Chamblee: LIV stars got a harsh reality check as league folds

Brandel Chamblee says LIV Golf stars got a "slap in the face of reality" as the breakaway league shuts down for good.

Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee did not hold back.

He said the players who left the PGA Tour for Saudi-backed LIV Golf are now facing the consequences.

LIV Golf is set to officially close its doors.

Private capital firm BC Partners pulled its bid to relaunch the league in 2027.

The reason: a lack of player support necessary to hold competition in the new year.

The news comes after a months-long fight by LIV Golf to stay above water.

The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) launched the league back in 2022.

PIF attracted some of golf's biggest stars with multi-million dollar contracts.

But PIF withdrew its financial support at the end of the 2026 season.

Losing PIF's backing was a major blow to LIV Golf's leadership.

CEO Scott O'Neil worked for several months to secure investment partners.

He tried to keep the project from going bankrupt.

BC Partners, an international investment firm based in London, agreed to relaunch the league.

The plan included a 17-tournament schedule that maintained the team format.

That team format is what distinguishes LIV Golf from traditional organizations like the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.

But after failing to get player commitment, BC Partners withdrew their bid.

Chamblee made his feelings clear after the tour officially reached the end of the road this week.

"You can point the finger in a lot of places," Chamblee said.

"In order for it to move forward, you needed some cooperation from whatever players were going to make up LIV 2.0."

"The players and their representatives, from what I have read, were making financial demands that could not be met."

Chamblee then addressed the massive paydays the players originally received.

"What the Saudis were paying these players, I would call hazard pay," he said.

"They knew that they were going to take on reputational damage."

"They knew it would be disruptive and they knew it would be disruptive for their careers."

The players were offered a stake in the new league.

"These players were going to have 52.5 percent ownership of the product going forward," Chamblee said.

"And the fact they were unwilling to take on that ownership tells you that they didn't have any belief that it would work."

He used a sharp metaphor to describe their miscalculation.

"They all thought they were beachfront property in Malibu but the market was telling them your timeshare is in Toledo."

"Finally they got a slap in the face of reality."

The amount of money in LIV Golf was enormous.

$25 million or more was awarded to the individuals and teams who won each tournament.

That money was the main draw for players like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm.

They left the PGA Tour for a brand-new, unproven breakaway league.

Many like Chamblee were critical of golfers like DeChambeau and Rahm for their choices.

Chamblee claimed the players were fueled by greed rather than continuing to play at the highest level of competition in the PGA Tour.

Now, with LIV Golf set to fold, Chamblee is having the last laugh.