A couple of weeks ago, Phil Mickelson admitted he had been a “bit chippy” on Twitter recently. That hasn’t stopped him though, and last week he escalated the war of words between confirmed anti-LIV analyst Brandel Chamblee and himself, with support led by Brooks Koepka’s coach.
2022 saw much of LIV derided for having players now incapable of competing in major championships. Now, after many placings at Augusta, and Koepka’s win at the PGA Championship, the tide is beginning to turn, summed up by Lefty’s comment on his favourite social media site:
Love LIV or hate it, it’s the best way/Tour to be your best in the majors. Enough events to keep you sharp, fresh and ready, yet not be worn down from too many tournaments or obligations. 14 LIV events, 34 weeks left open to prepare for the 4 majors. Fact.
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) May 23, 2023
Soon after the victory, Koepka’s coach Claude Harmon gave his view of the ‘pay-to-play’ model, saying, “I want LIV to succeed and I want LIV to work because I am pro-professional athlete,” confirming his belief that the top golfers should be paid whatever the result.
He then took a swipe at Golf Channel’s Chamblee and golf journalist Eamon Lynch for their constant jabbing at the source of income for the rebel tour.
“Brandel is a paid actor by NBC and Golf Channel. All he’s trying to do is get his lines and shows for the Golf Channel. He’s just trying to get lines for Brandel … And I mean, I love him, I think Eamon is a fantastic writer, but for Eamon Lynch and Brandel Chamblee, who worked for NBC Golf Channel to utter the words ‘sports washing’ when the company they work for televised the last two Winter Olympics in Russia and China with the same leaders that they’ve had. It’s not like they were good leaders back then. It’s not like Putin was a good guy, right?”
Where Chamblee was happy to argue on television about the LIV/Ryder Cup debate, he is as happy as Mickelson to state his case on-line, most notably concentrating again in ‘sports-washing, ‘ denying he is a “proxy for the opinion of my employer, ” amidst a 500-plus word post that included a swipe at Harmon.
“Especially, as in the case of the person who called me a paid actor, if they can somehow profit from the evil. This is where the debate crashes headfirst into the nexus of politics, sports and narcissistic greed. Where those who want to escape it most often cloy at whataboutisms, to stop the discussion with a pejorative accusation because they don’t want their motives to be discovered.”
“So while Brooks Koepka’s win at the PGA Championship was impressive, it should not distract us from the simple fact that LIV players are being used for the benefit of some very bad people and to the detriment of a great many more good people. That LIV Golf, with its inability to develop stars and seeking to buy them like high performance cars, is undermining the dignity intrinsic…
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