Brooks Koepka's coach Claude Harmon III takes a jab at the media in response to controversial reports
Brooks Koepka's coach, Claude Harmon III, criticized the media and journalists for their unfavorable coverage of LIV Golf and the golfers who play in it. He believes that this is for no reason. The statements were made during a press conference following Koepka's win at the 2023 LPGA Championship.
Claude Harmon III mentioned by name the journalist Brandel Chamblee, calling him a "paid actor" for his opinions against LIV Golf.
So said Claude Harmon III, according to Golf Week:
“Brandel is a paid actor by NBC and Golf Channel. All he’s trying to do is get his lines and shows for the Golf Channel. He’s just trying to get lines for Brandel … To utter the words ‘sports washing’ when the company he works for televised the last two Winter Olympics in Russia and China with the same leaders that they’ve had. It’s not like they were good leaders back then. It’s not like Putin was a good guy, right?”
Let us recall that Brandel Chamblee has condemned in the strongest terms the existence of the LIV Tour, since its very birth.
This is how he expressed himself on the matter in June 2022, according to Sky Sports:
"I think this is a sad day in the history of the game of golf. Let's be really clear about what we're watching today: we're not watching a golf tournament; we're watching a sports-washing operation."
However, Claude Harmon III went much further in his remarks and extended his criticism to the press in general. He was critical because, he said, LIV players are accused of selling out for money, when, in his opinion, what is really happening is that they are being paid fairly for their performance.
These were his words:
“I want LIV to succeed and I want LIV to work because I am pro-professional athlete. I don’t think Rory McIlroy should go anywhere in the world without somebody paying him, including Memphis and Memorial. That’s how good he is. Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, if you’re in that category, you shouldn’t be going anywhere without being paid because it’s how good you are.”
He added:
“You guys all think LIVs, maybe you’ve changed your tune, but initially, it was all just bullsh*t, a bunch of guys playing who didn’t care, who got the money, who got the bag, and it’s 54 holes and there’s no competition and all that. So it was easy for you guys to just pretend like these guys just weren’t good players anymore.
“If I’m critical of you guys in the media, you guys portrayed this as (Brooks) took the money and then Tiger came out with his comment, you know, Tiger, the ultimate guy who got all the money up front. I mean, I was around then. He flew to his first professional golf tournament on Nike’s private jet, and he wasn’t paying for it."
Claude Harmon III criticized anti-LIV press rhetoric
Claude Harmon III was critical of the coverage of LIV, as he felt the media demeaned or failed to cover the circuit from the start. Of course, he made an aside about his ward. Here's how he put it:
"You guys pushed this narrative and pretended like LIV was an exhibition, nobody watched it, you guys didn’t report on it, none of you guys came to the tournaments.
"I mean the golf that I saw Cam (Smith) play last year, the golf that I saw DJ play last year, the golf that I saw Brooks play at the end of the year is the same golf that is being played on the PGA Tour. There is some unbelievable golf being played on LIV. There really is because I see it week in and week out. You guys just tried to pretend that it wasn’t.”
Claude Harmon III is a successful golf coach who has won, among other tournaments, eight majors (one with Ernie Els, two with Dustin Johnson, and five with Brooks Koepka). He is also the director of instruction at the Butch Harmon Floridian and runs a golf academy in Dubai.