Brandel Chamblee takes savage dig at LIV Golf with Kentucky Derby quip

Former PGA Tour member turned Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee has launched another scathing attack on LIV Golf after the breakaway league announced it has secured fresh investment to continue operating beyond 2026.

LIV Golf chief executive Scott O'Neil told reporters on Wednesday that the league has secured an unnamed lead investor to keep the circuit running next year without Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) bankrolling it.

O'Neil did not disclose the backer's identity or the size of the proposed investment, but believes the deal, once agreed, will ensure LIV's survival for years to come.

However, Chamblee has dismissed the significance of the latest development, writing on X that LIV Golf is "not beating a dead horse" but "trying to ride one in the Kentucky Derby".

"A possible new investor for LIV golf?" he added.

"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."

Chamblee has been one of LIV Golf’s most outspoken critics since the league launched in 2022, regularly questioning whether the breakaway circuit can build the same level of competition and prestige as the PGA Tour.

The 64-year-old explained why he believes the PGA Tour remains the best in the world.

"Almost half of the top 50 players in the world are from outside the USA," he wrote.

"The PGA Tour is the world's best tour for a lot of reasons; among them, no other tour combines the deepest fields and the highest competitive standards, the best-conditioned courses, the greatest variety of championship tests, the richest history and the strongest economic opportunities.

"It is where players are challenged the most ardently and rewarded most richly, and ultimately judged the most completely."

LIV Golf 2.0 is expected to look extremely different if it survives. 

For one, the schedule is likely to be reduced to 10 events, with five events staged internationally and the remainder in the United States. 

Prize purses are set to be reduced dramatically and there will reportedly be a greater emphasis on team golf. 

It also remains to be seen whether or not LIV will be stripped of their Official World Golf Ranking status and whether they will be able to keep hold of star players like Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. 

Chamblee's scepticism was echoed by Golf Channel contributor and Golfweek columnist Eamon Lynch. 

Lynch said that "no sane investor" would pour money into LIV without guarantees its star players would remain. 

The golf journalist believes LIV's survival is down to the players' loyalty. 

"And betting on the loyalty of these players has been a losing bet anytime anyone's made it in the past," he said.