The Phil Mickelson-Brandel Chamblee Twitter Spat Over LIV Golf Got Heated and Personal

The six-time major champion and the Golf Channel personality went back and forth on Twitter on Thursday night about sportswashing and LIV.

Since Brooks Koepka’s coach, Claude Harmon III, called Brandel Chamblee a “paid actor” for Golf Channel, the discourse surrounding golf media, LIV Golf and sportswashing has been amplified, specifically on Twitter. 

Chamblee posted a 538-word response to Harmon’s comments on Wednesday night, reiterating his deep disdain for LIV Golf. Then, Phil Mickelson chimed in to the discussion, and things escalated even further. 

“Poor Brandel. He can rip me apart and countless others but as soon as someone shows his ignorance he can’t handle it. He’s softer now than he was as a player,” Mickelson wrote on Twitter, in response to a Golfweek article about Chamblee’s original tweet. 

Poor Brandel
He can rip apart me and countless others but as soon as someone shows his ignorance he can’t handle it. He’s softer now than he was as a player.

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) May 25, 2023

In response, Chamblee posted to his own account that he’d be happy to have Mickelson join Golf Channel’s Live From show during the U.S. Open, which will be played at Los Angeles Country Club from June 15-18. 

In the post, Chamblee noted that Mickelson once called the Saudi backers of LIV Golf “scary MFers”— a comment that prompted Mickelson’s lengthy leave of absence from the public eye in the spring of 2022. 

Chamblee also reminded his followers of Billy Walters’s book that is set to be released in late August. Walters, one of the most famous sports bettors of all time, went to prison for insider trading and had an extensive relationship with Mickelson. 

Phil is welcome to come on the Live From set at the US Open to discuss the merits of playing for scary MFers, as he called them, and the Billy Walters book that comes out August 22… but my guess he’s too soft to come on and debate. https://t.co/PJlE7MF9cg

— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) May 26, 2023

Mickelson didn’t reply to Chamblee’s tweet to provide comment, as he was prohibited from doing so. Chamblee has the six-time major champion blocked on Twitter. 

“Did Brandel say something?” Mickelson wrote. 

Did Brandel say something? pic.twitter.com/q96eNxlkND

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) May 26, 2023

Chamblee has yet to respond to Mickelson’s screenshot, but he has continued to tweet about LIV Golf, Harmon’s claims and more since the spat began on Thursday night. 

Yes they do… the US needs an ally in the Middle East as both the US and Israel share a concern of Iranian power and in this concern Saudi Arabia is an important Geo political ally in that they helped the US expand the circle of peace in an area that has historically been… https://t.co/clenjdtR1S

— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) May 26, 2023