There is no love lost between Brandel Chamblee and Phil Mickelson, and the Golf Channel analyst has once again taken aim at the six-time major champion.In June 2022, Mickelson announced his departure from the PGA Tour after six majors and 45 tour titles, signing a reported $200 million deal with LIV Golf to lead the HyFlyers team.Phil Mickelson signed a four year deal with LIV worth a reported $200million in 2022AFPBrandel Chamblee has been critical of Phil Mickelson’s comments having left the PGA Tour for the LIV circuitGettyHe had laid the table for his departure earlier in the year, amid a string of controversial comments towards the PGA Tour, including labelling them as having acted ‘like a dictatorship.’Citing LIV as something with the ‘once in a lifetime’ potential to change the way professional golf looked, it was no surprise when he was in the field for LIV’s opening event in London in June 2022.Mickelson’s arrival on the LIV circuit was eventually confirmed when he also found himself one of 17 players suspended for playing in an event without the permission of the PGA Tour.LIV is now fighting for its future, while players like Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau find themselves as creditors in the company’s bankruptcy filing after the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia withdrew its backing.Throughout the acrimonious split, Golf Channel analyst Chamblee was a constant critic of Mickelson’s behavior. View this post on Instagram In an appearance on the We Need a Fourth podcast, Chamblee doubled down on Mickelson’s conduct.“Phil wanted to burn the tour down and tear the house down because he thought he was entitled to his media rights,” Chamblee said.“No athlete in any sport is entitled, otherwise, the television contracts and the media all fall apart.“If you can just go play and then take your media and put it on your site, people will go watch your site and not watch the game, or, to some degree, will not watch the game.“That’s the reason they’re called media rights, that’s the reason the media pays for the right to put these things on. That’s what Phil was trying to say he was entitled to.”Chamblee emphasised the point by comparing golf’s situation to other team sports, and the fact that across the board in golf, it’s a much more level playing field.Mickelson has not played since LIV South Africa in FebruaryGettyMickelson won just $50,000 on the LIV circuit this year – having played just one eventGetty“The thing that’s different about golf than football, than baseball, than hockey, than basketball, in those particular sports, the difference between Tom Brady and the average quarterback in the NFL is about 30%, 20%. The difference between Tom Brady and the worst quarterback in the NFL is about 40%.“In golf, the difference between Scottie Scheffler and the hundredth guy on the money list is 3%.“The difference between Scottie Scheffler and the last guy in the field is 7%. Stars four years ago are not stars today. Players you’ve never even heard of today are gonna be stars four years from now.”Three-time Masters champion Mickelson was absent from all four majors this yearAFPIs Phil Mickelson still playing golf?Now 56, Mickelson has been out of the public gaze for much of the golfing year.He was also a notable absentee from the documents around LIV’s bankruptcy filings, although Sportico report that he is an ‘unnamed player-shareholder’ in those documents.LIV owes its players at least $45.5 million, and while a $300 million injection from investors BC Partners could give rise to LIV 2.0, it will only take place if the company restructures under Chapter 11 bankruptcy.Mickelson’s contract was a reported four year deal and expired at the end of the 2025, and while there was no official announcement, he returned as HyFlyers captain for 2026.However, he played just once this year, returning in February in South Africa after missing the opening four events of the LIV season due to ‘a family health matter’.Mickelson is a six-time major championGettyThen in April he withdrew from the Masters and revealed in that announcement he would ‘be out for an extended period of time as my family continue to navigate a personal health matter.’The three-time Masters champion has not played since, missing all for majors for the first time in his career.Meanwhile, the LIV rebels await their fate after the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia made good on their intention to withdraw their backing of the LIV circuit.Four years on from the civil war triggered by the Saudi-funded circuit’s arrival at golf’s top table, there is doubt about if – and how – it will look in 2026.Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed have already made their peace with the PGA TourWhether Mickelson returns as part of LIV 2.0, attempts a PGA Tour return, or calls time on a career that will remember him as one of the greats, remains a fascinating subplot.