Brandel Chamblee Takes Fresh Shot at LIV Golf Amid New Investor Reports

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) had reportedly invested over $5 billion in LIV Golf since their launch.

Brandel Chamblee Takes Fresh Shot at LIV Golf Amid New Investor Reports

Brandel Chamblee (Image via Imago)

On Wednesday, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil made a huge announcement and expressed that the league had secured investments for the future. Amid this, golf analyst Brandel Chamblee took a fresh shot at the breakaway league and criticized it once again.

LIV Golf suffered a major blow in April this year after the Public Investment Fund (PIF) withdrew their financial support to them. The sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia had backed the league since the start and reportedly invested over $5 billion.

Without the help from the Saudis, LIV Golf’s future came under threat. There were several speculations that the league could come to an end this year following the final event in August.

Last week, reports emerged that the tour was closing in on a huge $250 million investment. In his conversations with potential investors, O’Neil had pitched that the league needed an investment around $250 to $300 million.

The timing of this report was crucial. It came after some reports suggested that their Team Championship event in Michigan was canceled.

Ahead of their event in New York, O’Neil issued a statement. In this, the former NBA and NHL executive claimed that they had secured a lead investor. He also mentioned that the players will become majority equity holders.

Notably, our next chapter will make our players the majority equity holders in LIV Golf, a first for a major global sports league, and gives the League the foundation to keep growing the game worldwide.

Scott O’Neil in his statement

As per reports, the league is expected to have 10 events, with 5 of them being played outside the United States. Following this statement from O’Neil, Brandel Chamblee made his feelings known.

The veteran golf analyst, who has many times slammed the breakaway tour, once again took a shot at them. In a post on X, he aimed at the new investor and questioned how this would help them, given that the Saudis were unable to make them successful.

A possible new investor for LIV golf? Despite having some of the deepest pockets in the world, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund could not make LIV successful. LIV golfers remind me of actors offered lead roles in a bad movie and think their performance can turn Ishtar into The Godfather.

Brandel Chamblee on X

At the moment, several top names, including Jon Rahm, are owed guaranteed payments of hundreds of millions of dollars. As per reports from The Financial Times (subscription required), the PIF is considering paying them off at a discount to avoid a bad reputation.

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Dustin Johnson calls new investment development “good news” for LIV Golf

LIV Golf is not dead yet. Despite several reports claiming that the league could end once the season is over, they are still alive. Their new investment has given them assurance for the 2027 season. While reacting to this, former World No.1 Dustin Johnson claimed it was “good news” for the league.

LIV Golf star Dustin Johnson
Dustin Johnson (Image via Imago)

The 2-time major champion is one of the top names that left the PGA Tour and joined the then-PIF-backed league in 2022. The 4Aces GC captain even extended his contract with the league last year.

Ahead of the LIV Golf New York event this week, he spoke with Garrett Johnson and shared his reaction. During this, he stated that his league was a “great product.”

I still think there’s a lot of moving parts. Obviously, that’s really good news. I missed the meetings yesterday, so I don’t have a lot of information, but I think LIV’s a great product and I’d love to see it continue so hopefully that’s the case.

Dustin Johnson said

Speaking of Johnson, his form has declined in recent times. This year, he has just 3 top-10 finishes in LIV Golf, with his best performance being a 4th-place finish at the South Korea event.

As for the majors, he competed in only 3 of them and missed the Open Championship. While he made the cut in the rest of them, he did not register a single top-25 finish.

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