19th Hole
Brandel Chamblee calls Mickelson a ‘highly paid ventriloquist puppet’ in scathing takedown
Last week, Phil Mickelson made headlines due to his critical remarks regarding the PGA Tour. Lefty accused the Tour of not distributing revenue to the players fairly, and used the words “obnoxious greed” to describe their practices.
His comments didn’t sit right with many, including Brooks Koepka who said: “[Don’t know] if I’d be using the word greedy if I’m Phil”.
Add Brandel Chamblee to the list of those who have taken issue with Mickelson’s comments. In an op-ed on the Golf Channel website, Chamblee went after the six time major champion, calling Lefty:
“A highly paid ventriloquist puppet involved in a sportswashing operation for a murderous regime guilty of human rights atrocities.”
In the column, Brandel went on to say
“When it comes to competing in professional events, Mickelson doesn’t and never has owned his media rights, so there is nothing to ‘hand back’,” said Chamblee.
“No sports league – not the NFL, MLB, NBA, the PGA Tour, nor any other league – would allow their athletes to own media rights. The profits derived from aggregating those rights fees provides infrastructure, pays league employees and helps pay the salaries of the athletes themselves (in this case, the ever-increasing purses and bonus pools available to Tour members, including Mickelson), to say nothing of protecting the investments of the networks.”
Chamblee added: “Could you imagine being a network that had paid hundreds of millions – or billions – of dollars for broadcast rights, only to have to compete with a Tom Brady, Mike Trout, LeBron James or a Tiger Woods Channel, where they ran their highlights on a loop?
“The networks would cease paying the exorbitant broadcast rights fees if such content was omnipresent. Which means the leagues themselves, in their current form, would cease to exist.”
It will be interesting to monitor the situation between Phil and the Tour going forward.
More from the 19th Hole
- John Daly explains Tiger Woods beef from 2019 PGA Championship
- Tiger used Earl’s ‘disruptive tactics’ on Charlie at 2021 PNC
- 20-handicap player achieves feat never accomplished by PGA Tour pro
- LIKE759
- LEGIT92
- WOW28
- LOL35
- IDHT7
- FLOP20
- OB10
- SHANK76
19th Hole
TaylorMade signs 15-year-old AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year to an NIL contract
This week, TaylorMade Golf announced that they’ve signed AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year, Miles Russell, to an NIL contract.
In a statement, TaylorMade called Russell “nothing short of remarkable”.
“Miles’ record setting success at his young age is nothing short of remarkable and we are excited he chose us to support him in his growth as a golfer to continue to accomplish his career goals. Identifying and developing the top junior talent in the world has always been a priority for us at TaylorMade. Miles and his family epitomize the type of athlete and human being we are looking to add to Team TaylorMade.”
Russell has broken plenty of records in recent months. This season, he was named American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Boys Player of the Year, making him the youngest male player to receive the award. The record was previously held by Tiger Woods who was about 10 months older than Russell at the time he received the award.
At age 14, J he became the youngest player ever to win the Junior PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass at age 14.
The 15-year-old also played in his first Korn Ferry Tour event on Thursday, the LECOM Suncoast Classic, and shot a first-round 68.
In the aftermath of the agreement, Russell released a statement.
“I have had a great relationship with the team at TaylorMade for years now and couldn’t be more excited to continue to work with them in the future. TaylorMade has a history of developing the top junior talent in the world to help reach their goals of becoming PGA TOUR and major championship winners. I am looking forward to working with the team to reach those and other goals I have laid out for my career.”
More from the 19th Hole
- LIKE0
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL1
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
19th Hole
Group of PGA Tour caddies sign endorsement deal with underwear company
In an interesting turn of events, a group of PGA Tour caddies have signed an endorsement deal with an underwear company.
Geno Bonnalie (Joel Dahmen), Aaron Flener (J.T. Poston), John Limanti (Akshay Bhatia) and Joel Stock (Will Zalatoris) and John Ellis (Wyndham Clark) have signed a deal with the underwear brand, SAXX.
Here are some details about the endorsement deal:
- The deal eclipses six figures in total value, extending what last year marked the first significant apparel agreement with a group of pro caddies. Of note, Geno and John Ellis appeared in the Netflix docuseries, Full Swing.
- The caddies will wear SAXX underwear, shorts and polos on and off the course.
- SAXX will donate $100 to the Testicular Cancer Foundation for every birdie made by the caddies’ players for the rest of the season.
- SAXX will bring the Ball Masters to the masses at the Travelers Championship, hosting a fan activation with underwear giveaways, photo opportunities, appearances from the Ball Masters and more.
- Fans can become an honorary Ball Master, which includes a year’s worth of underwear, among other things. Go to SAXX.com/ball-master-application from now until June 15 to enter.
The partnership is great for the caddies and also represents a great cause.
Check out the video they shared on YouTube:
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
New here?
- LIKE0
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
19th Hole
Man charged with stealing millions of dollars worth of memorabilia from Augusta National
According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man has been charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National.
The man, Robert Globensky, was charged with transporting the memorabilia across state lines.
The report states that between 2009 and 2022, Globensky allegedly transported “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from Augusta National “and transported to Tampa, Florida, knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”
The document was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Per the court records there is no mention that Globensky worked for the golf club.
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
New here?
- LIKE1
- LEGIT0
- WOW1
- LOL2
- IDHT0
- FLOP1
- OB1
- SHANK1
-
19th Hole1 week ago
Dave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
-
19th Hole3 weeks ago
Things got heated at the Houston Open between Tony Finau and Alejandro Tosti. Here’s why
-
19th Hole1 week ago
Tiger Woods arrives at 2024 Masters equipped with a putter that may surprise you
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Report: Tiger Woods has ‘eliminated sex’ in preparation for the 2024 Masters
-
19th Hole5 days ago
Two star names reportedly blanked Jon Rahm all week at the Masters
-
19th Hole4 days ago
Neal Shipley presser ends in awkward fashion after reporter claims Tiger handed him note on 8th fairway
-
19th Hole3 days ago
Report: LIV Golf identifies latest star name they hope to sign to breakaway tour
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Addiction, spinal fusion, and scam artists – Everything Anthony Kim revealed in candid interview with David Feherty