Former Masters champion Patrick Reed is suing the Golf Channel and one of its analysts, Brandel Chamblee, for defamation.
The suit was filed on Tuesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas and seeks €738million in damages.
Reed, who is among the players who have joined the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series, alleges that Chamblee and the network have been “actively targeting Reed since he was 23 years old, to destroy his reputation, create hate and a hostile work environment for him, and with the intention to discredit his name and accomplishments as a young, elite, world-class golfer”.
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The complaint continues: “It is well known on tour that Mr Reed has been abused and endured more than any other golfer from fans or spectators who have been allowed to scream obscenities only to be glorified by NBC’s Golf Channel for doing so, because it gets Defendants Chamblee and Golf Channel ‘clicks’, viewership, ratings and increased revenue.”
Chamblee was highly critical of Reed following an incident in the Hero World Challenge in 2019, when Reed was given a two-shot penalty for improving his lie in a sandy waste area.
The complaint describes Chamblee as a “former professional golfer who fell far short of ever rising to the accomplished level of Mr Reed” and claims he has become “Golf Channel’s primary mouthpiece and agent to push this defamatory agenda and inflict severe damage to Mr Reed, LIV, and other golfers signed with LIV”.
The suit also lists in detail some of the insults Reed has heard at golf tournaments, mostly related to accusations of cheating but also referencing his estrangement from his parents.
Reed, 32, signed with LIV Golf during its first event in Hertfordshire having been “constructively terminated as a member of the PGA Tour”, according to the suit.
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