Brandel Chamblee, Tiger Woods Hater? Golf Commentator Apologizes For Calling Golfer A Cheater

Tiger Woods' 2013 season on the PGA Tour was one of his best in recent years. The world's number one player was in great form for most of the season, winning 5 tournaments while leading the United States to the 2013 President's Cup title. In addition to his winning multiple events, the 37-year-old was competitive in multiple Major Championships as well, finishing in a tie for fourth at the Masters and in a tie for sixth at The Open Championship. Still stuck on 14 career Major Championships - four shy of Jack Nicklaus' all-time record - Woods remains focused on winning his first major title since claiming the 2008 U.S. Open.

Despite the success Tiger earned throughout the 2013 season - a campaign that culminated with his 11^th PGA Player of the Year award - one member of the media wasn't completely sold on Tiger's strong charge this season. Former PGA Tour player and current Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee said recently that he wasn't impressed with Woods' performance from top to bottom because he felt that 'ethics mattered more than athletics,' even saying that Tiger was 'cavalier with the rules' on multiple occasions throughout the year. Grading the individual seasons of 14 Tour players recently, Chamblee gave Woods an overall score of 100 but crossed a line through it and place an F next to it, because he wasn't exactly happy with how Tiger handled himself in certain situations on the course.

"I remember when we only talked about Tiger's golf," Chamblee said recently. "I miss those days. He won five times and contended in majors and won the Vardon Trophy and, how shall we say this, was a little cavalier with the rules."

Woods was handed a two-shot penalty at the BMW Championship this season when later video showed that his ball moved from its original position. In addition to the controversy surrounding that penalty, the 79-time PGA Tour champion was slapped with a two-shot penalty at the 2013 Masters Championship after he took an inappropriate drop in the second round of the event. Though Chamblee was fully aware that a certain level of backlash would come from his comments, the Golf Channel reporter remained adamant about his beliefs regarding Tiger's use of the rulebook.

"I think 'cavalier with the rules' allows for those with a dubious opinion of the BMW video," he said. "My teacher in the fourth grade did not have a dubious opinion of how I completed the test. But she was writing to one, and as I was writing to many, I felt it important to allow for the doubt some might have, so I chose my words accordingly. What people want to infer about that is up to them. I have my opinion, they can form theirs."

Upset with the comments of Chamblee - who won the 1998 Greater Vancouver Open - Woods' long-time agent Mark Steinberg told ESPN recently that he was not against the idea of taking legal action against the Golf Channel commentator since there is nothing worse you can do than accuse someone of being a cheater.

"Brandel Chamblee's comments are shameful, baseless and completely out of line," Steinberg said. "In his rulings, Tiger voiced his position, accepted his penalty and moved on. There was no intention to deceive anyone. Chamblee's uninformed and malicious opinions, passed on as facts, and his desperate attempt to garner attention is deplorable. This is the most deplorable thing I have seen. I'm not one for hyperbole, but this is absolutely disgusting. Calling him a cheater? I'll be shocked, stunned if something is not done about this. Something has to be done. There are certainly things that just don't go without response. It's atrocious. I'm not sure if there isn't legal action to be taken. I have to give some thought to legal action."

Though the story and controversy around Chamblee's recent comments will surely continue to circulate around multiple media outlets, the 51-year-old television personality did his best to quiet the discussion, apologizing to Woods and golf fans everywhere via Twitter, noting that he's not proud of the debate he sparked because golf is supposed to be strictly a gentleman's game.

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