Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee is like every other sports analyst on television, given the fact that he has earned his fair share of supporters and haters over the years with his divisive opinions. However, no matter which camp golf fans find themselves in when it comes to Chamblee, all can agree that he consistently calls it as he sees it, sharing what he believes to be the truth, no matter the topic.
This includes being critical of the greatest and most beloved golfer of all time, Tiger Woods.
One of the most notable stories during the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills involves Joaquín Niemann, who was issued a two-stroke penalty during the first round after throwing a club and violating golf’s new code of conduct policy. The outburst took place on the par-4 sixth hole, where he ultimately recorded an 11.
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The incident led the golf world to break into discussion about player behavior on the golf course. Jon Rahm was also caught on a hot mic during the second round of the championship, screaming the f-word after missing a short putt.
The conversation made its way onto Friday’s edition of “Live From” on the Golf Channel, and Chamblee took a unique approach by trying to dissect when all the cursing and over-the-top outbursts started becoming a bit of the norm.
“I never saw Jack Nicklaus throw a club. Never heard him yell an F-bomb. Never heard a profane word from him on the golf course,” Chamblee explained.
“I never saw Palmer do it. Never Tom Watson. Pick your player. Greg Norman, all the bad losses he had, he never threw a club, never swore. Say what you like about Phil Mickelson, but I’ve never seen him throw a club or drop an F-bomb,” he continued.
“The same wasn’t true about Tiger Woods. One of the best players ever, we all love him, everybody got rich off him, but he was one of the most profane golfers to ever play the game. Nobody ever criticized him; he skated through.”
The golf fans out there who witnessed Woods’ prime run in the sport certainly know that he didn’t necessarily keep things PG-rated inside the ropes.
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Chamblee, a former winner on the PGA Tour himself, admitted that he’s said some choice words and thrown a club on the golf course a time or two. He also recognized he played in a much different era, not this one where cameras follow players every step of the way.
“I wasn’t on TV much, and these guys are videotaped everywhere they go. TV is everywhere. So they have, I would say, a bigger burden than you and I would have had, no doubt about it,” Chamblee continued.
“But with that burden comes unimaginable wealth. It goes with the scrutiny. And composure is a skill — it’s a skill. It’s lazy to throw clubs, and it’s lazy to drop F-bombs when you know the whole world is watching.”
The emotions that golf can bring out have been discussed ad nauseam throughout the week at Shinnecock, especially with Wyndham Clark atop the leaderboard going into Sunday, who had a very noteworthy outburst inside the Oakmont clubhouse during the 2025 U.S. Open.
