PGA Tour files motion in federal court to keep three LIV golfers out of FedEx Cup playoffs

The PGA Tour has asked a federal judge to deny a temporary restraining order to three of its suspended members who left to compete on the rival LIV Golf Invitational Series and are seeking to participate in the FedEx Cup playoffs, arguing the players can't «have their cake and eat it too.»

The three suspended members, Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford, are seeking relief from a federal judge to compete in the FedEx Cup playoffs, starting with this week's FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee.

In a motion filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Monday, attorneys representing the PGA Tour called the players' injunction request «legally baseless.» A hearing to consider the players' motion for a temporary restraining order is scheduled for Tuesday in San Jose, California.

«Despite knowing full well that they would breach TOUR Regulations and be suspended for doing so, Plaintiffs have joined competing golf league LIV Golf, which has paid them tens and hundreds of millions of dollars in guaranteed money supplied by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund to procure their breaches,» the motion said. "[Temporary restraining order] Plaintiffs now run into Court seeking a mandatory injunction to force their way into the TOUR's season-ending FedExCup Playoffs, an action that would harm all TOUR members that follow the rules. The antitrust laws do not allow Plaintiffs to have their cake and eat it too."

In a statement Monday, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman reiterated his circuit's belief that players are free agents and shouldn't be forced to play exclusively on one tour.

«I believe players have the right to play when and where they choose so their talents can take them as far and high as