The antitrust lawsuit brought by golf star Phil Mickelson and ten other players against the PGA Tour will not be heard until early 2024.
The antitrust lawsuit brought by golf star Phil Mickelson and ten other players against the PGA Tour will not be heard until early 2024.
On Thursday, Judge Beth Labson Freeman of the US District Court for the Northern District of California scheduled the hearing for January 8, 2024, according to US media reports.
Mickelson and ten other golfers had joined the controversial and Saudi-sponsored LIV tournament series. As a result, they were banned by the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour justified the suspensions with reference to the statutes, according to which professionals cannot compete in events other than PGA tournaments without permission. The professionals filed their lawsuit in early August. A golfer is said to have refrained from the lawsuit.
LIV’s lawyers had requested a hearing for August 7, 2023, citing the urgency of the case. The judge set a first judgment date of July 23, 2023, at which time the PGA Tour will certainly move to dismiss the lawsuit.
LIV tournament series attracts players with record sums
In addition to their lawsuit with Mickelson against the PGA, Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones had also applied to the court for injunctions so that they could still participate in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs. The trio had qualified for the playoffs before joining the LIV series. As a result, the PGA banned them from last week’s tournament. The judge rejected the injunction.
The LIV tournament series attracts players with high entry fees and record prize money. According to several English media reports, Mickelson is said to have received a bonus of 200 million US dollars for his move alone. Superstar Tiger Woods turned down an offer of between $700 million and $800 million.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wants to improve the image of the country, which has been criticized for human rights violations, with the series and the prominent names. The US intelligence services regard him as the mastermind behind the assassination of journalist and government critic Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Source: Stern
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