Prominent golf champion Phil Mickelson and three other professional golfers are asking to be removed from LIV Golf’s antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour.
Mickelson, Talor Gooch, Ian Poulter, and Hudson Swafford filed court documents to drop out as plaintiffs in the suit against the PGA Tour that accuses it of engaging in monopolistic practices by suspending them from its tournaments due to their participation in LIV.
RSC CHAIRMAN OFFERS TO HOST TIGER WOODS AND JACK NICKLAUS AMID PGA FEUD WITH LIV GOLF
“Nothing has changed. The merits of the case — the PGA Tour’s anticompetitive conduct — still stand,” a LIV spokesperson said in a statement to the Washington Examiner after the players dropped out of the suit. “LIV stands with the players whom the PGA Tour has treated so poorly, but we also recognize that to be successful, we no longer need a wide array of players to be on the suit.”
The players gave similar reasons for dropping the suit. Gooch, Poulter, and Swafford indicated that they did not feel their involvement was necessary any longer, according to the Wall Street Journal. Mickelson, a six-time major champion, also echoed that sentiment.
“I am pleased that the players on Tour are finally being heard, respected, and valued and are benefiting from the changes recently implemented. With LIV’s involvement in these issues, the players’ rights will be protected, and I no longer feel it is necessary for me to be part of the proceedings,” he said, per the WSJ.
Back in June, the PGA Tour suspended 17 members who opted to compete in its upstart rival, LIV Golf. The PGA Tour argued that the players flouted their contracts by agreeing to participate in LIV Golf. The Justice Department opened an inquiry into the matter in response.
PGA Tour suspends current and future LIV players. pic.twitter.com/lKhxo27Ida
— Eamon Lynch (@eamonlynch) June 9, 2022
Multiple players are still named as plaintiffs in the suit against the PGA, but with Mickelson off the suit, LIV has lost one of the most prominent names in golf in the legal squabble against the PGA Tour.
At least two of the players who dropped the suit, Gooch and Swafford, sought to get into the FedEx Cup but were unsuccessful, sources told the outlet.
LIV Golf is a nascent golf tournament that has been perceived as a rival to the PGA Tour, which has long been a dominant tournament in the golfing world. Headed by former champion Greg Norman, LIV has tapped into a lucrative war chest from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
It has doled out lucrative contracts to big-name players, such as Mickelson, in a bid to peel off disgruntled professional golfers who have various qualms with the PGA, such as scheduling and money, or are simply seeking to try something different.
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Since its inception, LIV Golf has faced criticism from families of 9/11 victims for doing business with Saudi Arabia — due to its purported ties to the terrorist attack that killed nearly 3,000.
The lawsuit is poised to begin its discovery phase, according to the report. Details of LIV Golf contracts that have surfaced publicly revealed that the tournament insists its participants don LIV clothing even at non-LIV tournaments.
