As the most outspoken voice in the game on LIV Tour and the growing involvement of the Saudi PIF in golf, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee’s take on Tuesday’s blockbuster announcement of the merger agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF was greatly anticipated.
He didn’t disappoint.
“I think this is one of the saddest days in the history of professional golf,” Chamblee said.
“I do believe the governing bodies, the professional entities have sacrificed their principles for profit,” he said. “Then, of course, I tried to imagine what circumstances would have led to such a capitulation.
“I think there are three things likely that would have led to something like this: Intractable legal issues going on indefinitely into the future … with legal vulnerability on both sides and the only ones who stood to profit from that were the lawyers involved.
“The entanglement of the various business entities and sponsors that the PGA Tour has that have Saudi money, PIF money in them. It became increasingly difficult for the PGA Tour to disentangle themselves from that scrutiny and that criticism. They were leaving billions of dollars potentially on the table for the growth of the game.”
Chamblee said he expected PGA Tour players, many of whom learned of the deal via social media or after the announcement was made, to be “hugely disappointed and let down by the leadership,” he said. “One of my first thoughts was I wonder what Tiger and Rory and other players that turned down 10s and 100s of millions of dollars and stood on principle and fought for the PGA Tour and the betterment of the PGA Tour and this came out of nowhere. I would imagine this will be a very hard and long day for Jay Monahan.”
Chamblee and LIV’s Phil Mickelson have been involved in an ongoing Twitter spat, and Chamblee was asked if he thought Mickelson, who was the first prominent name to jump to LIV, viewed the merger announcement as vindication?
“I’m sure he does. I’ve had numerous people ask me about this today about Phil and I. This isn’t about Phil; this isn’t about me, it’s not. It’s about the growth of the game and the future of golf,” Chamblee said. “Will the game of golf still have its integrity? Will it still have this leadership that so many people point at as one of the most inspiring aspects of golf? This isn’t about Phil, it’s not about me, this is about the game of golf, it’s about the future of golf, it’s about so much bigger than either of us.”
When asked to name one question he’d like to broach to PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Chamblee couldn’t pick just one.
“Is it going to bring dishonor to the sport? Is it going to jeopardize the integrity of the sport going forward? How can you square your involvement with an entity that is so involved with philanthropy and charity while you have a country and source of the funds that is the most misogynistic, is the most anti-semitic, that doesn’t have freedom of speech, that doesn’t freedom of expression, that doesn’t have freedom of religion, that tries to silence, kill or dismember members of the media that speak out in opposition to their government,” Chamblee said. “Are any of these going to be removed, ameliorated, going forward? It’s not just the money. I’ve always said that they’re trying to buy the success of the West and then pretend they are surrogate to the success. The enormous success of the West at least in my view comes about because of the particular freedoms that are the foundation of the West.
“To what extent are they going to alleviate all of the issues that we’ve talked about that the West has such a problem with. And by the way, does PIF want to own all of the professional golf?”
At the end of the interview, Chamblee’s GC colleague Rich Lerner asked him: what would have to happen for you to continue to do in good conscience what you love to do, which is talk about golf?
“This deal needs to meet three specific criteria,” Chamblee said. “The philanthropic aspect of the Tour needs to remain intact; the integrity of tournaments must remain intact; and the legacy of past players must be protected.
“I continue to love the game of golf. I love what I do. I love where I get to work. My job is to analyze the game. I have said for the longest time that I look forward to getting back to talking about golf, golf swings, competition, just the game and not the politics around the game. I don’t work for the PGA Tour and I look forward to getting back to talking about golf and not these politically fragmented issues in the game of golf.”
