LIV duo drop out of PGA Tour lawsuit

The antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour has been dealt another blow after two more players dropped out.

Abraham Ancer and Jason Kokrak are the latest players to pull out of the legal action, which initially included 11 LIV Golf players before Carlos Ortiz and Pat Perez withdrew their names.

Seven remain, including Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Ian Poulter, Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, Matt Jones and Peter Uihlein.

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In another fresh twist, the breakaway league itself has now been added to court documents as an “interested party”. Prior to last weekend, the action only named the players as plaintiffs.

The players claim the PGA Tour broke competition laws in the US through what they describe as an “intentional and relentless effort to crush nascent competition before it threatens the Tour’s monopoly”.

They are calling for “punitive damages for the PGA Tour’s bad faith and egregious interference with LIV Golf’s contractual and prospective business relationships”.

Earlier this month, the tour drew first blood in what could be a protracted courtroom battle. Swafford, Jones and Gooch appealed to be allowed to play in the FedEx Cup playoffs, but their bid was thrown out.

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Should the antitrust lawsuit go all the way to trial, it will not be heard until 2024.

It is not the only legal action concerning LIV Golf. Patrick Reed is attempting to sue Golf Channel and Brandel Chamblee, alleging a nine-year campaign of defamation.

His lawyer, Larry Klayman, has also launched a bid to force Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jay Monahan to testify under oath about a players’ meeting held before the BMW Championship.