Chamblee says LIV Golf stars face harsh reality as shutdown looms

Brandel Chamblee says LIV Golf stars got a "slap in the face of reality" as the breakaway tour officially shuts its doors.

The Golf Channel analyst did not hold back.

LIV Golf is set to close after private capital firm BC Partners pulled its bid to relaunch the league in 2027.

The London-based investment firm cited 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), which launched the league back in 2022, withdrew its financial support at the end of the 2026 season.

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

Losing that backing was a major blow to LIV Golf’s leadership, including CEO Scott O’Neil.

O’Neil worked for several months to secure investment partners and keep the project from going bankrupt.

BC Partners agreed to relaunch the league with a 17-tournament schedule that maintained the team format.

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

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

Chamblee, a longtime critic of LIV Golf and those who agreed to join it, made his feelings clear after the tour 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 explained what he thinks the Saudi money really was.

“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 significant ownership 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 delivered his sharpest line about their sense of self-worth.

“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 flowing to LIV Golf players was enormous.

Contracts and tournament prize money — $25 million or more was awarded to the individuals and teams who won each tournament — was the main draw.

Players like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm 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.

The league will leave an incredibly complex legacy.

Starting with the positives, the league did force the PGA Tour to abandon its complacency.

Those at Ponte Vedra certainly took the loyalty of their members for granted.

The appointment of Brian Rolapp was a big step in the right direction.

It is probably fair to say that LIV forced the PGA Tour to get its act together.

However, the league highlighted the greed within the game.

Many players who were already incredibly wealthy were prepared to turn a blind eye to the problems associated with where LIV’s funding was coming from.