LIV Golf Added to Antitrust Suit Against PGA Tour; Two More Players Drop Out

Abraham Ancer, Jason Kokrak join Carlos Ortiz, Pat Perez as those among the original 11 players in the suit who have removed their names.

ATLANTA – LIV Golf has been added to antitrust lawsuit filed against the PGA Tour while two more players dropped out who were part of the original complaint filed on the eve of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

An amended copy of the lawsuit was filed Friday and Abraham Ancer and Jason Kokrak have been removed, joining Carlos Ortiz and Pat Perez as others among the original 11 players named in the suit who have decided drop out.

Golf Channel first reported the amended lawsuit.

The remaining seven players are Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, Matt Jones, Ian Poulter and Peter Uihelin.

Gooch, Swafford and Jones sought temporary restraining orders to be able to compete in the FedEx Cup playoffs. Their attempt to gain a place in the first FedEx Cup playoff event two weeks ago in Memphis was denied by Judge Beth Labson Freeman in a Northern California court.

The lawsuit alleges that the PGA Tour players who were suspended have been denied their rights to compete due to a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

LIV Golf was not part of the original lawsuit but has now joined and said it has been able to launch the LIV Golf Invitational Series only “in the face of super-competitive costs and artificially reduced access to (players).’’

Three LIV Golf events have been played thus far, with tournaments near London, Portland, Ore., and in Bedminster, N.J. The next event is outside of Boston next week, one of five remaining on the schedule.

LIV Golf has offered lucrative signing bonuses to players and tournaments with $25 million purses each week with an added team component among the 48 players who compete. All players who were PGA Tour members and have played in an LIV event have been indefinitely suspended by the Tour.

LIV Golf has asked the court to award “punitive damages for the PGA Tour’s bad faith and egregious interference with LIV Golf’s contractual and prospective business relationships.’’

A LIV Golf representative offered no further comment on the complaint.

Earlier this week, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan laid out an ambitious plan that in part, was to counter LIV Golf, elevating several tournaments to $20 million purses and requiring the top players to compete in a minimum of 20 events beginning in 2023.

The trial date for the lawsuit has been set for Jan. 8, 2024 with a summary judgment hearing for July 23, 2023.