Opinion & Analysis

Chamblee sticks to his ‘F’ for Tiger, then apologizes

Published

13 years ago

Oct 22, 2013

Update: 9:05 p.m. ET: Brandel Chamblee issued a series of apologetic tweets starting around 8 p.m. ET Tuesday. They are included at the end of the piece.

Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee insinuated that Tiger Woods cheated and gave the world’s No. 1 player an “F” for his five-win season in a column he wrote for Golf.com because “ethics matter more than athletics.”

The sentiment underlies the analyst’s rationale and is supported by his controversial opinion that the golfer “was a little cavalier with the rules.”

In bringing up the ethical issue, Chamblee tips his hand. It’s long been believed that the 1998 Greater Vancouver Open champion has a vendetta against the world’s No. 1 and his coach Sean Foley. In placing ethics ahead of athletics, it’s clear that Chamblee still has a problem with Woods for the way he conducted himself off the golf course prior to 2009.

Chamblee may have a problem with Woods, but he’s not concerned that he’ll have any legal problems with the golfer: The analyst shrugged off the suggestion that Woods might take legal action against the analyst.

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As a sidebar, Woods’ legal action would create an almost surreal situation in which the golfer—alleged to be one of the most monumentally unfaithful husbands in history—sues Chamblee for defaming his reputation as an honest and trustworthy golfer.

Regardless, any legal action is down the road a bit.

About the matter at hand Chamblee said:

“I’m paid to have and give an opinion, and I work hard to form those opinions based upon facts, not agenda.”

Many will disagree with Chamblee’s assertion that he doesn’t have an agenda, both with respect to ragging on Woods and as a polemicist and incendiary agent on television and in print.

The “facts” Chamblee refers to mostly surround Woods rules incident (or lack thereof) at The Players Championship this year. The golfer and playing partner Casey Wittenberg agreed that Woods’ ball crossed a hazard on the 14th hole during the final round. Many online—with the benefit of video footage—disagree with their judgment.

Chamblee disagrees, too, and clearly believes that Woods knew his ball did one thing and disingenuously acted as if it did another at the Players. Ditto at the BMW Championship. Woods’ other rules infractions this year (including most visibly at the Masters) seem to be less of an issue for Chamblee.

There’s has been a definite “What’s the big deal?” flavor to Chamblee’s post-column comments. For example, the analyst said:

“I suspected there would be the usual assortment of divisive banter about me giving Tiger an ‘F,’ but as it turns out, it was a slow week in golf, so with not much to do, my column got more attention than it should have.”

Should he be worried? I don’t know, but I’ll throw another log on the fire: Chamblee’s assessment of Jason Dufner’s season is dumb, inappropriate and sexist. Further scrutiny of the analyst’s column might thrust the following passage to the fore.

Jason Dufner: Married to one hot woman, became a verb, won a major, has celebrating down “pat” — see the hot woman.

Either way, it will be interesting to watch the next episode of Woods v. Chamblee unfold. We’ll see where things go from here for the golf media’s bad-haired Bayless.

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Ben Alberstadt

Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

37 Comments

Tyler

Oct 30, 2013 at 2:10 pm

Chamblee was a poor golfer on the tour and he is an even worse reporter why would anyone listen to him in the first place.

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Bob

Oct 28, 2013 at 9:29 am

Actually, It is contained within the PGA code of ethics that being a PGA member precludes us from expressing derogatory comments about fellow PGA members. I guess this specific code only applies to certain PGA members!!

Reply Report comment
JACKSON HOLLOWAY

Oct 28, 2013 at 7:55 am

All of Chamblees negative comments reveals where his negative head’s at.

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Rus

Oct 26, 2013 at 9:33 am

Does the premier golf god “Brandel” owe Tiger and apolgy? NO….. But he needs to be prepared of the fall out of his remarks against Tiger… Especially from Tiger! Good luck with that one in the future.

Reply Report comment
Daniel

Oct 26, 2013 at 8:08 am

The Dufner comment is horrible. What does his wife’s looks have to do with his rating for the year? Not only that, but then to post a link to her picture? If I’m Dufner, I DEFINITELY take issue with that and would be much more upset than Tiger should be.
It seems that Chamblee wants to make himself the story and not the players he’s reporting on.

Reply Report comment
Nick

Oct 26, 2013 at 2:58 am

I’m only going to pick one rules violation. The move as I call it. Anyone that has played golf has moved debri from around a ball, we are not looking at the ball when removing debri because we might hit the ball or move it completely. We watch the twig, leaf, stick, and or whatever. There have been times when I thought the ball may have moved but I could not tell and I was looking 1 inch away from the ball but all focus was on said debri. If you actually listen to what tiger said even after the ball moved is he believed it moved back. Not the camera doesn’t show anything or see it didn’t move. Also the nike swoosh was on the side so the ball may not have had any markings on the top to see.
90% of tigers rounds are on camera but take a player who is teeing off at 7am and they are barely on the camera if at all. To use video replay on the best players alone you will find some that make mistakes or take wrong drops or whatever. But that player at 7am could do what ever he wants because he’s not on tv. That’s not fair to all players that get coverage like tiger, Phil, Keegan, and Jason or who ever else. People are going to dislike tiger for tiger. I don’t know tiger and I only watch tiger for and because of his GOLF. Most people had he not played golf wouldn’t even know who he was. I don’t watch tiger to see how to be a good husband and or father that’s what my parents were for. I watch because he’s a great golfer and I wish I had half the talent the top teir pros had. On the other rule infractions like the hit into the water and he asked his playing partner where and they agreed. But the camera hold that thought and think how many times well watching golf the announcers said this out is down hill and you think it doesn’t look downhill at all or the announcers saying the camera doesn’t do the slope justice. Many times the angle of the camera is deceiving to the eye when hitting so for people to say it crossed here based on the camera I mean really! Try it next time watching a shot and maybe you will think the same thing I do ” wow he shanked that straight right” only to have the announcer say he hit it straight at the pin!

Reply Report comment
- Jose Nunya
  
  Oct 27, 2013 at 5:22 am
  
  I agree with you on all except: Upon review of the video Tiger should have said something like “I guess from that angle it did move. Looking down on the ball with no logo it appeared to oscillate”. Denial by him after watching the video is the same as driving home from an affair and rationalizing it to yourself. I’ll always watch him for his golf.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - dlovely
    
    Oct 29, 2013 at 3:48 pm
    
    exactly, people always gloss over the fact that he was shown the video serveral times after the round and he still denied that it moved, got all pissy and walked out after being assessed the penalty.
    
    i can understand not seeing it during the round but afterwards, you’d have to be blind to not see that thing move. let’s not forget that tiger had lasik eye surgery years ago so his eyes must be fine…
    
    Reply Report comment
- JACKSON HOLLOWAY
  
  Oct 28, 2013 at 7:53 am
  
  Agreed, well said.
  
  Reply Report comment
Deaus7

Oct 25, 2013 at 3:42 pm

Rules infringement is NOT cheating, Grab a dictionary or look it up in google. Knowingly breaking the rules to get an unfair advantage is cheating. Chamblee is so Anti-Tiger in every way, whether its his swing/sean foley or his lack of winning a major. Chamblee seems to constantly praise Justin Rose and Hunter Mahan’ swings. Fundamentally Tigers swing is much better than Phils yet you hear nothing from Chamblee. Straight up the Guy is a Hypocrite.

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donald davis

Oct 25, 2013 at 7:33 am

Poor Brandel. Is Tiger a cheat? I do wonder somtimes. With all the rules officials at PGA tour events why does this keep happening? I like the tv guys who question what is happening instead of the crop of “Johnny Tour Pros” that golf channel keeps coming up with. Brandel is at his best talking about swings and changes that the pros are working on. Brandel and all the golf talking heads walk a fine line to try to make the telecasts entertaining . Golf is not much different than other sports . Somtimes it is better with the sound off.

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Marc

Oct 25, 2013 at 12:11 am

Brandel Chamblee won the Vancouver open the same weekend the best golfers were at the NEC world golf challenge in Ohio. He has no resume to show for his 12 years on tour. He talks trash about Tiger and his swing coach, even though he has won 8 times in two years, thats 7 more than Chamblee in is career. At some point maybe a discussion as to motive should be had, is this tabloid journalism or is he a racist fixated on bad mouthing Tiger no matter how good a year he has. One has to wonder.

Reply Report comment
Rob

Oct 24, 2013 at 7:31 pm

In spite of great performances and competitions 2013 was a sad year for golf. The problem isn’t the hot ball, high tech driver, slow play, putter length or how someone holds the putter. The problem is people who call other cheaters because others see, act, and interpret differently. The rules of golf were established so that players penalize themselves when infractions occur. They were not established to have have millions of interpreters and high def cameras questioning the players decision. Even worse, the idiots that claim to be protectors of the game continue to make more ambiguous rules that will only lead to more controversy. It is highly unlikely that TW standing over the ball saw what we saw when we looked for the 3rd time at zoomed in high def video taken from a very different angel. Now think about the rule, if he lifts the ball and moves it from where it is to where it is he incurs a 1 stroke penalty. If he doesn’t lift the ball and move it from where it is to where it is he incurs a 2 stroke penalty. The drop at the Master was clearly illegal, in retrospect, but players, officials, and most viewers missed the infraction. It’s time for the idiots at USGA to simplify the rules. The last thing golf needs is for people to be calling each other cheaters.

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AJ

Oct 24, 2013 at 9:15 am

What’s wrong the the guy’s hair? Pretty slick do for a middle-aged american, and his tailoring looks nice as well, if you are bagging his general appearance.

At least he doesn’t look like Jim ‘country club’ Nantz, complete with his daily hair-dye routine that isn’t kidding anybody.

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paul r

Oct 24, 2013 at 3:04 am

hi all
once a cheat always will be a cheat tiger has been found out at last the biggest cheat in golf

Reply Report comment
Martin

Oct 23, 2013 at 7:26 pm

I think Chamblee was right, Tiger gets and expects special treatment, he cheated…period.

The Players drop was the worst of them.

Reply Report comment
- Pat M
  
  Oct 24, 2013 at 12:07 am
  
  Tiger has four dodgy calls and penalties in one year? How many did Jack, Arnold or Phil have in their entire career? Shame.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - John
    
    Oct 26, 2013 at 3:49 am
    
    How many high def cameras did Jack and Arnie have back in not just their prime, but during the starts of their career…..none. Instant replay? Definitely not. This is the same as people saying Tiger’s “transgressions” so monumental. I’m definitely not saying they are good, they aren’t at all. But I’ve heard SO many stories about Arnie sleeping around with different women its ridiculous. As technology changes, players are put under the microscope. And how many different golf tv forums do we listen to today? Every mediocre former pro golfer like Brandel Chamblee want to over step their boundary and make a name for themselves. It’s just the age we live in and players are under the thickest microscope in history.
    
    Reply Report comment
- Mike
  
  Oct 25, 2013 at 9:31 am
  
  Your comments are pathetic to say the least. You name one other golfer on TV in this era that has EVERY SINGLE shot on TV filmed. We do not know who else made the wrong drop and their ball moved but golfer did not see it (BTW – the rules state it is between the players and official on the course at that time to make best decision where the ball crossed the boundary – they all agreed to not only Tiger but Casey and the official should be under the microscope).
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Forsbrand
    
    Oct 25, 2013 at 2:56 pm
    
    Still made wrong drops and infringed the rules, whether knowingly or not and you know what if any golfer made the mistake once they’d be pretty damn sure they would learn the correct rules /procedures so they didn’t do it again! Didn’t mark omertà have a problem marking his ball at the british open he won?!!!!!!
    
    Reply Report comment
Analyze

Oct 23, 2013 at 5:49 pm

Again….in regards to performance doing their job. Chamblee: former golfer, 1 PGA TOUR win? Soon to be former analyst, as bad as miller. Tiger: more wins then Chamblee could dream of, and don’t believe he needs to deceive the game to achieve any of his accomplishments, and knows everyone is watching, so why would he intentionally put his integrity to the game on the line? He could care less about a crumb like Chamblee.

I think we see who deserves an “F”

Reply Report comment
Kevin Crook

Oct 23, 2013 at 1:23 pm

Tiger was penalized for his rules mistakes was he not? He was dq’ed at Abu Dhabi. He paid dearly for his mistake at the Masters. Yes his drop at the Player’s was pretty suspect. He was also penalized for his ball moving in the trees. I don’t think he cheated, I think he’s too arrogant to stop and ask a rules official do his job. I think a golf rule is not really broken if you have to stop and have a camera put the action into super slow-mo to analyze what happened. I’m not a fan of his, but the game is played by humans, if the human eye is not good enough to see a slight ball movement, then we should deem it not to have moved. As far his personal life being brought into this discussion, yes he was a liar and a cheat as a husband and father, and yes he tried to sell us that he was Ward Cleaver before he got caught in all of his lies, and yes he was alleged to have had a very suspect relationship with a doctor known for pushing human growth hormone and transferring illegal PED’s across international borders…so maybe there is a bigger picture and pattern here, but maybe he had a series of coincidences too. I admire and respect his game, but will never be a fan of his either way.

Reply Report comment
- t
  
  Oct 24, 2013 at 3:55 pm
  
  there’s no reason to ask a rules official regarding all his infractions. the drop at the masters is a basic drop any player of his experience in competition should know. that infraction was unintentional. and again, his drop at the players didn’t require a rules official. this one was intentional. and tiger’s eyes are good enough to see the ball move from any angle. its obvious. there’s a reason why he stopped moving the twig.
  
  Reply Report comment
Conrad

Oct 23, 2013 at 12:47 pm

who cares… stop giving this guy attention, thats all he wants. I bet tiger could care less.

Reply Report comment
jonathan

Oct 23, 2013 at 10:22 am

Tiger’s first rules infraction came to a “local rule” that he was not aware of. Was Dustin Johnson cavalier when he grounded the club in the bunker? His Masters infraction was an offense, and he should have been scrutinized over that one. And his BMW infraction… We were looking at it from an angle that is almost 90 degrees to what Tiger saw. If one is looking above the ball, how could one tell if it dropped a MM down into some trees? We had to analyze and blow up a video, then play it in slow motion, to see the SLIGHT drop. There is no way he could have seen that from above the ball.

Reply Report comment
- nb1062
  
  Oct 23, 2013 at 12:43 pm
  
  You’re right regarding his view angle when moving the twig. I think the problem is that he denied that it moved after seeing it from the angle that everyone else saw it from.
  
  Reply Report comment
- t
  
  Oct 24, 2013 at 3:58 pm
  
  there’s a reason why he stopped moving the twig. he saw, heard and felt the ball move. and since he thought no one was watching, he thought he could get a way with it.
  
  Reply Report comment
Andrew Cooper

Oct 23, 2013 at 9:00 am

Chamblee’s “..a little cavalier with the rules..” comment is spot on-and I say that as a Woods fan. The rules incidents this year have not looked good, and collectively they add up to what could fairly be described as a cavalier approach. At best he certainly showed an ignorance of rules. Woods has a win at all costs mentality and if that involves pushing for a favourable drop, a bit of intimidation of officials and fellow players, then so be it. I think he’s the best golfer of all time, but he shouldn’t be above criticism.

Reply Report comment
Chris

Oct 23, 2013 at 1:00 am

Wow, I think his comment about Duffner is absolutely terrible. But I have always thought he was is a marginal analyst at best anyways. Hopefully he keeps running his mouth to the point that we dont have to listen to him on Golf Channel anymore.

Reply Report comment
Mario Good Times

Oct 23, 2013 at 12:14 am

Why is golf so scared of Tiger and to point fingers at him as if he is jesus. Chamblee and Miller are the only people in this industry with a pair of nuts and I love having there opinion. With out them two Tiger would still be mother Teresa and he isn’t close. Tiger is bending the rules and many times braking them with the hole industry turning the other cheek. Tiger was wrong, did wrong, and it needs to be pointed out so, you Tiger faithful followers need to realize Tiger F#Ck3d Up!!! I would say border lined cheated, but lets be honest it wasn’t even border line, he straight out cheated.. For people to argue that its unfair he has camera’s on him from start to finish, must realize that’s why Tiger is a billionare because of those same cameras and I don’t see him giving that back anytime soon. He can always quit golf and never worry about those same camera’s but I doubt that will happen anytime soon.

Reply Report comment
KK

Oct 22, 2013 at 11:38 pm

Tiger wasn’t married long enough to be as unfaithful as guys like JFK. But what happens to his rep if he gets penalized one, two or three more times this season?

Reply Report comment
Joey W

Oct 22, 2013 at 8:10 pm

Brandel is Golf Channels shock jock and golf doesnt need him. Tiger has paid more of a penance for his mistakes than any unfaithful husband I know of and he is doing his best to move forward. Giving the clear world #1 an “F” is just plain dumb.

Reply Report comment
Andrew

Oct 22, 2013 at 8:03 pm

Does anyone think that Tiger cares what Brandel thinks about his year?

I usually like his stuff but this is clearly a push to get a buzz about his work…

Reply Report comment
DIRK

Oct 22, 2013 at 7:42 pm

Ben,

Think you’re maybe overselling it a little?

“the most monumentally unfaithful husbands in history”

If you’re going to go after Chamblee for using bombastic language and reductionist takes, don’t fall over yourself trying to outdo him on the former.

Seriously–other than getting people to respond to your piece, how is your take strengthened (in a rhetorical sense) by using such over the top language? If you had said something like, “alleged to have committed multiple acts of adultery” or some such, do you think you’d be more or less like Brandel?

I’m not defending what Tiger did or saying it didn’t happen (obviously what he did was reprehensible), but I am saying that you are taking a swing at Brandel for being “dumb [and] inappropriate” and then you call him “bad-haired Bayless.”

You cannot occupy both the same level as Brandel while you attempt to take the moral high ground (which I think a golf writer should do, but that’s just my opinion). Choose one. Get down in the dirt or make an effort to elevate the discourse. Your writing will be better for it.

Reply Report comment
- Geoffrey
  
  Oct 22, 2013 at 7:52 pm
  
  Very well said. Couldn’t agree more. I also happen to believe Brandel is within his right to criticize, just as those who disagree have the right to support Tiger. The truth is always somewhere in between.
  
  Reply Report comment
mplluis

Oct 22, 2013 at 6:44 pm

the most monumentally unfaithful husbands in history….wow we dont need
Chamblee

Reply Report comment
- Deaus7
  
  Oct 25, 2013 at 3:45 pm
  
  Unfaithful, Not unlike JFK who people seem to Idolize?!?!
  
  Reply Report comment

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