Bryson DeChambeau had a disastrous PGA Championship.
Entering the year’s second major, it was hard to see how the PGA Championship could have gone any worse than The Masters did for DeChambeau. He missed the cut at Augusta National after an embarrassing triple bogey on the final hole.
But somehow, he outdid himself. His seven-under final score flattered him, as he made three straight birdies on Friday to recover some pride. DeChambeau looked completely out of his depth around the difficult setup and never even threatened the cut line.
This was a big blow for DeChambeau, who has been at the center of attention lately with his future hanging in the balance. LIV Golf’s funding has been pulled for next season, so all eyes are on the two-time US Open winner to see what he’ll do with his career.
With that in mind, LIV Golf ambassador Rick Shiels expressed his frustration at the PGA Championship broadcast for their coverage of DeChambeau.
Rick Shiels says PGA Championship broadcast was ‘laughing at’ Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau’s struggles over the first two days at Aronimink was one of the biggest stories of the tournament, as he was seen taking a scenic view of the course with wayward drives and poor approach play.
But Shiels thinks that DeChambeau’s poor play was shown too much on the broadcast, and that’s because they wanted to show the LIV golfer up.
Speaking on The Rick Shiels Golf Show, he said, “I know people will read into this however which way they wish. I really feel like the media, and the social media world, and the TV coverage was reveling in the fact that Bryson was not doing very well. I did not like it at all.
“I felt like we did not see someone like Max Homa. He did worse than Bryson, but they are not showing the highlights of when he made triple, or when he duffed a chip, or when he didn’t hit the green from 20 yards.
“When Bryson seemed to do it, it was all over everywhere. I feel like the TV coverage, certainly, when they are Sky Sports, or people like that, just love to pick on or highlight bad rounds or bad shots from LIV players when they are not playing well.
“I know people are going to say, Rick you are going to say that, you are with LIV. But I feel like
that is what happens. I just feel like it’s harsh for the LIV guys. As soon as they do something that is not right or they miss a green, it gets highlighted so much, I feel like they are attacking these guys at the moment when they should not be, in my opinion.
“It was like they were laughing at him. It was like they were using him as an example to go look at this guy. He should just be sticking to making YouTube videos. I just did not like it. I thought it was petty from the TV coverage.”
Again, it’s worth reminding everyone that Shiels is a paid LIV Golf ambassador, so take what you will from that. His comments on LIV should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Why Rick Shiels’ complaints about the PGA Championship coverage are completely unfair
These comments from Shiels are totally wrong. Surely it’s blatantly obvious to everyone that DeChambeau struggling at his second major of the season is a far bigger story than Homa missing the cut.
Homa has been a good player who has also been struggling of late. While his missing the cut is a shame, and a sad reality of where his game is at the moment, the magnitude of that story doesn’t hold a candle to what happened to DeChambeau.
DeChambeau is one of, if not the single biggest star in golf, which is something LIV Golf fans are quick to point out when he’s performing well. That means it’s as much of a story when he’s playing poorly as it is when he’s doing well.
If Rory McIlroy or Scottie Scheffler had the same round, it would have been front-page news. That has to be common sense, right?
Shiels’ blind defense of DeChambeau and LIV Golf in this instance just feels like he’s clutching at straws.