Next lawsuit filed in war embroiling professional golf in America
The next lawsuit has been filed in the war that has embroiled professional golf for the last couple of years.
The case, like the first which was brought by Larry Klayman, the founder of both Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch, alleges that “Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Davis Love III, and Fred Couples all conspired since the inception of the LIV Golf Tour, illegally and tortiously interfered with LIV players competing in major tournaments and prevented them from earning points with the Official Golf World Ranking (“OWGR”) such that the LIV players could not qualify to play in the majors and/or obtain exemptions from sponsors to play in the majors.”
The new case was filed in Superior Court of Los Angeles, Santa Monica Division.,
Klayman said, “Tiger Woods and the other defendants are not what they try to appear to be and have done everything in their power to deprive golf fans and consumers from getting the benefit of their ticket purchases at major tournaments to enjoy the best golfers in the world on LIV and the PGA Tour from competing head-to-head.
“Woods in particular, who is idolized for his professional golfing success, is not the person portrayed in the pro-PGA Tour golfing media and is no boy scout. He will be shown to be a two-faced, devious ‘Tiger in sheep’s clothing,’ adding to his bad conduct and poor reputation in the other non-golfing aspects of this life.”
Klayman’s report said Woods and McIlroy have been claiming to support LIV players and LIV Golf being merged with the PGA Tour and its players.
However, he said, “Ironically and hypocritically, Woods appeared just last Thursday with President Trump at the White House with his Trump-awarded Medal of Freedom around his neck, promoting Black History Month and later meeting with the president, PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan, and LIV Golf founder and the Saudi Public Investment Funds CEO Yasir Al-Rumayyan.”
Klayman’s original case contended there were problems with the “monopolization” of professional golf by its corporations, the PGA Tour and its partner DP World Tour.
Klayman, who also was on the Department of Justice team that broke up the AT&T monopoly during the Reagan administration, and whose personality inspired a character on the television show, “The West Wing,” alleged in that case, due to the defendants’ anticompetitive conduct, he and other golf fans have been harmed due to the reduced competition, causing the price of admission tickets and concessions for and at PGA tournaments to increase greatly.
WND previously had reported Klayman charged, “Using the phony pretext of Saudi financing of the LIV Golf Tour (as the PGA Tour and DP World Tour also significantly benefit from a huge amount of Saudi and Arab/Muslim money) these defendants have flagrantly sought, through their anti-competitive actions, to harm Florida consumers who would attend PGA Tour and its admitted partner DP World Tour golfing tournaments and events, by suspending and fining professional golfers who were formerly on these golf tours, simply because they signed up to play in LIV Golf Tour tournaments and events.”
In fact, at one point the PGA has confirmed plans to eject its members who may participate in the opposing tour.
In the earlier dispute, Klayman said, “The LIV Golf Tour, which was organized and is led by champion golf legend Greg Norman, is paying large competitive contract fees to big name professional golfers such Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Kevin Na, and Talor Gooch, and a host of other prominent players. It is seeking to establish itself as a potentially significant competitor to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, which these entities apparently will not tolerate.”
He charged the PGA was trying to eliminate “a competitor.”
He then pursued legal options when the original was “wrongfully dismissed.”
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