Golf-Mickelson and three others drop out of LIV Golf lawsuit against PGA Tour
2022.09.27 13:03
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Golf – The 150th Open Championship – Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland, Britain – July 15, 2022 Phil Mickelson of the U.S. at the 2nd tee during the second round REUTERS/Phil Noble
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson and three other golfers dropped out of a lawsuit on Tuesday which had been filed against the PGA Tour last month over its decision to suspend players who participated on the new LIV Golf circuit.
Mickelson asked to be dismissed from the lawsuit along with Talor Gooch, Ian Poulter and Hudson (NYSE:) Swafford.
Mickelson told Sport Illustrated recently that he was considering dropping out of the litigation because LIV had entered the fight.
Mickelson and a long list of golfers filed the lawsuit in early August over its decision to suspend players, including Mickelson, for playing on the new LIV Golf circuit.
The $255 million LIV series is being bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which critics say is a vehicle for the country to try to improve its image in the face of criticism of its human rights record.
It was reported in July that the U.S. Justice Department was investigating whether the PGA Tour broke antitrust law in fending off the LIV Golf circuit.
The lawsuit also shed light on the status of fan favourite Mickelson, who took a self-imposed break in February when excerpts from an unauthorised biography revealed he had called the Saudis “scary” but was willing to look past their human rights record.
According to the lawsuit, Mickelson was suspended by the PGA Tour in March for, among other alleged reasons, trying to recruit players to LIV Golf and that his appeal was denied.
Mickelson applied for reinstatement in June, the lawsuit says, but that request was denied given his participation in the inaugural LIV event earlier that month.
In addition to denying Mickelson’s request, the lawsuit said the golfer was forbidden from seeking reinstatement until March 2023, which was then extended until March 2024 after he played the second LIV event.
Mickelson’s ban was only announced in June, shortly after he teed off in the first LIV event, when the PGA Tour announced its decision to suspend all members who joined the lucrative series and said anyone else who made the jump would face the same fate.
