“LIV is dying.”
The Players Championship drew big TV ratings last week, and Brandel Chamblee took the opportunity to take LIV Golf and its players to task.
On Tuesday, @JoshACarpenter posted preliminary TV ratings for the Players Championship. He reported that the Monday playoff between Rory McIlroy and J.J. Spaun drew 1.5 million viewers across TV and digital platforms from 9-10 a.m. ET, which Carpenter called a “big, big number for that time of day on cable.”
“Compare this to LIV’s finale last year that concluded in prime time on the east coast with Rahm winning… which drew 55,000 viewers,” Chamblee wrote on X. “People tune in to sports that matter.”
For the record, Jon Rahm clinched the 2024 LIV Individual title at LIV Golf Chicago last September. And Chamblee’s numbers are off. The second round of the tournament drew 134,000 viewers, with the third and final round hitting only 89,000, still higher than Chamblee’s figure.
But he wasn’t done yet. Just a few hours later, Chamblee replied to another X post from Carpenter that reported the Players Championship drew an average audience of 3.6 million on Sunday, up from 3.5 million last year, with a peak audience of 6.2 million, slightly more than the 6 million peak audience for Scheffler’s 2024 Players win.
Chamblee’s response to that post was longer and strongly-worded, claiming that “LIV is dying a slow costly death” before turning his ire on LIV players.
“The PGA Tour is killing it and LIV is dying a slow costly death,” Chamblee wrote. “LIV players have seller’s remorse. They want the meritocratic cachet that competing at the highest level confers but they have shown in their choice to play for LIV that they’d rather have the money first and sue for the cachet. Trying to blur the distinction between gift and reward.”
