PGA Tour analyst tears into LIV Golf: "It's dying a slow costly death..."
Renowned golf analyst Brandel Chamblee rips into LIV Golf once again, while admitting the "PGA Tour is killing it" in 2025.
PGA Tour analyst Brandel Chamblee has once again hit out at LIV Golf by announcing it's "dying a slow costly death".
The Golf Channel analyst, who considers the PGA Tour "is killing it" right now, also thinks a number of LIV's top names have "seller's remorse".
Chamblee, 62, has been a vocal critic of the breakaway Saudi golf league ever since its inception in the summer of 2022.
The one-time PGA Tour winner made his latest feelings about the LIV Golf League be known on X / Twitter.
Chamblee was replying off the back of a tweet that confirmed NBC viewers were marginally up during the final round of The Players Championship on Sunday.
Rory McIlroy then went on to win a three-hole aggregate playoff against J.J. Spaun on Monday morning.
Sports Business Journal's Josh Carpenter revealed there were 3.6m viewers on NBC in the final round of The Players, which was up from 3.5m when World No.1 Scottie Scheffler defended his title in 2024.
Even Monday's playoff drew 1.5m viewers across TV and digital platforms from 9-10 a.m. ET, which Carpenter called a "big, big number for that time of day on cable."
After learning of the PGA Tour's latest figures, Chamblee tweeted: “Compare this to LIV’s finale last year that concluded in prime time on the east coast with Rahm winning… which drew 55,000 viewers. People tune in to sports that matter.”
Carpenter also declared the peak audience for Sunday's final round of the 2025 Players Championship was at 7pm local time (6.2m), up from 6m in 2024.
While the viewing figures for LIV Golf Singapore won by Joaquin Niemann on Sunday have not officially been confirmed, multiple reports claim just 34,000 viewers tuned in for the final round on Fox Sports 1.
Chamblee considers golf fans have now made up their mind as to which is the better product in 2025.
"The PGA Tour is killing it and LIV is dying a slow costly death," tweeted Chamblee.
"LIV players have seller’s remorse. They want the meritocratic cachet that competing at the highest level confers but they have shown in their choice to play for LIV that they’d rather have the money first and sue for the cachet. Trying to blur the distinction between gift and reward. The audience sees right through them, and chooses to watch those that prefer to play for history and legacy."
There had been anticipation the PGA Tour and LIV Golf's bankrollers, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), would soon announce a deal for unification in the professional game.
A number of people close to the PGA Tour and PIF felt a deal might be all tied up prior to the 2025 Masters from 10-13 April.
But as it stands ahead of golf's first major of the season, a deal is seemingly nowhere near completion.
At least in the eyes of World No.2 Rory McIlroy.
"I think it takes two to tango," said McIlroy at the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this month.
"I don't think it's ever felt that close," added the 28-time PGA Tour winner.
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