Law

PGA Tour Files Motion to Bar 3 LIV Golfers from Playoffs

Talor Gooch, Matt Jones, and Hudson Swafford all left the PGA Tour.
Attorneys for the LIV players argue that the punishment for not playing would be “substantial and irreparable.”

Aug 08, 2022 | 01:35 pm

UPDATED Feb 20, 2023 | 02:13 pm

Patrick Breen/The Republic

As the PGA Tour gears up for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, it’s doing everything it can to keep LIV defectors from playing — including legal sanctions.

Attorneys for the Tour have asked a federal judge to deny a temporary restraining order filed on behalf of three players that would compel the Tour to allow them to play in the golf postseason despite their suspensions.

A hearing has been scheduled for 4 p.m. ET via Zoom on Tuesday.

Talor Gooch, Matt Jones, and Hudson Swafford all left the PGA Tour to compete with LIV Golf.

All three would qualify for the playoffs by virtue of being ranked in the top 125 of the FedEx Cup standings.
They rank 20th, 65th, and 67th, respectively.

Attorneys for the LIV players argue that the punishment for not being able to play in the playoffs would be “substantial and irreparable,” and that the temporary restraining order is necessary to prevent that harm.

The PGA Tour is arguing that these players have no basis to demand such an order.

“Their ineligibility for Tour events was foreseeable when they accepted millions from LIV to breach their agreements with the Tour, and they knew for a fact that they were suspended on June 9,” the Tour’s lawyers wrote. “The antitrust laws do not allow Plaintiffs to have their cake and eat it, too.”