GOLF COMMENTATOR EXPLAINS HIS PROBLEM WITH JON RAHM: “AND THEN IT HIT ME…”

Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee has explained why he is so frustrated with Jon Rahm after the Spaniard joined LIV Golf.

Brandel Chamblee has launched a blistering attack on Jon Rahm.

The Golf Channel analyst hopped on Scott Verplank’s podcast to discuss all things golf.

Understandably, the conversation veered towards the PGA Tour’s protracted battle with LIV Golf.

Last December, Rahm signed up for the 2024 season of the LIV Golf League for a reported amount of 500 million dollars.

Before Rahm officially signed with LIV, Chamblee expressed the possibility that he might reject PIF’s millions.

The ex-professional golfer who used to compete on the PGA Tour expressed on a certain platform his wish that Rahm’s extensive understanding of the sport’s history would prevent him from compromising his values.

He also mentioned that Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy reportedly declined the offer from LIV.

“Chamblee made a mistake, and he’s feeling discontent about it.”

When Verplank inquired about the current situation, Chamblee expressed concern that changes in golf may be pushing away dedicated fans of the game.

“Those individuals are responsible for influencing the popularity of golf.

They enjoy watching the top players globally, and if they lose interest in these players, they are less likely to watch the sport.” “I believe that the game has been severely harmed and has become more focused on greed.

I am unsure if the game will ever return to its original state, sadly.”

Chamblee said the ‘custodial’ aspect of the game has now gone.

“It’s more about a blind greediness [from the players],” added Chamblee. “With no respect for what came before them and no obvious sense of debt to future generations.

“And I think that’s palpable and I think the audiences sees that. There’s a detachment in the audience with the golfer right now because of that.”

Verplank put it to Chamblee that the PGA Tour ‘bungled’ their battle with LIV.

Chamblee used an analogy to illustrate his point. “I think this is a good one,” he said.

“Let’s say your Coca Cola and you’re competing with Pepsi, and Pepsi decides to give their product away for free.

“You could never anticipate that from a business side.

“If you’re the CEO of Coca Cola, you can never anticipate the irrational economic decision of somebody deciding to give away their product for free.

“Or essentially free, or to not care about rational economic principles. You can’t compete with that in a free market.”

Verplank put it to Chamblee that the ‘rational economic decisions’ are not what they used to be.

If you have an endless supply [of money], the rules are different,” he said.

Chamblee doubled down. “The game has been irreparably tilted towards greed,” he said.

He continued: “Now I’ll be explicit here [as] I want people to clearly understand where my dissent with PIF comes from.

“It comes from a couple of different places. The person in charge of PIF is one person – that’s MBS – that’s one person.

“It’s not a committee, it’s not a board, it’s not a governor. Yasir [Al-Rumayyan] is an extension of MBS. He does what MBS wants him to do.

“My dissent with LIV is that it is an instrument of MBS’ to diversify his economy, which he needs to do, but it’s also to sportswash his reputation.”

Chamblee pointed to his problem with the male guardianship rule in Saudi Arabia and the treatment of homosexuals and dissidents.

“MBS runs PIF, PIF funds LIV, so that is the element that has been brought to the game of golf,” Chamblee added.

“That’s where my dissent is. Beyond that, and I think this was evident when I saw Jon Rahm playing in his first LIV event.

“The music was blaring, he had shorts on, and he was getting pretty pissy about somebody taking a picture of him in the middle of his swing.

“And it just hit me! It just hit me…. and I thought, this guy went from essentially having a lead role in The Godfather to now being a sideshow vaudeville act.

And all these players, it seems to me, realise that they’ve all made faustian impact. All of them.

“They’ve all sold their independent nature. Independent contractors is what they were referred to when playing the PGA Tour.

“When they were independent they could go wherever they wanted, play any tour they wanted, play at any time they wanted, were free to skip any event they wanted and they were pretty much able to say and do anything they wanted.

“But now, they’re not. They’re not free to do anything except what Yasir, PIF and MBS demand that they do.”

Chamblee later claimed that Rahm was incorrectly silenced once he became a member of LIV.

Rahm allegedly mentioned that he was prohibited from giving interviews for a period of time after he became a part of LIV.

The statement has been recently credited to an error in reporting by a news organization.

Chamblee continued to criticize, stating that the individual in question has been restricted from speaking freely.

He also expressed his belief that when they do communicate, they are merely acting as mouthpieces for the regime they are associated with. My disagreement with PIF stems from the fact that golf has always had a strong philanthropic foundation in its traditional setting. “Now greed forms the basis for it.”

“What are your thoughts on Chamblee’s remarks? Do you concur?”