The PGA Tour faces an AntiTrust probe from their conflict with the LIV Golf Tournament. The LIV Golf Tournament was started as a rival golf association that has been swaying golf’s big names away from the PGA tour with massive amounts of money. Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, and Phil Mickelson are some notable names that have left the PGA Tour to play for the LIV.
How did they lose some of their biggest golfers?
The PGA responded by banning any player that joins the LIV from participating in their events. However, many of these players weren’t as upset when they found out they were still eligible to play in Major tournaments. This caused more golfers to start funneling toward the LIV. And many who are leaving are facing backlash because Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund backs the LIV Tour.
The antitrust probe
Now, the Justice Department is investigating whether the PGA Tour’s actions were anticompetitive. Their case is pretty simple. The LIV claims that by banning golfers from joining their tournaments, the PGA Tour is forcing them to spend more money to do business.
This is true. If they allowed golfers to be in both leagues, the LIV wouldn’t have to offer 25 million dollars in prize money at their tournaments.
A system that needs disruption
Golfers have been looking for a way to disrupt the league for some time now. Phil Mickelson even said, “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates. They’ve been able to get by with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics because we, the players, had no recourse.”
So, what do you think? Is the PGA Tour at fault here? And what will be the ultimate fallout from all of these golfers jumping ship to a new league for more money? Hopefully, the result will be that the sport of golf is changed for the better.
