"How about Monday of LIV London?" - Phil Mickelson invites Brandel Chamblee for an open debate amid the duo's war of words
Phil Mickelson has just invited Brandel Chamblee for an open debate amid their ongoing Twitter war throughout the week.
Mickelson has been pretty active on Twitter of late and has not shied away from taking shots at everyone who has been criticizing the breakaway league. From Tiger Woods to Rory McIlroy to Chamblee, he has targeted everyone.
On Friday, June 2, popular golf columnist Eamon Lynch wrote in Golfweek that Mickelson's Twitter antics couldn't distract from the fact that he was just a pawn of the Saudi regime.
Phil Mickelson called Lynch out, alleging that the article came in defense of Chamblee. He also added that both of them required help for their unreal obsession with the Saudi-backed circuit and him.
@eamonlynch @golfweek I was right (again)
Eamon comes to Brandel’s defense.
You both have an obsession with me (and LIV) that requires professional help. Wishing you both all the best with that.
Chamblee quoted one of the fans who criticized him and Lynch's journalism. He also added that Mickelson had turned down the invitation for the debate over LIV Golf.
Chamblee wrote:
"By this type of “journalism” do you mean teasing the truth out of Phil Mickelson’s desultory attempt at turning Khashoggi’s murder and dismemberment into leverage? "
By this type of “journalism” do you mean teasing the truth out of Phil Mickelson’s desultory attempt at turning Khashoggi’s murder and dismemberment into leverage? And btw, I made overtures to have a debate with him outside of LIVE FROM and he turned it down, because he no doubt… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
The five-time major champion refuted Chamblee's claims and wrote that there was no question of turning anything down as both of them hadn't communicated for years. He further wrote that the popular TV analyst had blocked him on Twitter.
In the follow-up tweet, Phil Mickelson called Chamblee for an open discussion on Monday of LIV Golf London week, which is scheduled for next month.
He wrote:
"How about Monday of LIV London? Maybe with Piers Morgan?"
@NUCLRGOLF How about Monday of LIV London. Maybe with Piers Morgan?
Chamblee has yet to respond to Mickelson's invitation.
Timeline of Phil Mickelson-Brandel Chamblee feud
Last year, the professional golf circuit got divided into two rival circuits as LIV Golf came into existence. LIV Golf offered a huge sum of money, given the backing of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
Many big names switched to the breakaway league, with Phil Mickelson being the first signing on the Saudi-backed circuit. Many prominent names like Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeu, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia chose to join LIV.
This year, the LIV-associated golfers did extremely well in the Masters and the PGA Championship despite not playing many 72-hole events in a long time. Koepka ended as the joint runner-up at the Masters and then clinched the third PGA Championship of his career, once again sparking the debate of LIV vs. PGA.
Over the week, there have been several indirect exchanges between the Golf Channel analyst and the LIV Golf-associated Phil. It started with Koepka's coach, Claude Harmon III, calling Chamblee a 'paid actor," followed by his 538-word response on Twitter, where he referred to the Saudi-backed league as a 'sports washing machine.
Mickelson was quick to respond, and he called Brandel a 'soft' person who couldn't handle the criticism.
@golfweek 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.
Chamblee, in response, invited the golf veteran for a live discussion during the upcoming US Open, adding that the latter was too soft to come for a debate.
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. twitter.com/Stevenwb33/sta…
This entire interaction occurred indirectly as Chamblee had blocked Mickelson as per the screenshot shared by the five-time major champion,
@NUCLRGOLF Did Brandel say something? https://t.co/q96eNxlkND
Whether Chamblee accepts Phil's latest invitation or there will be more heated 'indirect' exchanges like these, fans will have to wait for it.