Brandel Chamblee lashes out at LPGA over controversial Chevron finish

It was one of the more brutal finishes to a major championship in recent memory – and Brandel Chamblee was not holding back on his feelings about it.

Brandel Chamblee is not one to bite his tongue when he’s unhappy about something.

The former PGA Tour winner turned Golf Channel analyst has, in recent weeks alone, sounded off on Tiger Woods’ “crazy” mistake and compared LIV Golf to pickleball. Now it’s the LPGA in his crosshairs.

Sunday’s finish at the Chevron Championship is not one Ariya Jutanugarn will want to see again after she duffed a chip at the 72nd hole which cost her a third major title. The Thai star went on to bogey the par-5 finisher at Carlton Woods to fall into a playoff that Mao Saigo would eventually win.

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But Chamblee doesn’t believe Jutanugarn should have even been put in the position to do what she did.

“Hate to see a major end the way Chevron did today,” the 62-year-old posted on X. “Why is there a grandstand so close to the back edge of a closing hole par 5 that players can hit in two?

“It allows players to bounce into the grandstands but also forces everyone all week to walk in the same area, no doubt chewing up the spot where players have to chip from.

“Ariya Jutanugarn’s ball should have been off the back of the green some 10 yards leaving a basic chip, but instead was in a horrid lie from which she whiffed her chip and then lost in a playoff.”

It’s not the first time this has been an issue in this tournament, of course.

In 2020, when it was known as the ANA Inspiration and played on the Dinah Shore course at Mission Hills in California, organizers erected a huge blue structure behind the 18th green to promote the championship’s headline sponsor.

Dubbed the ‘Big Blue Wall’, the LPGA was heavily criticized for the decision, as it served as a backstop and prevented players finding the water beyond the green.