‘Sacrificed Their Careers’: Brandel Chamblee Throws Daggers at Jon Rahm’s Latest LIV Golf Victory

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Brandel Chamblee, Jon Rahm ©Brandel Chamblee, Jon Rahm

The post ‘Sacrificed Their Careers’: Brandel Chamblee Throws Daggers at Jon Rahm’s Latest LIV Golf Victory appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Jon Rahm secured another LIV Golf victory on Sunday, but for critic Brandel Chamblee, the win only mattered as much as the competition he faced. He downplayed the Spaniard’s 21-under-par finish and a six-shot win.
“He beat players who sacrificed their careers to play on a tour that was hotter cooked than eaten,” he tweeted on April 20.
Just an 11-word message, with no extra explanation. The Golf Channel analyst’s “hotter cooked than eaten” remark suggests that while intense hype and lofty financial expectations surrounded LIV Golf, it ultimately fell short of matching the excitement, impact, or prestige of established tournaments.

Chamblee’s criticism stems from Rahm’s significant career move: switching from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf in December 2023. LIV Golf had reportedly offered a multi-year deal of over $500 million to make the switch. Chamblee strongly felt that players like Rahm had traded their “legacy and relevance” for a paycheck. But he didn’t limit his criticism to Rahm.
When Brooks Koepka defected back to the PGA Tour in January 2026, Chamblee argued on X that LIV Golf had failed its players and the sport itself.
Chamblee used viewership numbers to strengthen his point. In April 2026, he posted that LIV’s 2025 season finale, won by Rahm, drew only 55,000 viewers on Prime Time. He compared this to PGA Tour ratings and said fans only watch events that matter.
Chamblee’s pointed jab from Mexico City didn’t come in a vacuum; it was a direct follow-up to Rahm’s struggles just a week earlier at the Masters.
Jon Rahm’s Masters collapse sets up the LIV Golf debate
In the first round of the Masters, Rahm shot a 78 without a single birdie, finishing six over par and eleven shots behind the leaders, Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns. Speaking on Golf Channel, Chamblee argued that Rahm’s game had declined, attributing it to his time on LIV. He claimed that two years on the circuit had eroded Rahm’s competitive edge and said that LIV players, as a group, had regressed due to the tour’s lower intensity.
Rahm pushed back after his second round at Augusta.
“Yesterday was just an anomaly where everything that could go wrong went wrong.”
Rahm argued LIV offers the same level of preparation as any other tour. He made the cut at Augusta, finished tied for 38th at one over par, and then traveled to Mexico City for his next event.
Rahm offered a dominant response to his critics at the LIV Golf Mexico City event, cruising to a six-shot victory with a bogey-free 64 that included a tap-in eagle on the third hole, effectively putting the tournament out of reach before the back nine even began
Chamblee, however, did not address Rahm’s win directly. Instead, he focused on the quality of the competition and questioned whether the LIV environment challenges its players.
While Rahm’s dominant win in Mexico City served as a rebuttal, it did little to settle the larger debate Chamblee continues to champion: whether a victory on LIV truly carries the same weight as one on the PGA Tour.