‘I Don’t Think He Gets Enough Credit For What He Did’: Brandel Chamblee Commends Will Zalatoris For Rejecting Lucrative LIV Golf Offer

Brandel Chamblee praised PGA Tour pro Will Zalatoris for turning down two LIV offers worth over $100 million each, as per a report. Zalatoris turned professional in 2018 and since then he has triumphed in one PGA Tour event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and has had three second-place positions in the 2021 Master’s Tournament, the 2022 PGA Championship, and the 2022 US Open. 

Following that, he had a back injury, which mostly kept him on the bed in 2023. Watching such a rising talent, LIV made two efforts to lure in the golfer with lucrative nine-digit deals. But both times Zalatoris rejected them and stayed loyal to the PGA Tour. Watching such a sight, golf analyst and staunch LIV critic Brandel Chamblee couldn’t help but praise this young talent for staying loyal to the Tour.

Brandel Chamblee Applauds Will Zalatoris For His loyalty To The PGA Tour

While a PGA Tour loyalist may go unnoticed by the golf community, he can’t escape the eyes of Brandel Chamblee, who is a stringent critic. Chamblee’s attention was brought to Zalatoris after the golfer rejected a LIV offer last summer when he was bedridden and his career on the PGA Tour was uncertain. Even, then, the player was dedicated to the Tour, and that charmed Chamblee. 

“Even though I wish the players had been more vocal out here, some of the leading players, dozens of them, were offered mind-blowing sums of money and turned it down…One of them was Will Zalatoris. I don’t think he gets enough credit for what he did. He was on the range injured, just beginning his career, wasn’t sure that he was going to be able to continue, wasn’t sure he was going to be able to work his way back from the back injury, gets a call, they offered him $100 million.”

Chamblee continued to say that Zalatoris was again offered $140 million, but he turned it down for a second time. Chamblee felt that it was an ethical side of Zalatoris that should have come to the spotlight more. 

After turning down last summer’s LIV offer, Zalatoris even reflected on how he played for glory and how his focus has been to win majors. The golfer didn’t want to settle for money, and if that were the case, he could have become an investment banker. Therefore, it’s quite relevant from Zalatoris’ statements that he has chosen a higher path and Chamblee managed to give it its due credit. 

About the author

Suchita Chakraborty

Suchita Chakraborty is a senior golf writer at The SportsRush. She did her post-graduation at St. Xavier's University. For a year now, she has developed a riveting inclination toward golf, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy being her top-tier motivational figures to indulge in the sport. She even lives by the words of the Hall of Famer, "You can always become better", which impels her to excel every day. Her strong suit in golf is covering the LPGA Tour, especially the nooks and crannies of the international event, the Solheim Cup. As a pastime amusement, Suchita also engages herself in reading about golf controversies. Her favorite pick is ‘LIV and Let Die’ by Alan Shipnuck, which covers the PGA-LIV beef.

Read More