Judge - LIV golfers didn't show they were harmed by PGA Tour

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The federal judge who denied temporary restraining orders to three LIV Golf players who wanted to come back to the PGA Tour to compete in the FedEx Cup playoffs said the plaintiffs failed to «even show that they have been harmed — let alone irreparably.»

United States District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman, of the Northern District of California, made that assessment in her written ruling that was released on Thursday. Freeman ruled on Tuesday that the PGA Tour could ban Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford from competing in the FedEx Cup playoffs while they were suspended for appearing in LIV Golf tournaments without conflicting-event releases.

«Based on this evidence, [temporary restraining order] Plaintiffs have not even shown that they have been harmed — let alone irreparably,» Freeman wrote in her ruling. «It is clear that the LIV Golf contracts negotiated by the TRO Plaintiffs and consummated between the parties were based on the players' calculation of what they would be leaving behind and the amount of money they would need to compensate for those losses.

»TRO Plaintiffs have signed contracts that richly reward them for their talent and compensate for lost opportunity through TOUR play. In fact, the evidence shows almost without a doubt that they will be earning significantly more money with LIV Golf than they could reasonably have expected to make through TOUR play over the same time period."

Lawyers for the three players argued that prohibiting them from competing in the FedEx Cup playoffs would negate them of opportunities to earn Official World Golf Ranking points, which are used to determine exemptions and fields for the four major championships. During Tuesday's hearing, the