Field Level Media
04 Aug 2022, 00:49 GMT+10
A cadre of golfers including Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour on Wednesday.
Eleven golfers now on the LIV Golf Series joined the lawsuit, which challenges their suspension from the PGA Tour. Three of the 11 - Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, Matt Jones - are seeking a temporary restraining order to be allowed to participate in the FedEx Cup playoffs, which begin next week.
That trio qualified for the playoffs but were banned after joining LIV, a competing circuit considered a direct threat to the PGA Tour.
In addition, Abraham Ancer, Jason Kokrak, Carlos Ortiz, Pat Perez, Ian Poulter and Peter Uihlein are listed along with Mickelson in the lawsuit.
Multiple media outlets obtained copies of the lawsuit, first reported on by The Wall Street Journal.
"As part of its carefully orchestrated plan to defeat competition, the Tour has threatened lifetime bans on players who play in even a single LIV Golf event," the lawsuit says. "It has backed up these threats by imposing unprecedented suspensions on players (including the Plaintiffs) that threaten irreparable harm to the players and their ability to pursue their profession.
"It has threatened sponsors, vendors, and agents to coerce players to abandon opportunities to play in LIV Golf events. And it has orchestrated a per se unlawful group boycott with the European Tour to deny LIV Golf access to their members."
The FedEx Cup playoffs begin with the St. Jude Classic in Memphis next week. The top 125 players are eligible to play - except for those who opted to play in LIV events.
Gooch is No. 20 in points, Swafford is 63rd and Jones No. 91.
"Banning Plaintiffs and other top professional golfers from its own events degrades the Tour's strength of field and diminishes the quality of the product that it offers to golf fans by depriving them from seeing many top golfers participate in Tour events," the lawsuit reads.
"The only conceivable benefit to the Tour from degrading its own product in this manner is the destruction of competition. Indeed, the Tour has conceded its nakedly anticompetitive purpose in attacking and injuring the players."
--Field Level MediaGet a daily dose of Business Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Business Sun.
More InformationNEW YORK CITY, New York: Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high this week, buoyed by growing institutional interest and a wave of pro-crypto...
LONDON, U.K.: American consumers and businesses could soon face the highest overall tariff burden in more than a century, according...
SHENZHEN, China: As global chip competition intensifies, Huawei Technologies is exploring new markets in the Middle East and Southeast...
LONDON/NEW YORK CITY: American grocery bills may be headed higher as coffee and orange juice prices face upward pressure from new tariffs...
BATTLE CREEK, Michigan: In a major consolidation of iconic food brands, WK Kellogg has agreed to be acquired by the owner of Ferrero...
NEW DELHI, India: India has submitted a revised proposal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva to implement retaliatory tariffs...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: Meta is holding firm on its controversial pay-or-consent model, a move that could lead to fresh antitrust charges...
SHENZHEN, China: As global chip competition intensifies, Huawei Technologies is exploring new markets in the Middle East and Southeast...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Nvidia, the Silicon Valley chipmaker at the heart of the artificial intelligence boom, this week briefly...
REDMOND, Washington: Artificial intelligence is transforming Microsoft's bottom line. The company saved over US$500 million last year...
BASTROP, Texas: In a surprising turn at Elon Musk's X platform, CEO Linda Yaccarino announced she is stepping down, just months after...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: An elaborate impersonation scheme involving artificial intelligence targeted senior U.S. and foreign officials in...