Brandel Chamblee Q&A: The most opinionated man in golf lets rip

His gray locks tucked inside a Royal Dornoch baseball cap, Brandel Chamblee is waxing lyrical about a pre-Christmas vacation with his wife Bailey.

“We kind of toured Germany,” he says. “Christmas markets, that kind of thing.” He proceeds to talk in great detail, and with tangible enthusiasm, about the spectacular neo-gothic cathedral in Cologne. Its scale, its role in the war, the time it took to build.

As is the case when it comes to golf, Chamblee doesn’t just observe. He studies, following a north star lit by his innate curiosity. “Anyway,” he says, suddenly changing the subject. “What are we talking about today?”

Let’s pick it up from there…

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So, I pitched you a conversation about ‘The State of the Game’ and it feels like there’s only one logical question to kick us off – what the hell is going on?!

Ha! Well, okay. So, the game of golf has never been better. It’s never been more popular. As far as the professional game is concerned, I’m well aware of what’s going on there. I’m in the middle of it. I talk about it all the time, I mean, you know, LIV tried to destroy the PGA Tour, and they poached a lot of well-known players, but those players’ games have deteriorated, and they’re not quite as compelling as they all think they are. And the PGA Tour can totally exist and get along without them. LIV bought a moment in time, that’s all.

I admire the stance you’ve taken on LIV. I may not agree with all of it, but I respect it. You’ve made no secret of your opposition to Saudi Arabia’s involvement. This might sound ridiculous, but had LIV been bankrolled by a more agreeable foreign power – let’s say, Australia – would you have been more open to it?

Well, it would have never happened. The reason LIV became LIV is because they were an irrational actor in a world dominated by market forces. The reason the PGA Tour was the best tour in the world was they went to the best places in the world that were in the best condition. They played for the most money because they had the best sponsors, and they were run better than any other tournaments. You get treated like kings and princes, and you make money – lots of it. The Saudis came in and were irrational actors. They were paying far more money than anything was worth. I mean, I don’t know if you follow art, do you?

I don’t.

Okay, so, in 2017, there was a painting called Salvator Mundi, and its accreditation was dubious, but everybody wanted it to be a Leonardo da Vinci. There were aspects of it that screamed Leonardo da Vinci, but there were other aspects that were dubious. Nonetheless, Sotheby’s puts the painting up for auction, and it was supposed to go for around $100m. It became a bidding war between MBS [Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince], the royal families of the UAE, and the royal families of Qatar. In the end, it sold to MBS for $450m. A painting with dubious accreditation sold for an astronomical price. Now you could say that’s what the market will bear, but it’s not. It was irrational. So, it’s not a question of the source of the money being different because it wouldn’t have happened. There’s nobody in Australia or Great Britain or France, beholden to a company with a board who wanted to make reasonable, intelligent investments in a sport, that would have offered the kind of money the Saudis and LIV offered. And that’s to say nothing of them choosing their players on impulses and whims, not upon their performances. But beyond that, they had ulterior motives.

You’re talking about sportswashing, right?

Right. There’s a company that rates countries based upon what it calls a Democracy Index. Out of the 179 countries they rate, measuring the degree of democracy in each, Saudi Arabia is 179th. It’s ranked lower than Syria, North Korea, China. You name an oppressive regime, and Saudi Arabia is ranked worse. That is the source of the money. But even if we set that aside and just look at the absolute nature of the product, it’s a very poor product and it’s led to the deterioration of the game. I had to laugh when I saw Jon Rahm saying in Dubai recently that it’s time for LIV to get world ranking points. They all willingly joined a tour that they knew didn’t adhere to the criteria. They joined based on the lies they were told by Greg Norman that they would get them, but they made no effort to change their criteria, expecting the world to kowtow to their entitlements.

Of course, I should add they’ve now withdrawn their application to the OWGR.

Exactly, And by the way, all those players joined that tour saying they wanted to play less but now, to accrue world ranking points, they’re playing more and all around the world where ranking points are available, the way Joaquin Niemann has done. And Niemann, yeah, he’s a good player, but let’s not pretend that he’s as good as they pretend he is. He’s played in 22 majors and never even finished in the top-15. Seven missed cuts. They keep acting like he’s the next Rory McIlroy, the same way they were talking about Talor Gooch last year, who, by the way, played in three majors, missed two cuts and finished 34th in the other last year, so turns out he’s not as good as they said he was.

You mentioned the source of the money being an issue. The trouble is Saudi Arabian money is invested in so many businesses. Disney, Facebook, FedEx… doesn’t that pose a dilemma? Being morally opposed to the source but continuing to ‘support it’ because it can’t be avoided?

So, I would say this. Publicly traded companies cannot control what money is invested in them. That’s the nature of being a publicly controlled company. So, you can’t stop Saudi investment. Look, all countries are dirty. The United States is certainly no saint. But on a human atrocity scale, I think Saudi Arabia is near the lead in the way they treat women, the way they treat homosexuals, and the way they treat every single freedom and liberty that has made the west what it is. If Uber were 100% Saudi Arabia-owned, I would never use it. I don’t know at what level [of investment] I would stop using it but I believe they own something like 10% and that, to me, sounds palatable. Nobody, I think, would be comfortable with them owning the lion’s share, or a large share, of the PGA Tour, because at some point you’re going to have to apologise for their conduct as a country, their dictatorial, monarchic, theological theocracy. Golf is based upon merit. It’s based upon philanthropy. And because of Saudi’s influence, it’s become more about a business.

But isn’t that a good thing if it brings in the likes of the Strategic Sports Group (SSG)?

Now, see, I honestly believe they have the sport’s best interest in mind. When it comes to running sports, these are really smart people, some of the smartest people on the planet. They know what they’re doing. I much more trust the SSG than I do, MBS or Yasir [Al-Rumayyan], who have thrown billions of dollars at a product that is so bad. They had their final, their grand finale, with all their stars that finished in prime time on the East Coast and 89,000 people tuned in to watch. More people watch pickleball than that. That tells you everything. LIV matters not. It matters not. The players been paid a huge fee to show up and compete. I’m convinced they’re going through the motions. There’s some exceptions to that, I have no doubt, but just the fact that their play has fallen off so precipitously as a group, you can tell they’re not giving it everything they have.

Let’s park LIV for the time being. If you had told me a year ago that the chief executives of five major golf organisations would leave their posts over the next 12 months, but that Jay Monahan wouldn’t be one, I wouldn’t have believed you. Are you surprised he’s still there?

I am. I mean, I think maybe he has lost the trust of some players, but, you know, I’m thinking of a couple of them that added the caveat that he’s going to have to work really hard to regain it back. So maybe he’s putting in the work. I see him out there all the time. He’s walking with players. And I don’t see him talking, I see him listening. I think he’s got the respect of Rory, and I think he’s got the respect of Tiger, and he most certainly has the respect of the powers-that-be that run the SSG. You know, I get it, he’s taken a lot of heat for the way he’s had this liaison or this get-together with LIV after having criticised it taking the moral high ground. That’s an awkward thing to come back from. So, yeah, I’m surprised [he’s still in post], for sure. It’s been a tumultuous time in the world of golf but, clearly, he’s got the ear of the players, and they’re behind him. Clearly, he’s got the ear of the investors, and they’re behind him. I’ll take a ‘wait and see’ approach to it all.

Everybody’s desperate for Rory to win The Masters and complete the career grand slam. In your opinion, what does he need to get it done?

To me, there are two things holding Rory back in the majors. One, I think he’s got a mental hurdle. When you’re a completely different person in the majors than you are in regular tour events – and he is – that screams that you’ve got a mental hurdle. The other one is his iron play. He’s going to have to hit them better. Simple as that. Let’s go back to a decade ago or more when he was winning major championships by eight shots. He was second on tour in Strokes Gained: Approach. Only Tiger Woods was better than him at that time. He was picking up more than a shot on the field. Now, he’s only picking up about a quarter of a shot. So, he’s got a little technical issue to get past and a not-so-little mental issue to get past in the majors.

Do you think he will? Do you think he can?

Well, I think he’s training better. His body’s probably never better. He’s still the longest hitter on the PGA Tour. So, you’d have to say it’s highly unlikely he’s going to play the next five years without winning a major. Not when you’re as good as he is. And you know, he’s the easiest person to pull for in golf. When he’s got a golf club in his hand, no doubt he’s arrogant. How could you not be when you can hit a ball like him? But there’s no sign of arrogance elsewhere in his life. He’s the most socially aware, socially adroit, sincere, appropriate, respectful person I’ve ever come across.

Let’s talk Tiger. It seems to me that there’s a growing consensus he should just hang the clubs up and retire because he surely can’t keep having years like last year. What’s your take on that.

You don’t do the things Tiger Woods has done without an incredible belief in yourself. After watching him with the yips and a bad back in 2014, ‘15 and ‘16, no-one could have predicted what he did late ‘17, ‘18, ‘19. Nobody could have imagined that kind of resurgence. You don’t do that without an incredible belief. Unfortunately, I don’t know that he can get around [golf courses anymore]. So many things would have to conspire. The course would have to be flat. It has to be warm. No rain. It just looks like the cold weather, the walking, the standing on his feet, going up and down the hills, it looks like it keeps him from doing the most pedestrian of things, which is walking. The swing itself is pretty good, but because he doesn’t have the necessary support or ability to push off the right foot. He has to stand up, so he can’t get all that right side bend, and so on. So to your point, should he keep doing this? Well, there’s one thing left for Tiger to do, as far as I can tell.

What’s that?

So, he won three US Junior Amateurs, he won three US Amateurs, and he won three US Opens. If he wins the US Senior Open, well, nobody’s ever done that.

The USGA Slam.

Yeah, exactly. I have no doubt that somewhere in the back of his mind, or maybe even to the front of his mind, he’s thinking about the 2026 US Senior Open. But beyond that, I appreciate the sort of statesman that he’s become in the game of golf. I think he’s a very smart guy. I enjoy listening to him talk about the game. I think we’re lucky that we have voices like Rory, Adam Scott and Tiger Woods. At a time when you need rational, smart voices at the highest levels of this game, I think we’re very lucky that we have those three players to listen to.

Nelly Korda had a remarkable year last year, but it still feels like she hasn’t transcended the sport and become a mainstream ‘big deal’ like, say, Caitlin Clark in basketball. Why is that?

Well, to be a Caitlin Clark or a Tiger Woods, you must dominate for a period of time. That means winning by wide margins and in fantastical ways. To the point of the latter, for Caitlin Clark, that has been her ability to make shots ‘from the logo’ or from long range. For Tiger Woods, what helped his dominance was how far he hit it. Look at Annika Sorenstam. She dominated because she became the longest hitter in the game. The same with Lorena Ochoa. The same with Yani Tseng. There were other factors, obviously, but that certainly helped it. To truly resonate in America, you have to be an American star that dominates in a mind-blowing way. What Nelly did in 2024 was dominant, but it didn’t blow your mind. She won a major championship, but she wasn’t particularly strong in the other majors. She is witty and she’s funny but the world still needs to get to know her better. But you know, I’ve often wondered why the LPGA doesn’t try to conclude events on a Monday or Tuesday, when the whole [broadcast] space would be devoted to them. You know, do as much as they can to play on the west coast so they’re competing in prime time on the east coast on a Tuesday night. So you get the equivalent of Saturday and Sunday on Monday and Tuesday, and Nelly Korda wins by eight, and she smiles, and she’s funny, and the world falls in love with her.

I’d like to ask you about one more player: Brandel Eugene Chamblee. This year marks 40 years since you turned pro. If you could go back in time, what would you tell that young whipper-snapper?

I would pay far more attention to fitness. I was not fit. I was lean, but back then there were so many stigmas against going to the gym and building bulk. And you know, I would have listened to the advice that golf professionals gave my father. They would tell him, ‘Don’t ever let anybody mess with his golf swing’, meaning me. But I got curious. I was so curious about the golf swing and, once I got to be a particularly good player in college, teachers just came out of the woodwork. They watch you hit balls and they want to talk to you, and next thing you know, you’re trying this, and you’re trying that, and little by little, I became less of a player. I didn’t hit it as long, I didn’t hit it as high, and previously I hit it higher and farther than almost everybody else I competed against. I don’t blame those teachers. They didn’t have malevolence in mind. But I listened to them. It’s my fault. I take ownership of that. But I think that’s why I didn’t have a better playing career. If I had my time again, I would have trusted myself more. Like, Freddie Couples has never really changed his move. Jack Nicklaus never really changed his move. Phil Mickelson’s had a buffet of teachers but he had enough sense not to listen to the likes of Butch Harmon when it came to shortening his swing. I’ve got my issues with Phil, but I tip my cap to that sense of belief in your own talent. You know, Rickie Fowler started messing around with a new swing coach and lost his game. Justin Thomas started messing around with his swing and his game fell off. Viktor Hovland, last year, started listening to somebody else about his golf swing having come off the best year of his career so far. There’s a lot of good teachers out there but, as an athlete, you need to be aware that the ball doesn’t lie and that messing around more often than not will take you down a rabbit hole, which will destroy your talent and your genius.

It wasn’t all in vain, though.

Well, yeah, I learned a lot about the golf swing, which now helps me in my job. Absolutely. And that curiosity helps me do my job better. I’ve enjoyed every minute of my professional golf life. I played for 20 years as a professional and I’ve now had another 20 years in television. So, it’s funny, that curiosity didn’t make me a better player, but it makes me a better analyst. I would have never guessed I would go into TV. I knew I wanted to do something else. I was going to go into, I don’t know, politics or real estate or law or whatever but I kind of stumbled into this and I love it. The game still tests me. I think it tests us all. It’s tested us all over the last few years. But I wouldn’t change it. I’m a very lucky man.

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This interview first featured in issue 219 of bunkered (February 2025). For more like this, why not take out a subscription? International subscriptions are also available.

Michael McEwan is bunkered's Head of Content and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Head of Content