At this point, we have to consider the possibility that Brandel Chamblee may not like Bryson DeChambeau. Not as golfer, not as a YouTube personality and maybe not even as a person. It’s impossible to know what lies in another man’s heart, so we have to go by how they act and what they say, and time and time again Chamblee has loaded up the take cannon and taken dead aim at the LIV pro.
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On Saturday, Chamblee, seemingly malcontented with a relatively soundbite-less weekend in pro golf, joined the Trey Wingo Podcast to discuss the future of LIV Golf. It was a fascinating conversation, as Chamblee revealed what US president Donald Trump told him about the long-term prospects of the Saudi Arabian-backed golf league, that eventually came back around to the Golf Channel analyst’s favourite topic: DeChambeau.
“You do have to tip your cap on some level to Bryson, because he’s managed to find a way to make it work where no one else has found a way to make it work,” Wingo said about the declining play of the former superstars, barring DeChambeau, who joined LIV.
As you can probably guess, Chamblee didn’t quite agree.
“But I mean it’s not like he suddenly got better when he went to LIV. He got better when he changed caddies.
“Look, I think Bryson is a compelling watch. But the idea that he is ‘must-watch TV’ is poorly founded. I mean, nobody rushes to watch the TV when he’s leading a LIV event. Nobody cares to watch him then, they just don’t.
“When he’s going head-to-head with Rory, or Scottie Scheffler, they tune in. Are they tuning in for Bryson or Rory? Are they tuning into Bryson or Scottie? They watch to the tune of three, four, five million people when Rory and Scottie are playing in the Masters.
“It’s 50,000 to maybe 450-500,000 when Bryson, Rahm, DJ and Brooks are going head-to-head. If it was a fight, they’d stop it.”
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As always, we don’t have to ask Chamblee to tell us how he really feels, because he does so almost every time he’s on the air. That’s commendable. Golf could use more people who aren’t afraid to say what they mean, but it does seem like he has a personal axe to grind with DeChambeau.
Chamblee has recently disputed this, saying the media only picks up on the bad things he says about Crushers GC captain, but anytime a conversation’s orbit passes by Planet Bryson, Chamblee reaches out and pokes him. His comments on Wingo’s podcast also echoed those that Rory McIlroy gave in the build-up to the Ryder Cup, claiming that DeChambeau only ever brings Scottie Scheffler or himself up when he “wants attention” that he cannot otherwise get on his own. The timing and tenor of these comments don’t seem to be a coincidence.
Part of this stems from the fact DeChambeau has become the unofficial poster boy for LIV Golf over the past few years, and Chamblee has made no bones about his dislike of the sportswashing enterprise in the past. But to the outside observer, it seems to run deeper than that. In fact, we’d even go as far as to say Chamblee enjoys it. Ultimately, only Brandel and Bryson can really say what it’s behind the cold war of words, but one thing seems clear:
Like LIV Golf, this feud isn’t going anytime soon.
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