As Round 1 at The Masters concluded, Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns shared the lead, while Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm struggled, prompting former American golfer Brandel Chamblee to weigh in on their performances.

Chamblee argued their poor performances were due to the non-challenging nature of LIV Golf, even comparing it to Stephen Curry’s shooting. He slammed the LIV golfers, and here’s what he had to say.

“They're not being challenged, they're not being tested, and so they're not ready… If every single week you go out and you're not challenged - when I look at the statistics, it'd be like if Steph Curry was shooting free-throws with a hula-hoop-sized rim and thinking he's 100%. That's the false arrogance they would have coming in here."

The gap in standards between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour remained a talking point through the opening rounds, with LIV players failing to assert themselves near the top of the leaderboard early on.

"What Bryson did with his iron play is what Bryson has been doing with his iron play since the first year that he played here… I've really not seen any change in it,” Chamblee pointed out.

DeChambeau missed the cut at 6-over in his 10th Masters appearance after a late triple bogey on 18.

Brandel Chamblee, who has been openly critical of LIV Golf for some time, said Jon Rahm looked like he was swinging all-out on every tee, more like a long drive setup than a controlled round.

Rahm opened with a 6-over 78, matching his highest major score, but followed it with a 2-under 70 in Round 2 to get to T47 and make the cut.

The LIV Golfers React To Their Start

“It's a hard golf course," Rahm said after his worst start of 78. "Some of the players might have been able to manage a respectable round, but when ⁠you have no feel with the swing whatsoever, it's just ⁠not an easy one."

The fast, firm, and dry conditions at Augusta proved challenging for the field.

DeChambeau said that unusual things can happen to any player, and on that day, he did not have control over his iron play, which he found unusual.

He explained his bunker mishap by noting that he had expected the sand to be firm, but it played softer than anticipated.

Read more at Daily Club Golf!

Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav