Report: U.S. Dept. of Justice Investigating PGA TOUR Over LIV Golf’s Allegations of Antitrust Violations

The battle between the PGA TOUR and upstart LIV Golf may be heading for a courtroom, but not in the way that most imagined.

While it’s entirely possible that a LIV player suspended by the PGA TOUR will end up in court over the indefinite suspensions handed out, the PGA Tour reportedly confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that it is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice over whether the tour engaged in any anti-competitive behavior against LIV Golf, which has now conducted two of its eight-event schedule in 2022.

BREAKING: The Department of Justice is investigating the PGA Tour over potential antitrust violations in regards to LIV Golf, per @WSJ.

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) July 11, 2022

At issue is whether the PGA TOUR can ban players from competing in another tour’s event and also require those players to receive written permission to play in those events. Golfers on the PGA TOUR are not employees but are classified as independent contractors.

In February, the PGA TOUR did issue exemptions to players looking to play in the Saudi Invitational, which in years past was part of the European Tour (now DP World Tour) and was part of the Asian Tour in 2022.

The U.S Department of Justice is investigating the PGA Tour for potential anticompetitive behavior as it battles LIV Golf, per @WSJ.

The DOJ’s antitrust team has reached out to player agents regarding how the Tour has tried to keep golfers from leaving for LIV. pic.twitter.com/fZAXNhSwHr

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) July 11, 2022

The PGA TOUR granted those exemptions for events that they saw were on other established tours, but they did not allow it for the LIV events.

LIV Golf, which is financially backed by the Saudi Arabian government and has Greg Norman as its public face, has attracted a number of big-name golfers, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Sergio Garcia, for their 54-hole, no-cut, and big-money events.

Cover Image Via SI.com