Jon Rahm suffered an epic collapse Sunday in the 2024 Paris Olympics, and NBC golf commentator Brandel Chamblee did not hold anything back in blasting his performance.
Rahm had a gold medal in sight, holding a four-stroke lead entering the final nine holes. Instead, he stumbled, shooting a 39 to fall out of medal contention.
“I’m gonna put that down as one of the biggest collapses, chokes of the year,” Chamblee said afterward. “Right up there with Rory McIlroy at the U.S. Open.”
“I’m gonna put that down as one of the biggest collapses, chokes of the year. Right up there with Rory McIlroy at the U.S. Open.” —Brandel on Jon Rahm’s back-nine 39
Not wrong ! pic.twitter.com/6iMBuZtA3i
— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) August 4, 2024
Chamblee’s statement may be harsh, but there’s truth there. Yet the fact Rahm is an LIV Golf star, and Chamblee has made his disdain for that tour and its participants clear, led some fans to accuse him of being unfair.
It’s not the first time Chamblee has faced such scrutiny. In June, after LIV golfer Bryson DeChambeau won the U.S. Open, fans accused Chamblee of downplaying DeChambeau’s effort, attributing some of his success to favorable lies, among other things.
So even though what Chamblee said about Rahm’s downfall Sunday is true, many fans still felt the need to complain about his anti-LIV bias.
How much does Brandel Chamblee hate the LIV guys? He just went way out of his way to drill John Rahm and let Schauffle completely off the hook for the same collapse? @GolfChannel @NBCOlympicTalk
— Rick Fox (@RFoxLandisField) August 4, 2024
Well he is just happy Rahm didn’t win. As long as a LIV player didn’t win he is good.
— SC Smith (@SCSMITH909) August 5, 2024
He hates Rahm and LIV knew that WS coming https://t.co/EvvHeIWCFe
— David Fital (@dfital) August 4, 2024
That is @BrandelChamblee’s LIV screed. I hate LIV just as much, but also respect Rahm as a golfer. I wish he hadn’t gone to LIV, but that is no reason to characterize his final round in such a banal and gratuitous way.
— Soaring LIBERTY (@LibertySoaring) August 4, 2024
Chamblee also had his defenders.
Straight facts. Look at the comment section. Golf twitter is where idiots live. https://t.co/P2bePkxy7h
— Conch 🫓 (@conchbeery) August 5, 2024
Far from a Chamblee fan. But he’s right in this case. Props to Scheffler. Would have liked to see DeChambeau, currently the most exciting player in the world.
— Soc Howell (@howell_soc) August 5, 2024
