Brandel Chamblee didn't do much as a professional golfer. His name was more suited for the
LPGA and his game wasn't good enough to get noticed in the boys club. During his 18-year
career on the PGA Tour, Chamblee had a grand total of one victory. Yep, that is just about
Hall of Fame worthy.
With those stellar credentials, Chamblee turned to television to attempt to do what he couldn't
do on the PGA Tour: become relevant. Chamblee landed a gig on the Golf Channel when it was
about as credible as the football program at Grambling State University. Nobody watched it,
much less even cared about it until Comcast/NBC bought it and it gained a higher-profile
because it suddenly had premiere golf events, which included Tiger Woods.
Let's face it, nobody really watches or cares much about golf unless Tiger is playing. He is
a proven ratings magnet and someone even the non-sports fan likes to watch win, lose, or
crumble.
Chamblee recently penned an article for Golf.com giving out his grades for players during
the 2013 season. Ok, does anybody really give a hoot what Brandel Chamblee, winner
of just one tournament in 18-years on the PGA Tour, has to say about the likes of Phil Mickelson,
Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, and Tiger Woods. That's kind of like Mario Mendoza grading
out Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, David Ortiz, and Miguel Cabrera on their 2013 season in major
league baseball. It's laughable.
So, in this day and age where sports television analysts, reporters, and anchors go to extremes
to stay relevant and be "trending", Chamblee went after the PGA's AND the Golf Channels
golden goose, Tiger Woods. To take a shot at Hunter Mahan wouldn't cause a blip on anybody's
radar screen. It would be like cutting down a monster tree in the forest. Nobody would even
notice, much less even care.
But Chamblee went after Tiger Woods and called him worse than he's already been called off
the course: a cheater. Yes, the serial philanderer, who destroyed his reputation and marriage
with porn stars, pin-ups, and waitresses from Perkins, was being called a cheater in golf and
his livelihood, and the things that defines him, by Chamblee. In the article posted on Golf. com., Chamblee wrote:
Tiger Woods: When I was in the fourth grade, I cheated on a math test and when I got the
paper back it had "100" written at the top and just below the grade, was this quote, "Oh, what
a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!" It was an oft-quoted line from
the epic poem "Marmion" by Sir Walter Scott, and my teacher's message was clear.
Written once more beneath that quote was my grade of "100", but this time with a line drawn
through it and beneath that an F. I never did ask my teacher how she knew I cheated and I
certainly didn't protest the grade. I knew I had done the wrong thing and my teacher the right,
but I never forgot the way I felt when I read that quote. I remember when we only talked about Tiger's golf. I miss those days. He won five times and contended in majors and won the Vardon Trophy and ... how shall we say this ... was a little cavalier with the rules.*
F
and the questionable judgments he made in a couple of other tournaments. This article and
statement would've fallen like a tree in the woods, excepts that Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, brought attention to it by threatening legal action against Chamblee.
Bad move. We all know how the media and the twittersphere works. Everybody picked up
on it and Brandel Chamblee got the attention he craved at Tiger's expense. He even stood
by his charge that Tiger is a cheater, even if he didn't come right out and actually call Tiger
a cheater. He just insinuated it to keep himself clear of a lawsuit.
Yeah, good ole Brandel bowed up his chest and reveled in the fact that he took on Tiger,
albeit through an article on-line. (That's considered brave these days)
Tiger hasn't said much because he doesn't want to give any credence to what Brandel said
or give him any credibility. After all, Tiger has won about as many tournaments as Chamblee
entered on the PGA Tour. Tiger is arguably the greatest golfer ever, while Chamblee was, well,
just a golfer.
apologized to Tiger in a tweet. An apology by a tweet? Yeah, that's the brave new world
we live in. An executive finally figured out that the network needs Tiger a lot more than
he needs it. You think Tiger is going to come in for appearances at the Golf Channel?
Do you think he's going to want to stop by to talk to Roger Maltbie after he wins another
tournament? Doubtful. Tiger is like Michael Jordan. If you take a shot at him, he remembers
and he will embarrass you.
Tiger may be silent on this, but he is not done. You can bet he will embarrass Brandel
Chamblee in a big way and he'll probably take a one-time shot at NBC and the Golf
Channel, too.
Brandel Chamblee? Really? One PGA victory? Taking on Tiger Woods. Hope the attention
was worth it. But you will pay for it later.
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