With Judge Beth Labson Freeman denying a temporary restraining order to Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, and Matt Jones against the PGA Tour Tuesday, LIV Golf took the first loss in the battle between the two leagues.
The restraining order would have allowed Gooch, Swafford, and Jones to compete in the FedEx Cup playoffs, which begin Thursday. According to Freeman, part of her decision was: “LIV contracts are based upon players’ calculation of what they were leaving behind.”
Rory McIlroy, one of the strongest proponents of the PGA Tour amidst more and more defections to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf, celebrated Freeman’s decision, saying at a news conference Wednesday that “common sense prevailed,” per Sports Illustrated.
“I thought it was the right decision,’’ he said. “Let’s focus on the important stuff, which is the golf. We can all move forward and not have that sideshow going on for the next few weeks, which is nice.’’
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McIlroy isn’t the first player to have strong words for LIV Golf’s members. Justin Thomas said he took the lawsuit as an attack on himself and all other tour members.
“They’re suing me. They’re suing Rory. They’re suing Tiger (Woods),” Thomas said on a podcast at the end of June. “They’re suing every single one of us that they’ve looked in the face, looked in the eyes and played rounds of golf with …”
McIlroy enters the playoffs sixth in the standings. The restraining order request from Gooch, Swafford, and Jones was a subset of an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour by 11 LIV Golf members.
“I think where the resentment comes from the membership of this tour is the fact that they want to try to get their way back in here with no consequences, and anyone that’s read the PGA Tour handbook or abided by the rules and regulations, that would feel very unfair to them,” McIlroy said. “That’s sort of how it played out and I think everyone that has abided by the rules was—again, it’s like there’s such a long way to go.
“It’s like you birdied the first hole, but you’ve still got 17 holes to go. It was a good day for the Tour and for the majority of the membership yesterday.’’
Cameron Smith, despite reportedly being set to join LIV Golf for its Boston event in September on a $100 million-plus deal, will be able to participate in the playoffs. All members who have participated in LIV events have been suspended indefinitely, with some of them resigning their PGA Tour membership.
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