LIV Golf’s bankruptcy filing gave Brandel Chamblee the opportunity to speak his mind. Just hours after the league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the Golf Channel analyst launched a brutal attack on the breakaway league on X.

“The LIV players went from being autonomous, picking and choosing where they play, sometimes on a whim and answering to nobody, to going where they were told, playing courses they likely didn’t care for, under conditions they had no say in.”

Chamblee was referring to the sharp contrast between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. The veteran analyst claimed the players have the freedom on the PGA Tour to choose which tournaments they play. Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler both skipped signature events this year. But LIV Golf pros are under contract to tee off in 14 events, although they are allowed to skip in case of emergency. Chamblee took it a step further and blasted the top names for causing a disruption by joining LIV.

The veteran analyst claimed recent major winners, multiple-time U.S. Open champions and PGA Tour’s top stars caused a rift in professional golf by joining the breakaway league. He further argued that LIV pros regressed in their careers due to an apparent lack of competition even though the league inflated the purse size by a massive amount.

Chamblee opined that it forced the PGA Tour into a situation where they had to increase purse sizes and create signature events, and thereby the entire fiasco dragged golf into a place of greed, discord, and disruption. You can read Chamblee’s full diatribe here.

Chamblee’s view on LIV is very similar to Rory McIlroy’s stance since the league’s inception, even though McIlroy’s tone has become softer in recent months. McIlroy was one of the PGA Tour’s biggest defenders during the split and once said he would rather retire than join the rival league.

Even after admitting he had been “maybe a little judgmental of the guys who went to LIV Golf at the start,” McIlroy did not change his main view. Ahead of the BMW Championship, as LIV’s funding problems became public, he again made his position clear: “I’ve always felt like this is the best place to play professional golf. And I’m pretty sure if the PGA Tour were handed $6 billion, it would have done a better job with it.”

Chamblee has attacked the idea of LIV Golf itself, while McIlroy has focused more on how the league has been managed and what it offers. But both still agree on one thing. Neither has changed their belief that the PGA Tour is better than LIV.

The bankruptcy filing comes after a tough year for LIV Golf. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund invested over $5 billion into the league since 2022. But four years later, it announced that it would stop funding LIV after the 2026 season. Reports said the Middle East tension played a crucial role in its decision, as PIF had to scale back overseas investments and focus more on domestic development.

Things started going downhill soon after.

LIV postponed its Louisiana event and canceled its Michigan stop. The team championship was then added to what became LIV’s final event in Indianapolis in August. The problems were not limited to the schedule.

LIV also made major job cuts behind the scenes. According to court documents filed by LIV Golf and shared by journalist Josh Carpenter on X, around 289 employees were let go, while another 22 were placed on furlough. That left just 41 staff members, with about 22 based in the U.S. and 19 in the U.K.

LIV eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey. Court documents show that the league has between $100 million and $500 million in assets, while its liabilities are between $500 million and $1 billion.

The filing also showed how much money LIV still owes some of its players.

• Jon Rahm has the biggest unsecured claim at around $7.5 million.
• Bryson DeChambeau follows him with $5.7 million.
• Dustin Johnson with $5.5 million, Cameron Smith with $4.8 million.
• Tyrrell Hatton with $3.4 million and Brooks Koepka with $1.7 million. Koepka left LIV at the start of 2026.

LIV will continue operating during the bankruptcy process with $49.6 million in funding from the PIF. BC Partners Advisors is also expected to help finance the league as it enters bankruptcy protection, with an exit potentially coming as early as 2027.

CEO Scott O’Neil has presented it as a chance to rebuild rather than the end of LIV. He described plans for a “LIV Golf 2.0” that would give players more ownership. The new plan could also increase the field size from 57 to 75, introduce a 54-hole cut, and bring in Monday qualifiers.

“Now it is time to enter the next phase of LIV Golf,” O’Neil wrote in a letter to fans.

However, it is still unclear whether those plans will work. Rahm has already said he believes he is tied to his “LIV 1.0” contract. At the same time, the PGA Tour has shown little interest in an agreement while top LIV players remain under contracts with the league.

For now, Chamblee’s comments come at a major moment for LIV. The league he once predicted would fail because of its own problems is now trying to rebuild through a New Jersey bankruptcy court.