Chamblee reveals "hypocritical" Greg Norman texts and snub from Hall of Famer

LIV Golf critic Brandel Chamblee has claimed Greg Norman is the real hypocrite as he revealed the Hall of Famer who has now stopped talking to him.

Ben Smith

06 Feb 2023

Chamblee reveals "hypocritical" Greg Norman texts and snub from Hall of Famer — Chamblee reveals "hypocritical" Greg Norman texts and snub from Hall of…

Brandel Chamblee has claimed Greg Norman was sending him "laudatory texts" about his work before he became LIV Golf commissioner.

Chamblee is likely one of the LIV Golf League's harshest critics.

Even before the breakaway circuit got fully underway last June, he was decrying the Saudis' involvement in the sport.

In an interview with Tom Kershaw of The Times of London, Chamblee has gone into detail about why he is so passionate about the subject.

Chamblee, unsurprisingly, was particularly scathing of Norman and Phil Mickelson, whom he previously argued should be removed from the Hall of Fame.

The former PGA Tour pro questioned how the Australian two-time Open champion sleeps at night.

The $405m LIV Golf League gets underway later this month in Mexico and the "rebel" circuit now has a U.S. TV deal with the CW.

Chamblee said of Norman:

"There are some things that are indefensible. Before he was commissioner of LIV, Greg was sending me very laudatory texts about my work, saying things like: 'It's nice to have a strong voice in the game'.

"It's funny how his opinion changed. Honestly, I don't know how he sleeps at night."

A number of players have previously spoken about how previous relationships have broken down.

Rory McIlroy was involved in Sergio Garcia's wedding in 2017 but now the pair are reportedly exchanging vitriolic text messages.

As for Chamblee, he explained that 2006 Hall of Fame inductee Vijay Singh has now stopped talking to him.

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Chamblee told Kershaw:

"Absolutely, I've lost friendships because of what I've said. It's not like I was friends with Vijay [Singh], but I practised with him and the minute I went on TV, he was like: 'You've gone to the dark side' and immediately quit talking to me."

He added:

"The nature of my job is to be forensic and investigative to get to the bottom of why people do what they do in the game of golf."

Chamblee once again tried to highlight the "gotcha" point that his critics and naysayers often point out on social media.

That would be the fact that Saudi money is everywhere. Boeing. Facebook. Uber. You name it.

According to Chamblee, there is a distinct difference and the likes of Mickelson et al are helping drag back golf "into the dark ages".