Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images for SiriusXM
Chamblee joins the broadcast team at The American Express for NBC as they’ve yet to permanently replace Paul Azinger.
NBC has yet to fill Paul Azinger’s analyst spot for their broadcast coverage on a permanent basis.
This week at The American Express in Palm Springs, Ca., Brandel Chamblee will be in the booth. He will serve as a lead analyst for the coverage and sit alongside Terry Gannon, the play-by-play announcer.
Chamblee is not expected to be in this role in the foreseeable future though. He is just one of the moving pieces since the network has yet to replace Azinger when they didn’t renew his contract in November.
Out scouting @theamexgolf with @LucasWald getting ready for the broadcast Thursday-Sunday and some swings that I just love… The Coody Twins, Parker and Pierceson, (Pierceson first video) Lee Hodges ( 2nd video) who won the 3M last year by 7 and Jake Knapp (video courtesy of his… pic.twitter.com/8vScMHrnrg
— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) January 17, 2024
He is the fourth person to sit in this position since the Hero World Challenge.
Paul McGinley helped out as the lead analyst in the Bahamas. Then Kevin Kisner opened up the 2024 PGA Tour season at The Sentry as an analyst; he will also fill the role for the WM Phoenix Open in early February.
Curt Byrum also held duties in the booth and was the lead analyst at last week’s Sony Open in Hawaii. Now it’s the divisive Golf Channel analysts turn.
Chamblee is one of the studio analysts who works on “Live From” and “Golf Central.”
This won’t be new for Chamblee, as he and his “Live From” co-host Rich Lerner handled these duties briefly at last year’s Open Championship. They called the action while NBC switched from morning to evening broadcast teams.
He is widely known for his polarizing opinions and takes. Chamblee has gotten into it with Phil Mickelson multiple times this past year regarding the PGA Tour’s deal with LIV Golf.
No one can forget the whole Patrick Reed lawsuit situation with Chamblee that blew up in the former Masters champion’s face. The broadcaster isn’t afraid to speak his mind and never pulls any punches.
It will be interesting to see what discourse exists this weekend. You can bet there will be some great reactions from golf fans.
He will be part of the broadcast team for all four days of the American Express tournament. Fans can watch the event from 4-7 p.m. on Golf Channel or stream it on Peacock.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
