Brandel Chamblee goes wild again with LIV Golf as Players Championship TV ratings are released

American former pro golfer Brandel Chamblee has responded to a report that suggests that the Golf Channel attracted 1.5 million viewers for the playoff between Rory McIlroy and J.J. Spaun at The Players Championship. Chamblee, who is an anti-LIV Golf crusader, drew comparisons to last year's LIV Golf Chicago

Spanish golfer Jon Rahm won the event in 2024 and it was reported that it only drew in 55,000 viewers per reports.

Responding to a tweet about the viewership numbers McIlroy and Spaun pulled during the playoff at The Players Championship, Chamblee said:

"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."

In the 2024 season, the Tour suffered a 3% loss in viewership, whereas its rivals experienced an increase of 50%.

Notably, The Sentry this year saw a drop in viewership. Unlike the 2024 edition of the tournament, which had 707,000 viewers, the number for Hideki Matsuyama’s record-breaking win on the 2025 PGA Tour season-opener was only 461,000.

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Golf analyst Brandel Chamblee dismissed LIV players as overrated earlier this year

Last month, Brandel Chamblee criticised two LIV golfers, claiming they aren't good enough. He has also taken a swipe at some of the players who he thinks are just hypes but are not worth the comparisons they keep getting.

“Joaquin Niemann, yeah, he’s a good player, but let’s not pretend that he’s as good as they pretend he is. He’s played in 22 majors and never even finished in the top 15. Seven missed cuts,” Brandel Chamblee said.

He also went after Taylor Gooch even though the American golfer made a huge leap in 2023 as he had the most individual points:

“They keep acting like he’s [Niemann] the next Rory McIlroy, the same way they were talking about Talor Gooch last year, who, by the way, played in three majors, missed two cuts, and finished 34th in the other (in 2023), so turns out he’s not as good as they said he was.”

Chamblee has continually made his stand against the Saudi-backed league, claiming it undermines the integrity of the game.

His main point is that it has ethical implications particularly with players taking huge monies from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. He also said that LIV Golf is a dividing sport and lacks prestige.

Brandel Chamblee's derision hasn't gone down well with some of the top stars who joined the league. The likes of Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka have publicly responded to him and why he has no right to criticize them for joining the Saudi league.