Point for the PGA! Court dismisses LIV players’ first lawsuit, top of the season will take place without defectors. What’s next?

Before the PGA Tour’s top event even began, golf fans watched another, no less dramatic battle unfold in a courtroom in California. Eleven professionals, who are already part of rival organization LIV Golf, filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour last week to allow a trio of players to compete in the FedEx Cup. But they failed.

It all had to happen very quickly because the first of the three-tournament FedEx Cup series starts this Thursday at Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. It was primarily a trio of players, Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones, who qualified among the 125th highest players on the seasonal rankings earlier this season.

The players’ plea towards the court was that they should be allowed to compete in the FedExCup playoffs mainly because the absence would cause them irreparable financial damage.

However, Judge Beth Labson Freeman was of the opinion that these players received much more money due to their transfer to the LIV, although the specific amounts were not disclosed. Freeman, however, described the amounts as “staggering”.

The court asked the players seeking the lifting of the ban on playing on the PGA Tour to produce evidence that would have to prove the aforementioned irreparable financial harm. Without this, it was virtually impossible for players operating in LIV Golf to win this court sport.

Plaintiffs’ lead counsel Robert Walters argued that the FedEx Cup playoffs are an elite series of events. Players, he argued, would not only be harmed by the loss of potential earnings, but would also lose the opportunity to qualify for major championship tournaments, which primarily include the majors. However, the court did not accept this argument enough to rule in their favour.

The court also held that the premium the players received just for signing with LIV Golf was large enough to compensate them for any lost earnings from the FedEx Cup playoffs.

The lawsuit also included a request from other players who would not appear at the FedEx Cup in the coming weeks, but would like to regain their right to compete on the PGA Tour in the future. However, the court is dealing with the current situation in a quick process, and other matters are not likely to be addressed anytime soon, although it is more than clear that they will have to be decided by a trial.

According to Freeman, the earliest a trial on this lawsuit could have taken place would have been August 2023. In reality, it would have been on a shortened timetable, preceded by several hearings and the collection of other relevant data. However, if the parties are unable to prepare their briefs on this abbreviated timetable, the case will not be heard until 2025 at the earliest because the judge already has other cases on the bench.

It is therefore more than likely that the trial between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, will likely drag on for several years. On Tuesday afternoon in San Jose, California, the PGA Tour won its first point.

According to U.S. Circuit Commissioner Jay Monahan, players and PGA Tour partners can finally focus on what’s most important to them in the coming weeks. According to him and many others, the start of the LIV Golf players at the FedEx Cup would cause a lot of negative reactions on the course among spectators and players.

Source: GolfWeek – USA Today