Appeal Of PGA Tour Decision To Keep LIV Golfers Out Of 2022 FedEx Cup Playoffs Judge Allows.
Appeal Of PGA Tour Decision To Keep : This Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman granted PGA Tour’s motion to deny LIV Golf players’ access to the 2022 FedEx Cup Playoffs, because they are paying to participate while three members of the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf cannot pay.
“The PGA Tour is accusing the players of being well-aware of what they were walking away from as far as their earnings,” Judge Freeman said. “I agree with the tour about this, because there was an extensive negotiation that led to these contracts.”
Judge Freeman stated that there was not evidence to prove irreparable harm, concluding “It seems almost without a doubt that they will be earning more than they have made and could reasonably have expected to make in a reasonable amount of time under the PGA.”
LIV Golf is given a final warning to not break the PGA’s agreements after they were sued againt by the PGA Tour. The final day of the tournament begins on Friday, May 10, 2022.
These players will be unable to make the most out of their current positions in the FedEx Cup standings. They are currently on the inside track and will be eligible to play in next week’s BMW Championship, which means they would not have a chance in qualifying for the season-ending Tour Championship and The Open.
Commissioner Jay Monahan released a statement today, stating that many of the PGA Tour’s fans and partners will focus on the FedExCup Playoffs now.
A group of 10 professional golfers, including Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, filed an antitrust lawsuit in federal court last week in hopes of being allowed to compete alongside the other pros on the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour claims that the 10 players made a conscious decision to leave its membership when they chose to play for LIV. Therefore, those golfers aren’t really able to compete on future PGA Tour events.
Judge Freeman agreed, saying that the golfers knew what the consequences of their decision to play for LIV Golf would be.
Despite knowing full well that they would breach Tour regulations and be suspended for doing so, plaintiffs have joined competing golf league LIV International Golf, which has paid them tens and hundreds of millions of dollars in guaranteed money supplied by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to procure their breaches.
The PGA Tour is determined to continue pursuing legal action against the LPGA in response to the suspension issued on June 9 of PGA Tour members who participated in London’s first LIV event. The tussle between the leagues traces back to that date, as some members chose to resign their PGA Tour memberships while others aimed to fight for the ability to play both.
For the PGA Tour, they made a business decision to accept money. Since August 16th, LIV members have been receiving payments from PGA Tour advertisers that kick in ad revenue when players are mentioned on air during a tournament.