/lIv96cpnSH
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 10, 2024
Brandel Chamblee’s full quote is:
“Look, the PGA Tour is in this pickle, like it or not. Do you want to compete indefinitely with someone who is not going to go away, who can outspend you, and if they are in business, every move they make that makes their tour better deletes your tour and causes more division within the tour.”
Prior to that clip, Chamblee said “The time is now, to (Rory’s) point about making a deal, I wouldn’t have said that a year ago, I don’t think there are a lot of people within the world of golf that would be particularly enamored with the idea of making this deal. But it is the better end of the bargain at this point.”
It truly is remarkable how quickly the LIV Golf sentiment has shifted among the talking heads in golf. Rory changed his tune after Jon Rahm’s departure marked a seismic shift. Since then, even the most ardent critics of where LIV Golf’s funding comes from are calling for the game of golf to be reunified.
And to be clear, just because Brandel Chamblee is calling for the PGA Tour to make a deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund does not mean his opinions of the Saudi PIF have changed. It simply means he now sees this as the right time for the PGA Tour to act in order to ensure long-term success.