The PGA Tour responded to the lawsuit filed against it by 11 LIV Golf players on Wednesday, with commissioner Jay Monahan issuing a letter to its members saying the tour is ready to fight back.
“We have been preparing to protect our membership and counter this latest attempt to disrupt our membership,” he wrote in the memo sent Wednesday to PGA Tour players.
“Basically, these suspended players, who are now employees of the Saudi Golf League, have left the Tour and now want to come back.”
The LIV players, which include Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, filed an antitrust lawsuit challenging the suspensions handed down by the PGA Tour. In addition, three players, Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford, requested a temporary restraining order allowing them to compete in the FedEx Cup playoffs that begin next week. All three players qualified before leaving for the rival league.
The other golfers involved in the lawsuit are Ian Poulter, Abraham Ancer, Jason Kokrak, Carlos Ortiz, Pat Perez and Peter Uihlein.
The lawsuit alleges the PGA Tour suspended Mickelson in an attempt to encourage other players to join the LIV league. It also alleges that even though DeChambeau had signed with LIV Golf in February, he was “forced to publicly profess his loyalty to the PGA Tour.” The longtime golfer issued a statement on Feb. 20 during the Genesis Invitational declaring that he would continue to play on the PGA Tour.
Monahan has taken a strong stance against the new league since its formation, declining invitations to speak with LIV CEO Greg Norman. He told his members that the PGA Tour will not back down in the latest chapter.
“It is an attempt to use the travel platform to promote themselves and freeride on your profits and efforts,” he wrote in the memo. “Allowing re-entry to our events compromises the tour and the competition, to the detriment of our organization, our players, our partners and our fans. The lawsuit they filed somehow expects us to believe otherwise, so we intend to present our case with clarity and vigor.”
Monahan also substituted his players and invited them to offer their opinion on the situation.
“I also encourage you to speak publicly about this issue, if that is the case,” he stated.
The PGA Tour’s final regular-season event begins Thursday at the Wyndham Championship, while LIV Golf plays its next event in Boston beginning Sept. 2.