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Prize money drawn against sign on fees, contracts, FedEx Cup

Prize money drawn against sign on fees, contracts, FedEx Cup

It turns out that at least some players who have ditched the PGA Tour for the riches of the LIV Golf Series aren’t actually earning a dime when it comes to their results in the lucrative, but controversial, Saudi-backed circuit.

That bombshell was revealed Tuesday in US District Court in San Jose, Calif., where a federal judge denied a temporary restraining order for three players currently suspended by the tour after leaving for LIV, the New York Post reports.

Watch LIVE coverage from The USPGA Tour with Fox Sports on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

They were seeking to be allowed to play in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs, which begins this week in Memphis.

During the hearing, a lawyer representing LIV said that players’ earnings are counted against the upfront money they receive for joining.

That means a $4 million first-place winner’s check would essentially amount to money a player has already been paid for signing with the rival faction. The lawyer said that not every contract is the same, but also said not all money is guaranteed, before moving on in the case.

Shark has lured the biggest names away from the PGA. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
Shark has lured the biggest names away from the PGA. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

That contradicts what a LIV official and some players have said up to this point.

When Brooks Koepka was pressed at the LIV tournament outside Portland, Ore., last month on whether a player’s winnings come out of the signing bonus, the four-time major champion said, “That’s not — no. Nope.” When questioned again on the issue, he said, “No. I don’t know — it’s irrelevant.”

The contract bombshell. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

At the end of the press conference in Portland, a LIV official in Portland tried to clear up the matter at the time.

“I just wanted to address [the] question earlier when you were asking about the prize purses and if they are in addition to the contracts,” she said. “The prize purses are in addition to. There is no draw at LIV Golf on any finances,” she said. “We just wanted to, on the record, it’s in addition to. And while you guys have, this is your first event, but you should know that from your contracts. You can test it. Thank you guys.”

That appears to not exactly be the case after all, however, according to one of LIV’s own attorneys.

This article originally appeared on the NY Post and was reproduced with permission.

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Judge denies restraining order for Matt Jones, Talor Gooch and Hudson Swafford, FedEx Cup Playoffs

Judge denies restraining order for Matt Jones, Talor Gooch and Hudson Swafford, FedEx Cup Playoffs

A federal judge has denied a request by three LIV Golf Series players, including Australian Matt Jones, for a temporary restraining order allowing them to play in this week’s $US75m PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoffs.

US District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman made the ruling after a hearing at San Jose on the lawsuit filed in the Northern District of California. The news came on a dramatic day in which Aussie world No.2 Cameron Smith was reported to have signed on for the Greg Norman-led rebel tour.

Jones and Americans Talor Gooch and Hudson Swafford had sought the chance to compete in the FedEx Cup playoff opener, the St. Jude’s Championship, that begins Thursday in Memphis.

Watch LIVE coverage from The USPGA Tour with Fox Sports on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

Terse Cam refuses to address LIV rumors | 00:43

All three were among those suspended by the PGA Tour after they teed off in their first event of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series in June. The ruling upheld that ban.

“We’re disappointed that Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones won’t be allowed to play golf,” LIV Golf said in a statement. “No one gains by banning golfers from playing.” Gooch was ranked 20th in FedEx Cup points with Jones 65th and Swafford 67th. The top 125 players in season points qualified for Memphis with 70 players advancing to next week’s BMW Championship and the top 30 reaching the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta.

Had they been able to play and reached the Tour Championship, the trio would have earned berths in next year’s Masters and US and British Opens.

But LIV Golf players could not show irreparable harm since they will be allowed to play LIV Golf events when those resume next month in Boston.

While LIV Golf players claim they are independent contractors, the PGA Tour argued they were members and the tour can punish members who violate rules, such as playing in LIV events.

Smith tightlipped on rumored defection | 05:10

“With today’s news, our players, fans and partners can now focus on what really matters over the next three weeks, the best players in the world competing in the FedEx Cup playoffs,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a memo obtained by The GolfChannel.

LIV Golf has lured away such top stars as Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson with guaranteed money and record purses of $25 million at events.

Jones, Gooch and Swafford were among 11 LIV Golf players who filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the PGA Tour.

Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz, who had been among the 11 players in the lawsuit, has dropped out of the case, his manager said.

Some players at Memphis warned of a frosty reception for LIV golfers had they been allowed to tee off after departing for richer prize money as well as trying to knock PGA players out of their own playoffs.

“Going to be a pretty icy Thursday morning if those guys play,” 2009 US Open champion Lucas Glover told The Golf Channel. “They want their cake and eat it too.”

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LIV Golf Series: Player contracts and prizemoney, PGA Tour, golf news

LIV Golf Series: Player contracts and prizemoney, PGA Tour, golf news

It turns out that at least some players who have ditched the PGA Tour for the riches of the LIV Golf Series aren’t actually earning a dime when it comes to their results in the lucrative, but controversial, Saudi-backed circuit.

That bombshell was revealed Tuesday in US District Court in San Jose, Calif., where a federal judge denied a temporary restraining order for three players currently suspended by the tour after leaving for LIV, the New York Post reports.

Watch LIVE coverage from The USPGA Tour with Fox Sports on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

They were seeking to be allowed to play in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs, which begins this week in Memphis.

During the hearing, a lawyer representing LIV said that players’ earnings are counted against the upfront money they receive for joining.

That means a $4 million first-place winner’s check would essentially amount to money a player has already been paid for signing with the rival faction. The lawyer said that not every contract is the same, but also said not all money is guaranteed, before moving on in the case.

That contradicts what a LIV official and some players have said up to this point.

When Brooks Koepka was pressed at the LIV tournament outside Portland, Ore., last month on whether a player’s winnings come out of the signing bonus, the four-time major champion said, “That’s not — no. Nope.” When questioned again on the issue, he said, “No. I don’t know — it’s irrelevant.”

At the end of the press conference in Portland, a LIV official in Portland tried to clear up the matter at the time.

“I just wanted to address [the] question earlier when you were asking about the prize purses and if they are in addition to the contracts,” she said. “The prize purses are in addition to. There is no draw at LIV Golf on any finances,” she said. “We just wanted to, on the record, it’s in addition to. And while you guys have, this is your first event, but you should know that from your contracts. You can test it. Thank you guys.”

That appears to not exactly be the case after all, however, according to one of LIV’s own attorneys.

This article originally appeared on the NY Post and was reproduced with permission.

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Sports

US PGA Tour files motion in court to prevent players from playing FedEx Cup, Matt Jones, latest, updates

US PGA Tour files motion in court to prevent players from playing FedEx Cup, Matt Jones, latest, updates

The US PGA Tour filed a motion in federal court on Monday asking three LIV Golf players not to be allowed to compete in this week’s FedEx Cup playoff opener, while delivering a blistering attack on the morality of the tournament.

Arguing LIV Golf players knew there would be consequences for leaving the PGA for the Saudi-backed upstart series, the PGA said in US District Court for Northern California that they can not “have their cake and eat it too.”

Watch LIVE coverage from The USPGA Tour with Fox Sports on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

Australian Matt Jones and Americans Talor Gooch and Hudson Swafford will have a hearing on Tuesday afternoon in San Jose on their request for a temporary restraining order forcing them to be allowed to compete at this week’s St. Jude Championship at Memphis.

The PGA Tour called the players’ motion “legally baseless” in its filing and added their decision to wait two months after leaving to file the motion was “fabricating an ’emergency’ they now maintain requires immediate action.”

The PGA said players knew their actions would bring suspensions and noted other LIV players who could have playoff spots based on top 125 point finishers in the PGA season have opted not to ask for such spots.

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“The players’ purported harm is entirely self-induced,” the PGA filing said. The three players were among 11 who filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the PGA Tour last week, the first legal blow in a fight over the future of elite-level golf that could take years to settle.

The court also heard that LIV Golf was “prepared to lose billions of dollars” for the sport by sportswashing for “deplorable” Saudi Arabia – the financial backers of the tournament.

“Liv is not a rational economic actor, competing fairly to start a golf tour,” the court heard.

“It’s prepared to lose billions of dollars to leverage plaintiffs and the sport of golf to ‘sportswash’ the Saudi government’s deplorable reputation for human rights abuses.”

A court has heard the PGA believes LIV Golf is sportswashing. Photo: Getty Images
A court has heard the PGA believes LIV Golf is sportswashing. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

LIV Golf offered record $25 million purses and lured away several of the sport’s top names from the US PGA Tour, prompting the PGA to make major prize money boosts for many events next season.

Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer are among those who have cast their lot with LIV Golf.

The next LIV Golf event will not be contested until after the PGA playoffs, with this week’s top 70 in points advancing to next week’s BMW Championship and the top 30 making it to the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

Gooch was 20th in FedEx Cup points with Jones 65th and Swafford 67th but they have been suspended since teeing off in their first LIV Golf event.

There are currently only 122 players in the field at Memphis as three of those who made the lineup have dropped out.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood cited personal reasons while American Daniel Berger has not played since the US Open due to a back injury and American Lanto Griffin said in July he was likely done for the season after back surgery.

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