19th Hole
Brandel Chamblee reveals the golf legend that stopped talking to him once he became an analyst
There hasn’t been anyone in golf media that’s been tougher on LIV Golf than Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee.
Since the inception of LIV, Chamblee has said it “makes him want to puke”, has called the players who’ve gone to LIV “the greediest, most self-serving, self-interested, willfully blind players in the world of golf today” and has also said “As far as I know, it’s never happened that an athlete has been kicked out of their Hall Of Fame but both Norman and Mickelson should be removed from the Hall Of Fame”.
In an interview with “The Sunday Times” over the weekend, Chamblee talked about his previous relationship with Greg Norman and how that’s changed.
“But there are some things that are indefensible. Before he was commissioner of LIV, Greg was sending me very laudatory texts about my work, saying things like: ‘It’s nice to have a strong voice in the game’. It’s funny how his opinion changed. Honestly, I don’t know how he sleeps at night.”
Chamblee has never been afraid to speak his mind on television, and that’s cost him some relationships over the years.
“Absolutely, I’ve lost friendships because of what I’ve said. It’s not like I was friends with Vijay [Singh], but I practiced with him and the minute I went on TV, he was like: ‘You’ve gone to the dark side’ and immediately quit talking to me.
The nature of my job is to be forensic and investigative to get to the bottom of why people do what they do in the game of golf.”
The 60-year-old also spoke about his former friendship with Scott McCaron and how it deteriorated over his public opinion in regard to the “anchoring” rule.
“I was friends with Scott McCarron when I played the Tour but we got in crossways because of how I viewed the anchoring rule. I’m sure I had reservations about being critical early on, but my responsibility is to the audience. As much as I enjoy being around the players, I’d rather not be friends with them because I don’t want to go on the air and say critical things about someone I like.”
One of the most controversial statements Chamblee has made was at the 2013 BMW Championship when he suggested Tiger Woods intentionally cheated and was met with threats of legal action as a result.
“As I’ve said a million times, TV is not unlike golf,” Chamblee says. “Sometimes you get things wrong. I could have handled it more diplomatically.”
Whether you agree or disagree with Chamblee, there’s no question that he speaks his mind. With LIV Golf set to begin on February 24th, we can expect him to continue to make strong statements about the rival circuit.
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19th Hole
‘You’re a f*****g traffic cone!’ – Brooks Koepka heckles Aaron Ekblad at Florida Panthers game
Brooks Koepka is preparing to play in this week’s LIV event in Orlando. While in Florida, the four-time major champion attended a Florida Panthers game.
At the game, Koepka was seen taunting Aaron Ekblad, who was the first overall pick in the draft in 2014, with a traffic cone.
Brooks can be seen in the video yelling, “Ekblad you suck” as well as calling him a “traffic cone” with the prop in hand.
Is that Brooks Koepka calling Ekblad a fucking traffic cone from the stands in Florida??
?: IG/floridapanthersfp pic.twitter.com/LqolbAuYYt
— Missin Curfew (@MissinCurfew) March 26, 2023
So far this season, Koepka has finished 31st at LIV Mayakoba and 29th at LIV Tucson. He’ll be teeing it up at The Masters next week in search of his 5th major championship.
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19th Hole
‘Never mind the Masters’ – Gary Player explains why he ranks the Masters dead last of all the majors
In an interview with Sportsmail, Gary Player spoke about which major championship he believes is the best among them. The 87-year-old won nine major championships, including the Masters three times and The Open Championship three times.
“But never mind the Masters, the Open is by far the greatest tournament on the planet.”
Interestingly, Player ranked the Masters fourth of the four majors.
“I rate the Open at one, the US Open two, PGA three and Augusta four,’ he adds. Four marvelous tournaments.”
When asked why he ranked the Masters after the other three, Player said it was because the others have been around longer.
“It’s the youngest of the majors. The others are steeped in tradition and history, and they still have to catch up. Nothing comes to the top without time.”
Speaking of The Masters, Player also spoke about Rory McIlroy’s quest for the career grand slam, of which he’s still one green jacket short. Player believes McIlroy will win and needs to do so sooner rather than later to cement his spot amongst the greatest players of all time.
‘He’s got the best swing in the world by a mile,’ Player says. ‘He’s won four majors but none since 2014. I think he will win the Masters because the course is made for him. I think if he does that, he’ll go down as one of the greats, but that’s something he has to do.
“I’ve always said my judgment of superstars is they have to win six majors. People these days say anyone who wins is a superstar. No. It’s not easily done, but I believe Rory can.”
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At one stage in his career, it looked as if Tiger Woods becoming the record major holder was a formality, but for whatever factors that never materialised.
In an interview with Sportsmail, Gary Player spoke about Tiger Woods and his quest to break Jack Nicklaus’s major championship record, and has his own view on why Tiger never surpassed Jack’s record.
Player, who won nine major championships himself, said that he believes Ben Hogan was the “greatest” golfer he’d ever seen, but Tiger Woods was the most talented.
‘The greatest I ever saw was Ben Hogan,’ he says. ‘He went to war for five years and then had a terrible car accident, so never played in 30 majors. Nobody had a streak like he had (winning his nine majors in the space of 16 starts). If I was a young boy today, I’d watch his swing from 1953 every day.”
‘Tiger Woods was the most talented golfer the planet has ever seen but he made a few bad decisions, which we all do.”
“Having lessons when he won the US Open by 15 shots was inconceivable — if he never went for a lesson, he would have won 20 majors minimum and he would have beat Nicklaus’s record.”
Player is referencing the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, which Woods won by 15 shots. Just two years later, Tiger completely renovated his golf swing, which in retrospect looks as if it may have been a mistake.
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Bob
Mar 6, 2023 at 7:18 am
I’ll bet VJ is not the only person who stopped talking to this puppet.
VC
Feb 7, 2023 at 11:08 pm
Shambles is a shank.
Ric
Feb 7, 2023 at 1:52 pm
BC is good for the game, he keeps the level of integrity from sliding more than it has… remember when TW tried to get away with this https://youtu.be/ueXaH1wfawA
Fred
Feb 7, 2023 at 2:31 am
Yawn
another 3 putt
Feb 6, 2023 at 10:09 pm
Troll. BC is a troll.
Ely Enriquez
Feb 6, 2023 at 7:02 pm
Everybody wants wants honesty but how many want to hear it. How many speak their mind but don’t like the consequences.
Joe
Feb 6, 2023 at 5:36 pm
Really like Brandel’s commentary. Extremely articulate, insightful and unapologetic. Always enjoy listening to his viewpoint!
John
Feb 6, 2023 at 12:57 pm
Did I get this right? Chamblee says that even though it’s never been done before, Greg Norman should be removed from Golf HOF. And then he’s shocked that Norman quits talking to him? I thought Chamblee was smarter than that. As my parents used to tell me: some people talk just to hear their heads rattle.
P Cross
Feb 6, 2023 at 7:47 pm
Shamblee is a disgrace…he defames people and thinks thats ok
V
Feb 6, 2023 at 12:51 pm
I’m so glad he represents the PGA Tour and not the great LIV
Dre day
Feb 6, 2023 at 12:11 pm
Overrated to say the least. Opinion is not relevant, he’s not sought after. More of an annoyance, he fits into the woke culture of world salads with zero substance. Golf Channel keeps the guy cause they’re another woke broadcasting company.
Phil
Feb 6, 2023 at 12:44 pm
Amen
Steve
Feb 6, 2023 at 11:29 am
I appreciate Chamblee’s perspectives. Yes, he puts his whole foot in his mouth from time to time, but his candor is what makes him appealing in an otherwise (at least by created perception) squeaky clean game. As for his parting of ways with Vijay, well….while Mr. Singh deserves major props for his longevity and success in the game, I would guess that Brandel joined a growing list of peeps that don’t speak to Vijay either by his choice or theirs. ‘Leave it at that.