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The courtroom drama between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour has taken another dramatic twist after the tour countersued the rebel circuit.

LIV – and several of its players – are currently embroiled in legal action against the tour, alleging anticompetitive behaviour.

Now, however, the PGA Tour has taken legal action of its own against the Saudi-backed startup, according to the Athletic.

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• Patrick Reed files fresh defamation lawsuit

It accuses the breakaway league of “free riding” off the tour, and claims it is guilty of anticompetitive behaviour due to its restrictive contracts.

The suit also claims LIV enticed players to break their contractual agreements with the PGA Tour.

“A key component of LIV’s strategy has been to intentionally induce Tour members to breach their Tour agreements and play in LIV events while seeking to maintain their Tour memberships and play in marquee Tour events like The Players and the FedEx Cup Playoffs, so LIV can free ride off the Tour and its platform,” the complaint reads.

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“LIV has openly sought to damage the Tour’s business relationships with its members by inducing them to breach their contractual requirements, even going so far as to pay members’ legal fees to make breaching their contracts with Tour more enticing.

“LIV has signed golfers to multi-year contracts containing obligations that are far more restrictive than anything in the regulations, including a prohibition on participation in conflicting events that, unlike the Tour’s conflicting event rules, does not allow for any request for release.”