“He was moved and motivated by greed”: Phil Mickelson accused by Brandel Chamblee of influencing PGA players to join LIV Golf

Phil Mickelson and Brandel Chamblee have been slightly at odds since the golfer transitioned to LIV Golf. Now, in an explosive exclusive interview with Golf.com, Chamblee is accusing Mickelson of pushing others to join him on the rebel tour.

Chamblee, a former golfer turned commentator, has been critical of Mickelson every step of the way and the two have had Twitter feuds on more than one occasion.

In this interview, Chamblee ripped "Lefty" and said that his move to LIV was motivated purely by greed. He also mentioned that he believes Mickelson was a negative influence on those who ended up defecting:

“When you look at the the different players that defected to LIV, there was the you-wouldn’t-look-at-him-twice-in-Home Depot Taylor Gooch to the testosterone twin peaks of Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson to the flatulently egoed impresario Greg Norman."

He continued:

"But Phil was the only one that could really make a difference. He was the only one. And he was he was not motivated by altruistic thoughts. He was moved and motivated by greed and that tilted the game in that direction. And so when I think about the dilemma that the Tour was in, it wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for Phil.”

Even though LIV had some star power in the form of Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, it was Mickelson, an icon in the sport and someone who has a legion of fans, who could really make an impact.

Thus, the league offered him a lot to join and he did. This was after he called out the Saudis for their questionable human rights record. Chamblee pointed that out, mentioning that Phil Mickelson effectively backtracked for money.

---

Brandel Chamblee upset with Phil Mickelson, LIV Golf

It's not necessarily that the commentator has a personal vendetta against Phil Mickelson. It may seem that way, but he doesn't have any reason to single out Lefty other than what he's done.

Phil Mickelson called out by Brandel Chamblee

Brandel Chamblee does not like LIV Golf and he sees it as a sportswashing league. In the world of soccer, the Saudis have gone down the same path by offering absurd contracts to stars across the world.

Chamblee said:

"Right now the main vehicle is sport and it’s disgusting to see what’s going on. I applaud Lionel Messi for turning a blind eye to $1.7 billion. Now, mind you, he got lauded for it and he got paid for it, he used it as leverage, but he did say no to them. And Endeavor, the entertainment agency, Endeavor, gave back $400 million to [the Saudis]."

Even though Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr. have joined their league, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe both declined:

"People are saying no to them. Not everybody, not enough. But I thought, of all the people in the world that could say no to them — and maybe this is quixotic, but I don’t think it is — it was golfers because, again, golfers answer to nobody."

With the merger coming soon, it doesn't appear as if this phenomenon is going away, but it's not one that Chamblee likes.