BRAND NEW DAY
Often-harsh Chamblee inviting critism as he begins comeback
Brandel Chamblee long has been known as one of the most provocative commentators in golf. Now, he’s going back into the game and opening himself up to the ridicule he often dishes out.
After calling this weekend’s British Open at Carnoustie for the Golf Channel, Chamblee will head to Senior British Open qualifying at Scotscraig Golf Club as he begins his comeback 15 years after he left the sport.
“I love TV and I am not going to stop doing it any time soon,” said Chamblee, 56, who retired in 2003 to spend more time with his three children. “I really enjoy it, but golf has been my life and I’ve committed some effort to it. I think it’ll help me do what I do now. It’s pretty easy to sit in a chair and lose sight of just how difficult golf is and rage against that, try and rage against that. To go out there and hit these shots again it gives you a great appreciation to just how athletic the game is today.”
That does not mean his criticisms will stop. Some players through the years have chastised Chamblee for views they opined were too harsh and have hurt the sport. Most recently, Phil Mickelson said Chamblee has “made his commentating career on denigrating others.” Chamblee was not alone in deriding Mickelson for recently running afoul of the rules at the U.S. Open and the Greenbrier Classic.
“I am an analyst, not a cheerleader,” Chamblee, who also pointed to Mickelson’s strong Ryder Cup opinions in 2014 and 2016, told The Post. “And my job is to analyze the best players in the world, which includes commenting on everything in the game of golf.
“Lately that includes the more bizarre behavior of Phil Mickelson. ... His actions at the U.S. Open were certainly not consistent with his stature in the game and his reputation, and I said as much. I found it oddly coincidental that his comments about me came on the heels of me having to comment on some of his more bizarre actions. I actually don’t think it’s a coincidence at all.”
Chamblee recently started playing again with his wife, and she convinced him to make a part-time return that will go beyond next week no matter how he fares. He arrived at Scotland early and played a couple of rounds at Scotscraig last weekend (“Those fairways are so burnt out they make Carnoustie’s fairways look like Augusta National’s,” he said), and has practiced in the evenings after getting done with his analyst work for Golf Channel.
It also did not hurt that the Senior Open is being played at the Old Course at St. Andrew’s.
“I’d get to play St. Andrew’s for who knows, maybe six straight days? I’d love to do that, selfishly,” said Chamblee, whose significant PGA Tour accomplishments were a win at the 1998 Greater Vancouver Open and a top-20 finish in the 1999 Masters.
“You get to play golf in a competitive environment with people I’ve known since I was 12 and 13 years old and rekindle some old friendships. It just gives me a chance to compete again. I am going to keep at this and see how good I can get. I am trying to get in better shape physically and emotionally. I haven’t golfed competitively in 15 years. This would set me off on a nice path to get back into golf playing wise. … It’s like rekindling an old love affair.”
Chamblee is not the only Golf Channel analyst being tempted by St. Andrew’s. Gary Koch and Jerry Foltz will also try to qualify on Monday after calling the third major of the PGA Tour season.
“It would be very special to me,” Koch said. “The first time I played the Old Course was the Walker Cup in 1975. To be able go back there and play competitively 43 years later would be nice. The bottom line, at 56 my competitive days are numbered. I don’t play competitively anymore, to have something like that would mean a lot to me.”