The PGA Tour has presented this Monday, hurrying the term to the maximum, his allegations to the demand presented by several players of LIFE Golf. Specifically, it is the response of the lawyers of the American circuit to the request of Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford y Matt Jones to provisionally suspend the ban imposed on them from playing on the Tour in order to participate in the Playoffs of the FedEx Cup.
The allegations presented by the office of Keker, Van Nest & Peters, representatives of the Tour, is based on the fact that the supposed financial damage claimed by the golfers in the case of not participating in the Playoffs would be self-induced, since they were fully aware of what would happen to them in the event of breaking the Tour rules by playing the LIV Golf tournaments. In addition, they add that they made that decision knowing the consequences to earn large sums of money, so the financial damage is not understood.
In the same way, the PGA Tour adds in its allegations that there are four other players who are playing the LIV Golf tournaments, who are in the lawsuit, who qualified to play the Playoffs and who have not joined the request of the precautionary The Tour brief ensures that “they recognize that there is no emergency or irreparable damage; they too have “qualified” to play in the FedExCup but they have not asked the Court for the extraordinary compensation sought through this motion ».
The PGA Tour argues that allowing suspended golfers to compete for FedEx Cup Playoff purses would create financial damage to players who have remained committed to the Tour.
In addition, in his writing, the breakdown he makes of how the net income of the circuit was distributed in 2021 is particularly interesting. «In total 916 million dollars -approximately 98% of the net income of the Tour- were allocated to players, tournaments and charities. Of that amount, $770 million was allocated to players, including $443 million for player prizes and benefits, $110 million for player bonus programs, $17 million for contributions to the the Players and $200 million in earnings from the Players’ Retirement Plan.
As part of their annual contract – the letter continues – members agree not to play, and therefore contribute their media rights, in non-Tour golf events held in North America that conflict with the PGA Tour events. Despite knowing full well that they would break the Tour Regulations and be suspended for doing so, the plaintiffs have joined the competing golf league LIFE Golfwhich has paid them tens and hundreds of millions of dollars in guaranteed money supplied by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia to prosecute their violations.
Applicants for the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) (the precautionary) have waited almost two months to ask the Court for help, fabricating an “emergency” that they now maintain requires immediate action. Members of the PGA Tour and their agents were informed more than a year before LIV Golf launched and were made aware that participation would constitute a breach of contract and Tour rules. The TRO plaintiffs had known since June 9 – and indeed before – that they would violate the Tour Regulations and lose their ability to play in the FedExCup Playoffs in exchange for accepting very large payments from LIV Golf.”
Finally, to close their arguments, the lawyers pose the following questions: why could a judge be convinced that these players were harmed after being informed of the rules and the consequences, knowingly breaking those rules and asking now court permission to keep breaking those rules? And if players win guaranteed amounts of money that skyrocket, where is the proven damage? “Player participation in LIV violates the PGA Tour Tournament Manual and Rules,” he said. Elliot Peters de Keker, Van Nest & Peters. “In exchange for huge sums of money provided by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, the plaintiffs deliberately breached their agreements with the PGA Tour. The supposed player damage is entirely self-induced. We will vigorously litigate this case to preserve the reputation of the PGA Tour and protect the benefits it offers to players.”
As we say, the PGA Tour He has rushed the deadline to present his allegations to the maximum. In fact, the California judge to whom the lawsuit was filed and asked for the injunction is expected to decide this Tuesday if the three aforementioned players can play the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
On the other hand, as the Provisional Ball podcast progresses, the lawsuit initially filed by eleven players already has ten. The Mexican carlos ortiz He has withdrawn from the lawsuit and, in fact, today he has no interest in participating in the Playoffs. Moreover, it should not be ruled out that he will soon renounce his membership on the PGA Tour, just as others like Dustin Johnson or Sergio García did.
