(San Francisco) A federal judge on Tuesday rejected the request of three players involved in the dissident series LIV Golf, financed by Saudi funds, which wanted to obtain the right to participate in the final stages of the PGA Tour while they were suspended by its promoters.
Posted at 7:58 p.m.
Judge Beth Labson Freeman issued the interim ruling after a hearing in San Jose, Calif.
“We are disappointed that Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones are not allowed to play golf,” LIV Golf responded in a statement. “Nobody wins by banning golfers from playing.”
The Americans Talor Gooch and Hudson Swafford, as well as the Australian Matt Jones, intended to play the final stages of the PGA Tour, called FedEx Cup, which begins Thursday in Memphis (Tennessee) and for which they had qualified before joining LIV Golf in June.
The three golfers have been suspended for an indefinite period by the PGA, and justice has therefore confirmed this measure.
The PGA Tour has turned to the future. “With today’s news, our players, fans and partners can now focus on what really matters for the next three weeks, with the best players in the world going head-to-head in the FedEx playoffs. Cup,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was quoted by The Golf Channel as saying.
Gooch, Swafford and Jones are among a group of 11 players now involved in the LIV Golf series, which launched in June, and who opened antitrust proceedings against the PGA Tour last week, accusing it of acting as a monopoly . One of them, Mexican Carlos Ortiz, has withdrawn, however, his manager told the Golf Channel.
Thursday in Memphis starts the St. Jude Championship tournament, with a purse of 15 million dollars (14.7 m EUR), which will be disputed only by the 125 best players of the regular season on the PGA Tour. At the time of their suspension, Gooch was ranked 20eJones 65e and Swafford 67e.
Only the top 70 in St Jude will qualify for the following week’s tournament, the BMW Championship in Wilmington, with another $15 million in prize money, where the top 30 will earn their ticket to the season-closing Tour Championship, at Atlanta.