Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee found himself in the crosshairs of golf fans this week after doubling down on his narrative that LIV Golf has “ruined” Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, despite their standout performances at the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club.
Chamblee’s comments, aired during Golf Channel’s post-round coverage on Sunday evening sparked a firestorm on social media, with fans on Youtube and X users mocking the analyst for what they called a “tired agenda” that ignores inconvenient facts.
Chamblee, a fierce critic of the players who joined the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series, claimed DeChambeau and Rahm’s moves to LIV in 2023 and 2024, respectively, diminished their competitive edge, pointing to their failure to win the PGA Championship as evidence.
“LIV’s format, with its 54 holes and no cut, doesn’t prepare players for the grind of a major,” Chamblee argued. “Bryson and Jon are shells of what they could have been on the PGA Tour.”
Fans were quick to dismantle Chamblee’s ridiculous take, citing DeChambeau’s and Rahm’s impressive major championship resumes since joining LIV, particularly DeChambeau, who tied for second at 6-under alongside Harris English and Davis Riley.
Incredibly, it was DeChambeau’s third straight top-4 finish, and second consecutive runner-up, at the PGA Championship (T4-Oak Hill-2023, T2-Valhalla-2024, T2-Quail Hollow-2025). No one has been close to posting this kind of world-class consistency, including the winners (Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele, and Scottie Scheffler).
Over the past two major seasons (2024–2025), DeChambeau’s record in majors is only surpassed by two-time winners Scheffler (2024 Masters, 2025 PGA) and Schauffele (2024 PGA and Open), with a win at the 2024 U.S. Open, back-to-back runner-ups at the PGA, and a T6 and T5 at the past two Masters.
Another user posted on X: “Chamblee says LIV ruined Bryson, but 154 golfers finished behind him this week (and same thing in 2024). Only Scheffler did better. Math isn’t mathing.”
“As a golf fan I love the idea of having a tv network devoted to 24/7 coverage of professional & college golf,” wrote a Youtube commenter. “However, when you staff that network with obnoxious on air personalities like Chamblee, McGinley & Eamon Lynch you make that network instantly unwatchable.”
Rahm, who faltered late with a 5-over finish on the “Green Mile” to end seven shots back, still secured his third straight top-15 finish in majors, following a T7 at the 2024 Open Championship and a T14 at the 2025 Masters. Fans pointed out that 145 players finished behind Rahm at Quail Hollow, yet Chamblee singled out the Spaniard while ignoring PGA Tour stars who struggled.
“Let’s see: the top 3 players of LIV season finished in Top 8 (Bryson, Rahm, Niemann), while Top 3 of PGA Tour (Scheffler, Thomas, McIlroy) season finished First, MC, T47,” wrote jh4375.
Chamblee’s critique conveniently sidestepped the PGA Tour’s own high-profile casualties. Stars like Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Shane Lowry, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Cantlay, and rising star Ludvig Aberg all missed the cut at Quail Hollow.
“If LIV ruins players, what’s the PGA Tour’s excuse for JT and Spieth bombing out?” asked another.
“Brandel’s acting like Rahm’s T8 is a tragedy, but where’s the outrage for the 140 or so guys (most of em PGA Tour stars) who did much worse, including those who didn’t even make the weekend (like Spieth, JT, Lowry, Aberg, Cantlay, Straka, Matsuyama, Fowler, Day, Zalatoris, Rose, etc)?” posted another user on X.
“Chamblee’s silence on that is deafening,” posted a reply.
Added another spicy comment on Youtube: “So did the PGA TOUR fail 6 of the top 10 players in the world according to OWGR because they didn’t even make the cut? What the f*** is this argument lol.”
Critics accused Chamblee of cherry-picking data to fit his anti-LIV stance, noting his failure to acknowledge DeChambeau’s statistical dominance. Since joining LIV, DeChambeau has ranked among the top performers in driving distance and around the greens at majors, with his 2025 PGA performance essentially locking up his spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
Rahm, meanwhile, has maintained his elite ball-striking, ranking in the top 10 for strokes gained approach at Quail Hollow despite his late collapse. The Spaniard also secured his spot on the European Ryder Cup squad.
“This is such a bad take. 3 LIV players finished in the top 10 this week…these guys are phenomenal players no matter what tour they play on. Bryson in particular has placed in the top 6 in 5 of the last 6 majors including a win, two runner-ups and a 5th. They’re preparing just fine Brandal,” wrote Robd on Youtube.
Another user added, “Love to watch JT (Justin Thomas) but come on. If anyone has failed in the majors, it’s this dude. Since winning the 2022 PGA, he’s got one (1) top-10 finish – a backdoor T8 at the PGA last year. During this time, he’s missed (count ‘em) 6! cuts. Yet, the corrupt golf media idolizes him. If roles were reversed and he were ranked 5th in world and dominating the LIV tour, while posting absolute no-shows in the majors, the media would destroy him as a fraud. And rightfully so.”
- PGA Tour star Jordan Spieth’s last 12 major starts:
- T37, T8, T4, T29, MC, T23, MC, T43, T41, T25, T14, MC
- PGA Tour star Justin Thomas’ last 12 major starts:
- T37, T53, MC, T65, MC, MC, MC, T8, MC, T31, T36, MC
- LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau’s last 12 major starts:
- T56, T8, MC, T4, T20, T60, T6, 2nd, 1st, MC, T5, T2
- LIV Golf star Jon Rahm’s last 12 major starts:
- T48, T12, T34, 1st, T50, T10, T2, T45, MC, T7, T14, T8
“FACT: Since joining LIV, Rahm has more top-10s (2) than two of the pga tour’s untouchables (combined): Justin Thomas (1) and Jordan Spieth (0),” this blogger wrote on X.
The backlash wasn’t just about numbers. Fans roasted Chamblee for what they saw as personal bias, with some resurfacing his 2023 comments calling LIV golfers “mercenaries” who “sold out” the game.
“LIV has been living rent free in Chamdouzzles head for the past 3 years. Feel sorry for him,” wrote a Youtube commenter.
With the U.S. Open at Oakmont looming in June, DeChambeau and Rahm have a chance to further silence critics. For now, fans are making it clear: Chamblee’s LIV narrative is out of bounds, and they’re not letting him off the hook.
DID LIV GOLF RUIN BRYSON IN MAJORS?
Bryson DeChambeau as a PGA Tour Member in Majors
Starts: 19
Wins: 1
Other Top 10s: 1 (T4)
Bryson DeChambeau as a LIV Golf Member in Majors
Starts: 12
Wins: 1
Other Top 10s: 6 (T8, T4, T6, 2nd, T5, T2)
