Distinguished LIV Bryson DeChambeau is the only player to break the trend at the majors, according to golf critic Brandel Chamblee, who has once again attacked the breakaway league.
Brandel Chamblee has never held back when criticizing LIV Golf, and the Golf Channel analyst has unleashed a new tirade, insisting he was correct all along regarding the breakaway tour.
Since its 2022 debut, Chamblee has been one of the most vocal opponents of League of Legends (LIV), pointing out issues with the league’s structure and level of play as well as Saudi Arabia, the league’s primary funding source, and its human rights record.
The 62-year-old said that LIV had a difficult year in the majors, with only Bryson DeChambeau playing at his best. With his captivating and intense performances, the American captured the hearts of fans by winning the US Open and placing second at the PGA Championship.
Nonetheless, Chamblee feels that the players’ transfers to LIV are the reason why players like Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, and Brooks Koepka failed to compete at the major league level this season.
“Not a single LIV player, aside from DeChambeau, finished in the top five in a major in 2024,” Chamblee wrote on X. “Bryson is without a doubt one of the most captivating characters in the game, and the major season was made even more memorable by his newly discovered fan interaction, but overall, the LIV players were a major letdown in the 2024 majors.
“Considering that LIV has only been playing for a short time, the sample size is small, but it’s safe to say that LIV golf has hurt their ability to compete at the highest levels in their careers.
While there is no doubt that the absence of a few of their players from the top tiers of the game is felt visually, there isn’t much proof that it significantly hurts competition. Or, in any case, that the world rankings are terribly skewed considering the decline in nearly every game played by LIV players.
Previous criticism of LIV by Chamblee has been sharply contested, most notably by LIV wildcard Anthony Kim, who signed for the breakaway circuit earlier this season after a 12-year hiatus from professional golf. On social media, the two have exchanged jabs, with Kim calling the former PGA Tour winner a “talentless fool.”
One follower said that Chamblee players who joined LIV have significantly benefited in their bank accounts in response to Chamblee’s most recent critical evaluation. “Those are significant, though few contracts were what have been reported from the sounds of it,” he retorted.
“However, when one considers the amount of money they lost in sponsorships when they signed, the cut their managers received, the after-tax money they lost, the fact that they lost their autonomy as players (note that none of them could practice links golf the week before The Open because they had to play a LIV event in Spain), and the excitement of competing at the top level every week, perhaps all of this is not as significant overall.”
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