​​Brandel Chamblee claims Tiger Woods has inadvertently contributed to causing two big problems in modern day golf

Tiger Woods continues his absence from the PGA Tour this week, which roars on with The Open Championship.

Woods has won The Open Championship on three occasions throughout his stunning career so far, which hopefully isn’t over yet.

He has been plagued by injuries throughout his latter career, and has yet to make an appearance this season, with Woods told his PGA Tour wins have finished.

Fans did fortunately get a glimpse of the 82-time PGA Tour winner with a club in hand in the inaugural TGL season, but he remains absent from competition out on the course.

But the legacy he has already left on the sport has now been referenced by Brandel Chamblee when discussing the current situation between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

Photo by Carmen Mandato/TGL/TGL via Getty ImagesBrandel Chamblee thinks Tiger Woods has caused two big problems in golf

Chamblee said on The Smylie Show: “I always maintain that Tiger Woods is the most underpaid athlete in the history of sport.

“You look at what the PGA Tour headquarters looks like right now. It looks like the Taj Mahal! You look at what these guys are making.

READ MORE: What initially really confused Tiger Woods about Royal Portrush the last time it hosted The Open back in 2019

“When people want to give credit to LIV for elevating the PGA Tour in terms of money. I am like hold on a second.

“LIV would never have come about if it hadn’t been for Tiger making the game cool. Golf would not be in the Olympics.

Photo by David Cannon/Allsport/Getty Images

“No way the Saudis would want to buy golf if Tiger had not transformed the game. So before you want to applaud LIV for elevating the purses on the PGA Tour, it’s like woah, woah, woah.

“That’s like applauding the branches on a tree for being beautiful. Let’s look at the soil, the foundation. That’s Tiger Woods. He drove this game to another level. He created so much interest in it.

“The unintended effect of it is that he made the game also hugely expensive. Way more expensive golf clubs, way more expensive to join clubs. I am not going to say that is Tiger’s fault, but that is the impact of TigerMania.”

What are the most expensive green fees in the USA?

There are, of course, now utterly remarkable sums of money involved in modern day golf and indeed sport in general.

And while the sums certainly weren’t as significant in Woods’ prime as they are now, the legendary figure does still top the pile for career money leaders on the PGA Tour.

READ MORE: Tiger Woods’ response when asked if Jack Nicklaus was the greatest golfer of all time instead of him in 2016

CourseLocationPriceShadow CreekLas Vegas$1,250TPC SawgrassFlorida$920Pinehurst No.2North Carolina$788Pebble BeachCalifornia$730Wynn Golf ClubLas Vegas$650Whistling StraitsWisconsin$550Most expensive green fees in the USA (Golf Monthly, March 2024)

As per the PGA Tour website, the 15-time major champion leads the way with a figure of $120,999,166, with Rory McIlroy the only other player on a nine-figure sum.

But as Chamblee mentioned, green fees have skyrocketed in recent times, with Woods undoubtedly playing a huge part in the popularity of the sport.