‘They don’t care!’ Brandel Chamblee fires (more) shots at LIV Golf as stars crumble on major stage
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Golf Channel pundit Brandel Chamblee has once again questioned LIV Golf’s treatment of their biggest stars – notably Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau – after another miserable major Sunday.
Brandel Chamblee rarely wastes an opportunity to aim a dig at LIV Golf and the PGA Championship was no exception.
The four majors remain the only real time the best of the traditional tours and the breakaway circuit go toe-to-toe for the game’s biggest prizes, and the Golf Channel analyst thinks he knows why Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau failed to get the better of Scottie Scheffler at Quail Hollow.
“It matters where you play to be sharp, to be at your best, to test yourself against the best, which they’re not playing against the best week in and week out,” Chamblee said. “Scottie Scheffler is, at the highest level.”
Scheffler began the final round with a three-shot lead but was some way off his best, frittering shots away over the front nine to give his challengers hope of claiming the Wanamaker Trophy.
Rahm, who hasn’t challenged for a major since his shock move to LIV towards the end of 2023, looked set to take advantage when he birdied the 11th to draw level with the American at 9-under.
But that was as good as it got for the Spaniard. Scheffler displayed his remarkable mental strength to find some birdies when he needed them and edge back ahead before Rahm imploded over the brutal closing holes.
From in with a chance of a third major, Rahm finished bogey-double-double to drop back to 4-under and into a tie for 8th, seven shots behind Scheffler’s winning total.
As for DeChambeau, birdies at 14 and 15 gave him a glimmer of hope if he could ride that momentum over the final three holes, but pars at 16 and 17 and a bogey at 18 gave Scheffler the clearest of runs to the line.
On the back of DeChambeau’s no-show in the final round of the Masters, this was fuel for the fire for Chamblee, one of LIV’s most persistent and scathing critics.
He added: “When it mattered the most, 16, 17 and 18, when you had to hit shots, when you had to control your nerves, when you had to control the rhythm of your golf swing, Scottie had it, Bryson didn’t, Rahm didn’t.”
Chamblee later doubled down on his comments, as well as having another pop at where the money comes from to finance LIV.
“How else can anyone explain such a wide and precipitous drop off in form of all but a few of LIV’s players. After all they poached the best that their petro-dollars could buy, but LIV’s format and lack of competition is not an ideal way to keep their players competitive,” he posted on X.
The former PGA Tour player then offered some potential solutions to improve the product.
“Why don’t they go to 72 holes? Why don’t they have an open qualifying for half of their spots? Why don’t they play under tougher conditions?” he asked.
“We all know why. They don’t care about the careers of their players, only the stigma of admitting to a failed idea.”
Amid the criticism, the 63-year-old did, however, give Rahm credit for speaking to the press after his late collapse, an act that gained particular attention given Rory McIlroy’s decision to skip post-round media duties on all of the four tournament days.
“I have to give Jon Rahm a lot of credit for, after playing the last three holes in 5-over, going into the media center and talking,” he added.
“And by the way, he was very good talking about what it meant to be back contending in majors. He also said that he hadn’t had this much fun playing golf in a long time – alluding, perhaps to his decision to go to LIV.
Chamblee then posted Rahm’s quote from 2022, where the Spaniard said he was “officially declaring my fealty to the PGA Tour”, before adding that “the LIV format is not really appealing to me”.
Up next for the LIV stars to show their competitive worth is the US Open at Oakmont, where DeChambeau will defend the crown he won in such dramatic circumstances at Pinehurst last year.
