Phil Mickelson and Three Other LIV Golfers Drop Out of Lawsuit Against PGA Tour

Mickelson is the most famous golfer to have signed with the upstart, Saudi-backed LIV Golf, and his inclusion in the legal challenge had been an additional boost to its profile. 

The players’ departures largely leave it to LIV Golf and its owner, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, to fight the antitrust battle against the PGA Tour, rather than a group of golfers. 

The case will move ahead without them, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Talor Gooch, Ian Poulter and Hudson Swafford also dropped out of the suit, according to court filings. 

Bryson DeChambeau is among the players who remain. LIV Golf itself, which was initially not party to the suit, has since joined on. Eleven players were plaintiffs in the original lawsuit, with others having previously removed themselves. 

LIV issued a statement saying that it would proceed with the case as planned.

“Nothing has changed. The merits of the case—the PGA Tour’s anticompetitive conduct—still stand and will be fully tested in court,” LIV Golf chief communications officer Jonathan Grella said in a statement. “LIV stands with the players whom the PGA Tour has treated so poorly, but we also recognize that to be successful, we no longer need a wide array of players to be on the suit.”

LIV Golf and the remaining players are arguing that the PGA Tour has acted anticompetitively, from a monopolist position, in an attempt to squash a nascent rival. Among their complaints are the decision by the PGA Tour to exclude LIV players from Tour events, which LIV says harmed the players but also drove up its cost of doing business, because it had to pay the players more to compensate them for the lost opportunities. 

The PGA Tour has said that it believes its rules are appropriate and legal. The Tour has suspended the players who have competed in the LIV events and who the Tour says violated their contracts, while many of the banned players have resigned their PGA Tour memberships.   

In statements, the players explained various reasons for leaving. Poulter indicated that he was content to have left the PGA Tour. Gooch added that he wanted to concentrate on golf, while Swafford said his involvement no longer felt necessary. People familiar with LIV’s case said that Gooch and Swafford had primarily been motivated to fight to get into the FedEx Cup, an early legal skirmish that they lost. 

And Mickelson said he had already achieved what he wanted by joining LIV, in forcing changes from the PGA Tour. 

“I am pleased that the players on Tour are finally being heard, respected, and valued and are benefiting from the changes recently implemented. With LIV’s involvement in these issues, the players’ rights will be protected, and I no longer feel it is necessary for me to be part of the proceedings,” he said.

The case could be decisive in a fight that has riven professional golf, as could a Justice Department investigation into the PGA Tour’s actions. The legal fight also carries implications for all of professional sports, and whether sports governing bodies can restrict athletes from participating in certain events by threatening to make them ineligible for other events the body sanctions.

In recent months, backed by the spending power of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund, LIV has lured many of the highest-profile golfers in the world with lucrative appearance fees and prize funds that outpace what’s offered on the PGA Tour. Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and this year’s British Open champion Cameron Smith are among the superstars who have bolted to play in the events. 

Mickelson’s comments earlier this year, in which he stated that he would be willing to do business with the Saudis despite the country’s poor track record on human rights, ignited much of early controversy around LIV. He had said that, despite issues such as the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, he was open to the Saudis’ overture because of his dissatisfaction with the PGA Tour. 

“Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it?” Mickelson said in the comments published by the Firepit Collective. “Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.” 

But in mid-September, he struck a different tone as he praised the history of the PGA Tour and encouraged the bodies to cooperate with one another. He said the PGA Tour will no longer have all the best players in the world because “LIV golf is here to stay” and that both products are needed to grow the game of golf. 

“The best solution is for us to come together,” Mickelson said at a LIV event near Chicago. “As soon as that happens and we all start working together, that’s going to be a really positive thing for everyone.” 

The lawsuit is about to enter the discovery phase, a period that could unearth damaging details for all parties involved. The PGA Tour’s IRS filings as a tax-exempt organization are already publicly available. 

Parts of LIV’s player contract have also emerged, establishing that the circuit made extensive demands of its participants to appear with LIV-branded clothing and coffee mugs even in non-LIV tournaments. But the specific payments to players—and the way they are structured—remains a big and unanswered question. 

Write to Louise Radnofsky at louise.radnofsky@wsj.com and Andrew Beaton at andrew.beaton@wsj.com

Mickelson is the most famous golfer to have signed with the upstart, Saudi-backed LIV Golf, and his inclusion in the legal challenge had been an additional boost to its profile. 

The players’ departures largely leave it to LIV Golf and its owner, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, to fight the antitrust battle against the PGA Tour, rather than a group of golfers. 

The case will move ahead without them, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Talor Gooch, Ian Poulter and Hudson Swafford also dropped out of the suit, according to court filings. 

Bryson DeChambeau is among the players who remain. LIV Golf itself, which was initially not party to the suit, has since joined on. Eleven players were plaintiffs in the original lawsuit, with others having previously removed themselves. 

LIV issued a statement saying that it would proceed with the case as planned.

“Nothing has changed. The merits of the case—the PGA Tour’s anticompetitive conduct—still stand and will be fully tested in court,” LIV Golf chief communications officer Jonathan Grella said in a statement. “LIV stands with the players whom the PGA Tour has treated so poorly, but we also recognize that to be successful, we no longer need a wide array of players to be on the suit.”

LIV Golf and the remaining players are arguing that the PGA Tour has acted anticompetitively, from a monopolist position, in an attempt to squash a nascent rival. Among their complaints are the decision by the PGA Tour to exclude LIV players from Tour events, which LIV says harmed the players but also drove up its cost of doing business, because it had to pay the players more to compensate them for the lost opportunities. 

The PGA Tour has said that it believes its rules are appropriate and legal. The Tour has suspended the players who have competed in the LIV events and who the Tour says violated their contracts, while many of the banned players have resigned their PGA Tour memberships.   

In statements, the players explained various reasons for leaving. Poulter indicated that he was content to have left the PGA Tour. Gooch added that he wanted to concentrate on golf, while Swafford said his involvement no longer felt necessary. People familiar with LIV’s case said that Gooch and Swafford had primarily been motivated to fight to get into the FedEx Cup, an early legal skirmish that they lost. 

And Mickelson said he had already achieved what he wanted by joining LIV, in forcing changes from the PGA Tour. 

“I am pleased that the players on Tour are finally being heard, respected, and valued and are benefiting from the changes recently implemented. With LIV’s involvement in these issues, the players’ rights will be protected, and I no longer feel it is necessary for me to be part of the proceedings,” he said.

The case could be decisive in a fight that has riven professional golf, as could a Justice Department investigation into the PGA Tour’s actions. The legal fight also carries implications for all of professional sports, and whether sports governing bodies can restrict athletes from participating in certain events by threatening to make them ineligible for other events the body sanctions.

In recent months, backed by the spending power of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund, LIV has lured many of the highest-profile golfers in the world with lucrative appearance fees and prize funds that outpace what’s offered on the PGA Tour. Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and this year’s British Open champion Cameron Smith are among the superstars who have bolted to play in the events. 

Mickelson’s comments earlier this year, in which he stated that he would be willing to do business with the Saudis despite the country’s poor track record on human rights, ignited much of early controversy around LIV. He had said that, despite issues such as the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, he was open to the Saudis’ overture because of his dissatisfaction with the PGA Tour. 

“Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it?” Mickelson said in the comments published by the Firepit Collective. “Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.” 

But in mid-September, he struck a different tone as he praised the history of the PGA Tour and encouraged the bodies to cooperate with one another. He said the PGA Tour will no longer have all the best players in the world because “LIV golf is here to stay” and that both products are needed to grow the game of golf. 

“The best solution is for us to come together,” Mickelson said at a LIV event near Chicago. “As soon as that happens and we all start working together, that’s going to be a really positive thing for everyone.” 

The lawsuit is about to enter the discovery phase, a period that could unearth damaging details for all parties involved. The PGA Tour’s IRS filings as a tax-exempt organization are already publicly available. 

Parts of LIV’s player contract have also emerged, establishing that the circuit made extensive demands of its participants to appear with LIV-branded clothing and coffee mugs even in non-LIV tournaments. But the specific payments to players—and the way they are structured—remains a big and unanswered question. 

Write to Louise Radnofsky at louise.radnofsky@wsj.com and Andrew Beaton at andrew.beaton@wsj.com