There were low scores aplenty for a second consecutive day at the British Senior Open; midway through the day, more than half the field was at even par or better. Not so for outspoken TV analyst Brandel Chamblee. The 56-year-old couldn’t rekindle the fire that had made him a co-medalist in Monday’s open qualifier, going birdie-free in a second-round 75 that ensured he would miss the cut.
Chamblee certainly had a memorable July in Scotland. Last week, he spent the majority of his time covering the British Open for Golf Channel/NBC Sports, squeezing in practice at dawn or dusk when he could. The busy schedule meant settling for five hours of sleep per night, he said in an interview with GOLF.com.
The practice paid off when Chamblee shot two-under 69 to share medalist honors in Monday’s open qualifier. Doing so earned him a spot in the field for his first-ever Champions Tour event. But he couldn’t match that level of play in an opening-round five-over 77, he told Golf Channel. “It felt like old times, but my game wasn’t there and I was trying not to be frustrated all day.”
Chamblee made fewer bogeys Friday but failed to record a birdie, settling for a three-over 75 that left him near the very bottom of the leaderboard. The 56-year-old bogeyed both of the Old Course’s par 5s plus the par-4 12th to round out a two-day total of eight-over 152. The projected cut line was around even par. One thing is for sure: Chamblee is likely to be his own harshest critic. A week ago, when asked what Chamblee the TV analyst would say about Chamblee the golfer, he didn’t mince words. “Oh gosh, he would — uh — I don’t know. I analyze my swing all the time and I’m disgusted with it. I look at it and all I see are flaws.”
