The PGA Tour filed a countersuit against LIV Golf on Wednesday, claiming the Saudi Arabian-financed circuit has interfered with existing contracts it had with its members.
The counterclaim was filed as part of the PGA Tour's response to LIV Golf's federal antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, in which LIV Golf claims the PGA Tour illegally suspended players for competing in LIV Golf tournaments and is wielding its monopoly power to squash competition.
The Tour claims that LIV Golf has executed a campaign to pay its players «astronomical sums of money to induce them to breach their contracts with the Tour in an effort to use the LIV Players and the game of golf to sportswash the recent history of Saudi atrocities and to further the Saudi Public Investment Fund's Vision 2030 initiatives.» The PGA Tour argued that LIV Golf officials have advised players that their agreements with the PGA Tour are unenforceable, while entering into their own agreements with LIV players, «which impose contractual restrictions on the LIV Players more onerous in scope and duration than any of the Tour regulations they challenge.» The motion included a text message that LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman purportedly sent to Spain's Sergio Garcia, in which Norman wrote: «They cannot ban you for one day let alone life.
It is a shallow threat. Ask them to put in writing to you or any player. I bet they don't. Happy for anyone to speak with our legal team to better understand they have no chance of enforcing.» In the motion, the PGA Tour claims that its Player Handbook and Tournament Regulations, which allowed it to suspend more than two dozen members for competing in LIV Golf events, contribute to its success and generate higher