Longtime golf analyst Brandel Chamblee has not been shy about his disdain for LIV Golf, and he used the latest saga surrounding Bryson DeChambeau and the Ryder Cup to spout off again.
Chamblee supported the PGA Tour reportedly upholding its ban for DeChambeau, who won’t get a chance to play with his Ryder Cup teammates at the Procore Championship as a warmup in September. Chamblee then ripped into LIV once again, even going as far as to say DeChambeau won’t be playing for the USA, but for Saudi Arabia, who funds LIV.
“Bryson is a hell of a player. But he comes dragging the baggage of a medievally funded, every word in support of destroying the tour it speaks of, poorly ran, weakly competed tour of mostly malcontesnts who sought to turn their success into a pro golf game changer, only to realize the only thing any of them changed was how the world of pro golf viewed them,” he said … in a long tweet.
Brandel Chamblee Still One of LIV’s Harshest Critics
Chamblee has been one of the most outspoken LIV critics in all of professional golf. The former PGA Tour player has taken on a firm stance against the Saudi-funded breakaway league basically from its inception. Last year, he called it “laughable,” in March he declared the league was dying a “slow costly death,” and a couple of months after that, he called the entire league a “failed idea.”
So, not exactly impartial. And he wasn’t done with that first salvo, either. In fact, he turned up the heat.
“(Bryson is) one of the best players in the world no doubt, but he will be playing, not for the USA, but for Saudi Arabia in the Ryder Cup. If you disagree, just watch the LIV bots, LIV funders/supports and those who have been bought by LIV celebrate if he plays well.”
Bryson DeChambeau Key to USA Ryder Cup Success
One person who might take issue with Chamblee’s assessment of the situation would probably be Team USA captain Keegan Bradley. While he’s a full-time PGA Tour player, he has said from the beginning he’d pick the best players available, politics aside.
Because the PGA of America (and not the PGA Tour) runs the Ryder Cup, LIV players are eligible. Bradley has already informally named DeChambeau to the team and sounded like he was lobbying for the two-time U.S. Open winner to join his teammates at the Procore as a Ryder Cup tune-up.
DeChambeau, perhaps to Chamblee’s chagrin, is one of the most pivotal players for an American team looking to reclaim the Ryder Cup. His distance, particularly off the tee, should make him a perfect fit at Bethpage Black.
He proved in 2021, the last time the Ryder Cup was held in America, that he can thrive in a team format. Golf Digest declared “he won the week” with a 2-0-1 performance while embracing the spotlight.
“From the moment he stepped foot on property,” Joel Beall wrote, “DeChambeau took comfort in the notion that this is not a golf tournament but a sporting event and must be treated as such. The notoriously inward-facing DeChambeau, whose track record at previous team events is spotty at best, opened himself to the team dynamic.”
It’s reasonable to expect a similar performance in 2025 on Long Island, and if DeChambeau needed any extra motivation, Chamblee has delivered it on a silver platter.
Golf Analyst: Bryson DeChambeau Playing ‘For Saudi Arabia’ in Ryder Cup