“If he was playing where we saw him all the time on a regular basis… his stardom would be gigantic,” is what Jim Nantz had to say when talking about the star that Bryson DeChambeau is. The two-time US Open winner is a highly popular figure on and off the course, largely in part due to his social media presence as well as his general demeanor and behavior with fans. Nantz’s comments work twofold.

One, it explains how DeChambeau has slowly endeared himself to the golf faithful. Two, it is a subtle attempt at ridiculing LIV Golf’s popularity on the global stage. This is not the first time that Nantz has made comments against LIV Golf.

Nantz was a lot less subtle when he appeared on the Dan Patrick Show and was asked about the necessity of a potential merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. This was his reply. “I don’t know the answer to that. LIV, I think it’s in its fourth year. There hasn’t been a whole lot of change in the last year. If you’ve noticed, the turnover has slowed down”.

He further clarified the difference between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed circuit, indirectly indicating that the former is more mindful of the future of the sport, paving the way for young talent. “Meanwhile, the PGA Tour is developing a lot of great young players. Let’s take a guy like Ludvig Aberg, who might win next week, for example. I think the PGA Tour is doing just fine. And that’s not an indictment of LIV by any means,” the CBS sportscaster added.

While he did try to maintain his diplomacy, these comments will most likely will be looked at as if Nantz is biased. Especially since fans are now calling him out for showing bias openly during the ongoing PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.

Jim Nantz criticized for showing favoritism

“Hey Jim Nantz, maybe show a little effort and emotion for guys other than Scottie and Rory! Talk about clearly one-sided…” One miffed fan posted on Twitter. Another fan also pointed out the not-so-discreet bias against LIV Golf. “I love Jim Nantz, but the difference in how he commentates on LIV guys vs. PGA guys is very clear. He has a negative tone towards the LIV guys. lol.”

As Nantz had mentioned before, DeChambeau is a very popular golfer. In fact, his YouTube channel has more subscribers(1.97 M) than the PGA Tour’s official YouTube channel(1.6 M). So, a large chunk of golf fans who adore DeChambeau were particularly ticked off at the preferential treatment shown against the two-time US Open winner.

Nantz was also compared to the former broadcaster of CBS, Verne Lundquist. One fan tweeted, “I miss Verne Lundquist; he was so much better than Jim Nantz. Not a Nantz fan at all.” Lundquist was part of the CBS team covering the PGA Championship and Masters. The legendary broadcaster last covered the PGA Championship in 2021 and the Masters Tournament in 2024 before deciding to retire from golf coverage.

“I really want to watch, but I am going to [throw up] my lunch if I have to listen to another day of Jim Nantz’s disgusting hero worship of Scottie and Rory. If either of them wanted a favor at the turn, old Nantz would be the first to volunteer.” Another netizen displayed his annoyance at Nantz’s calls. One user brought in receipts from the live broadcast, stating, “Jim Nantz when Bryson missed the green on #1: ‘Another bad iron shot by Bryson. Been seeing it all week’. Jim Nantz, when Scottie missed the green on #1: ‘Well, it’s unhittable.’ Might as well get Scottie’s dad out there announcing.”

Nantz’s calls are understandable considering that he mainly covers the PGA Tour throughout the year and is more acclimatized and used to the players from that tour. But when you are covering more of a global event like the majors, where there are representatives of the DP World Tour and LIV Golf, you will need to put the bias aside and strive for more of a balance. That is why fans are criticizing the very nature of the broadcast.

What do you think of Jim Nantz’s announcing at the PGA Championship? Do you think it is unnecessarily biased against LIV Golf?