Controversy has roiled under the breakout LIV Golf league since its inception, with players on both circuits sniping at each other with relative frequency. The PGA Tour suspended all players who participate in LIV indefinitely back in June, and now the players are reportedly striking back.
Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and nine other LIV Golf members are suing the PGA in an antitrust lawsuit, with three players – Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, and Matt Jones – seeking a temporary restraining order to play in the PGA’s FedEx Cup Playoff.
Mickelson, who has been critical of the PGA Tour’s “obnoxious greed,” as he calls it, said back in February the PGA made its own bed with regard to LIV.
“The media rights are but a small fraction of everything else,” Mickelson said, per Golf Digest. “And it is the tour’s obnoxious greed that has really opened the door for opportunities elsewhere.”
MORE: Greg Norman reveals LIV Golf’s massive offer to Tiger Woods
Other players named in the lawsuit are Abraham Ancer, Jason Kokrak, Carlos Ortis, Pat Perez, Ian Poulter, and Peter Uihlein.
According to the lawsuit:
In other words: The players want to play in both LIV Golf and the PGA. The Tour doesn’t want them to.
When the PGA Tour leveled its suspension, it justified itself by saying, in part:
Antitrust, in this case, is dealing with monopoly laws.
Simultaneous to you receiving this memo, the players (listed below) are being notified that they are suspended or otherwise no longer eligible to participate in PGA TOUR tournament play, including the Presidents Cup. This also applies to all tours sanctioned by the PGA TOUR: the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR Champions, PGA TOUR Canada and PGA Tour Latinoamérica. As you know, players listed below did not receive the necessary conflicting event and media rights releases — or did not apply for releases at all — and their participation in the Saudi Golf League/LIV Golf event is in violation of our Tournament Regulations. The same fate holds true for any other players who participate in future Saudi Golf Leauge events in violation of our Regulations.
Also in accordance with PGA TOUR Tournament regulations, the players who have resigned their memberships will be removed from the FedExCup Points List when the official statistics following the RBC Canadian Open are posted on Sunday evening. To be clear, these players will not be permitted to play in PGA TOUR tournaments as a non-member via a sponsor exemption or any other eligibility category. For those who haven’t yet resigned, we will ensure they will not negatively impact your tournament eligibility, your position in the Priority Rankings or your eligibility to compete in the FedExCup Playoffs. We will update you as we work through this process. …
In July, the Department of Justice reportedly began an investigation into whether the PGA Tour engaged in anticompetitive behavior regarding LIV Golf, a move LIV CEO said the PGA “brought it on themselves” and was “a testament to their stupidity.”
Norman added that “the entire business model [of LIV Golf] from the ground up was built to coexist within the ecosystem of golf, coexist within the majors, coexist with the DP World Tour, coexist with the PGA Tour, allowing the players to play here and play there.”
Ultimately, it’s difficult to say whether or not these players have legal legs to stand on. But one thing that will interesting to keep an eye on is if the aforementioned temporary restraining orders are granted.
