The internal conflict in golf doesn’t seem to be abating, as Anthony Kim responded sharply to remarks made by Brandel Chamblee of the Golf Channel.
Anthony Kim has responded scathingly to Brandel Chamblee’s about-face regarding the wisdom of finally ratifying a potential deal between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
Since suffering an Achilles tendon injury in 2012, Kim has not competed on the US circuit; however, this year, she made an incredible comeback to the game of golf. The 38-year-old returned to competition in the 2024 LIV Golf League, competing in the Jeddah event, following a ten-year hiatus.
He agreed to play in regular season tournaments throughout the term starting with the third event of the campaign by signing a wild-card agreement. Kim’s current objective as an individual player is to use his performances to gain a spot on a team competing in the LIV circuit for the 2025 season.
Apart from issues pertaining to the course, it seems that analyst Chamblee also irritated the American following his astonishing reversal of opinion regarding the LIV circuit. The Golf Channel commentator has previously expressed his disapproval of the PIF-Backed tour in a loud manner.
“LIV Golf is not so much a sports entity as it is MBS/Saudi Arabia trying to hide their atrocities and launder its reputation by buying sports stars,” Chamblee once said in a caustic attack. Any concession to them or accord with them is an accord with a murderous autocrat.”
He did, however, seem to have shifted after Rory McIlroy made an unsuccessful attempt to rejoin the PGA Tour policy board with the intention of helping to facilitate talks regarding a merger between the circuit and LIV. The announcement of a ceasefire in golf’s civil war came last June, but since then, talks to create a “framework agreement” have stagnated.
Now, Chamblee has made a bit of a U-turn: “Do you want to compete with someone who’s not going away (LIV), who can outspend you (PIF)? The PGA Tour is in this pickle, like it or not.”
“Every change they make to improve their tour erases your tour and creates more division among the participants. Thus, to Rory’s point about striking a deal, the time is now. A year ago, I wouldn’t have said that, but it’s the better part of the agreement.
Kim, on X, seemed to take offense at these remarks, as she replied, “Ramble Chamblee @chambleebrandel ur such a [….] 4 beating on ur chest and basically saying never retreat & hypocritically retreat.” It’s no secret that most people in the golf world detest this incompetent fool. Will you still cover golf if @livgolf_league is participating?
Prior to his abortive attempt to rejoin the PGA Tour policy board, McIlroy had acknowledged that the best way to move the sport forward would be for a merger to be finalized. “I believe that every generation has an obligation to try to leave the Tour and leave the location where they’re playing in a slightly better spot than it was before,” he stated. That’s the main idea here.
“I would say that I’m impatient because I believe we have this window of opportunity to get (a deal) done. From a business perspective, neither side needs to get it done, but it makes sense. I kind of compare it to how unhappy both sides were during Northern Ireland’s peace process in the 1990s and the Good Friday Agreement.”
“Protestants and Catholics weren’t happy, either, but it brought peace, and then you just kind of learn to live with whatever has been negotiated, right?” the speaker continued.
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