Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau Among LIV Golfers to File Antitrust Lawsuit vs. PGA

According to Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal, a group of 11 golf players have filed an antitrust lawsuit against the tour.

The other golfers were attached to the lawsuit.

The golf players on the Saudi Arabia-backed circuit are challenging the suspension of them by the PGA Tour.

According to the motion, the Tour's conduct serves no purpose other than to cause harm to players and prevent the entry of the first meaningful competitive threat the Tour has faced in decades.

They are looking for a temporary restraining order that would allow them to play in the FedEx Cup playoffs. The PGA Tour said they couldn't compete because they didn't accumulate enough points.

Players from outside the top 125 in the rankings will be allowed to compete on the tour.

The lawsuit was responded to by the commissioner of the golf tour.

Rex Hoggard @RexHoggardGC

Memo from PGA Tour commissioner to players in response to antitrust lawsuit that was filed Wednesday in California. pic.twitter.com/T0UR9FMoud

The new lawsuit sheds light on the status of the golfer on the tour. The suit states that Lefty was suspended in March for allegedly recruiting players. He can't apply for reinstatement until March 2024, after playing in multiple LIV events.

The Justice Department is investigating the PGA Tour for anticompetitive behavior. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have bipartisan support for the PGA Tour.

Good competition is welcome. The Saudi golf league is not that. An irrational threat is not concerned with the return on investment or growth of the game.

The PGA Tour can't compete if the only weapons are dollars. The PGA Tour is unable to compete with a foreign monarchy that is spending billions of dollars to buy the game of golf.

After LIV Golf announced it will expand its schedule to 14 tournaments for $400 million in purses, this came up.

It had eight tournaments and $255 million in prize money.

The Saudi Arabian government, which has been accused of attempting to sportswash its human rights violations, has received a lot of criticism.