Garrett Coleman ‘25
Managing Editor
With the Players Championship having taken place just over a week ago, the golf season is in full swing for 2023. But a great schism divides the sport. This is the first full season in which the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) has a true rival: LIV Golf. Backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, this alternative tour has broken the market by offering players absurdly large contracts in exchange for their souls… I mean, commitment to play in LIV events. To offer some perspective, Phil Mickelson signed for $200 million.[1] But now, because of Mickelson v. PGA Tour, I finally have a reason to air my distaste for all things LIV in a legal newspaper.
Eleven LIV players filed suit against the PGA Tour in August of 2022 after they were suspended from participating in events.[2] In February, Judge Beth Labson Freeman of the Northern District of California allowed the PGA to countersue both LIV and the Saudi Public Investment Fund for wrongful interference with its business.[3] Additionally, the PGA is currently under a DOJ investigation for monopolistic behavior, stemming from the same player suspensions.[4]
The complaint alleges that “the PGA Tour has ‘craft[ed] an arsenal of anti-competitive restraints to protect its long-standing monopoly.’”[5] It goes on to list a host of alleged violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act. With much discovery and economic analysis yet to be released, I feel at liberty to give my own, preliminary legal take: Treason!
Whatever you would like to say about the PGA Tour, you cannot contend that it stifles innovation. Every year, courses get longer, and greens get faster. Still, players come in further below par. After the hegemony of Tiger Woods, the Tour has been filled with rising and falling stars. And regular coverage of events places trackers on nearly every shot, which would be an unimaginable luxury for viewers twenty years ago.
The golf market does not lend itself to strong substitutes, either. Much of the draw to PGA events is that they are filled with all the world’s best players. That is certainly the case with the four major championships. But LIV is set to destroy that by buying off the more selfishly minded. This could create a world in which viewers have two tournaments to watch, neither of which is half as enjoyable as the pre-2022 PGA event.
The most recognizable name in golf has remained stalwart in his loyalty to the PGA Tour. Tiger Woods has been quite vocal in his opposition, wanting to leave the Tour better than he found it.[6] And in my opinion, the Brooks Koepkas and Dustin Johnsons ought to follow the lead of their elder, if for no other reason than that Tiger Woods is responsible for their massive paychecks to begin with. When Woods won his first professional tournament in 1996, he earned $567,000, adjusted for inflation.[7] At the Players Championship last week, Scottie Scheffler brought home $4.5 million. So much of that increase in popularity is due to the new face that Woods put on golf. And it is a reminder that these new players have reaped what they did not sow.
Lastly, the PGA Tour is a classic American institution worthy of a special status, akin to Major League Baseball. It is widely known to be an incredibly charitable organization, having used non-profit tournaments to raise billions for local organizations.[8] Turn on any PGA event and watch the commercials for Youth on Course, PGA REACH, and PGA Hope. It is patently obvious that many players and Tour officials are committed to giving back to the communities in which they play. This organization must now defend itself against a competitor that is backed by a foreign monarchy that regularly beheads people.
But I should concede one point to some of the treasonous LIV players. Professional golf offers almost no certainty to the guys outside of the top 100, and the consistent money is mostly reserved for the top fifty. In the Korn Ferry Tour—think of Triple-A baseball or G League basketball—it is not uncommon for players to live in their cars. Out of the best players I knew in high school, who went on to start for top D1 teams, none of them have come close to securing membership on the PGA Tour. And much of this financial concern is the result of the tournament structure itself. As independent contractors,[9] PGA players are guaranteed nothing outside of their sponsorship contracts. If they miss the cut that week—which around half of them will—they lose money. So, the mega-contracts backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund offer genuine appeal to good players who would otherwise live with financial uncertainty.
This means that there should likely be more player cooperation to secure benefits for up-and-coming golfers. But LIV is doing something different. It is siphoning off top players with absurd contracts and then crying foul when the PGA defends itself. Hopefully, the courts do not shelter LIV with antitrust law.
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jxu6ad@virginia.edu
[1] Emily Washburn, PGA v. LIV: Everything You Need to Know About Golf’s Messiest Drama, Forbes, Feb. 23, 2023.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Louise Radnofsky & Andrew Beaton, Justice Department Is Investigating PGA Tour over Potential Antitrust Violations in LIV Golf Battle, Wall St. J., Jul. 11, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/pga-tour-antitrust-liv-department-of-justice-investigation-11657557177?mod=hp_lead_pos1.
[5] Tim Derdenger & Alison Palo, The Key Role of Economic Analysis in PGA Tour Antitrust Suit, Law360 (2022).
[6] Joel Beall, Tiger Woods Explains Why He’s Been So Vocal Against LIV Golf, Golf Dig., Dec. 1, 2022, https://www.golfdigest.com/story/tiger-woods-liv-golf-hero-2022.
[7] Tiger Woods Won His First Pro Tournament in Las Vegas in 1996, Sports Illustrated, Oct. 6, 2021, https://www.si.com/golf/news/tiger-woods-won-his-first-pro-tournament-in-las-vegas-in-1996.
[8] PGA Tour Impact, https://www.pgatour.com/impact.
[9] Evan L. Conder, Wait, Is that Pro Golfer an Employee or Independent Contractor?, Lexology, Dec. 8, 2022, https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=6870e9f1-0b0e-47f1-af85-66d39ff8e475.