Eleven professional golfers taking part in the LIV Golf Tournament have filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the PGA Tour. Included in the suit are allegations the PGA colluded with Augusta National to dissuade the players from joining the LIV tour.
Plaintiffs in the case are Phil Mickelson, Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, Matt Jones, Bryson DeChambeau, Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Ian Poulter, Pat Perez, Jason Kokrak, and Peter Uihlein.
In an earlier ABD story, Rick Franza, Dean of Hull College of Business at Augusta University, had predicted this could happen.
“Nothing will be resolved until it goes to court,” he said.
The suit alleges that before the LIV Tour began this year, the PGA Tour was the only meaningful option for golfers playing at the highest levels, yet the tour doesn’t compensate the golfers for their revenues at the level of athletes in other sports. Then, when the LIV Tour began, it further alleges that the PGA used its power to restrict the options of golfers, even though they have the status of independent contractors.
The suit then alleges, “And, in its response to LIV Golf’s competitive challenge, the Tour has exercised this power by punishing the players to choke off the supply of elite professional golfers – an essential input to LIV Golf’s competitive challenge – and cement its dominance over the sport.”
Among the many citations of examples of this, the lawsuit alleges that Augusta National and chairman, Fred Ridley have played a part. It accuses the PGA of pressuring Augusta National “to do its bidding.”
It alleges that Ridley personally advised players in the 2022 Masters Tournament to not join the LIV Tour and also alleges that he refused to meet with Greg Norman, CEO of the LIV Tour. Also alleged is that in February, representatives of Augusta National threatened to disinvite players from the Masters if they joined LIV.
In addition, the suit alleges the PGA used similar pressure tactics to convince the other three Majors, the Ryder Cup, and the European Tour to ban any players who joined the LIV Tour.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial to determine whether the PGA Tour’s actions violate the United States antitrust laws and to keep the PGA from banning players who compete for LIV.
The LIV Golf series is backed by Saudi Arabian money which it has used to lure some of the game’s top golfers, most recently Augusta-favorite Bubba Watson. Watson reportedly received at least $50 million to join LIV.
Other familiar names joining the tour include past Masters champions Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, and Charl Schwartzel. Other top golfers who defected include Brooks Koepka, Louis Oosthuizen, Bryson DeChambeau, Kevin Na, Talor Gooch, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Bernd Wiesberger.
The LIV format looks a little different than the average PGA tour. The eight scheduled tournaments are 54 holes instead of 72 and are played by 12 four-player teams (the teams are chosen by draft the Tuesday before the tournament). The winning team splits the $20 million top prize, with another $5 million divvied up among the others.
