Billy Horschel, Rory McIlroy, and several other golfers have reacted to the dismissal of temporary restraining orders against three LIV Golf players—Hudson Swafford, Matt Jones, and Talor Gooch.
Aside from the three players, other former PGA Tour members who joined LIV Golf have also been banned from attending events held by the PGA.
After a hearing on Tuesday, Judge Beth Labson Freeman ruled in favor of the PGA, which denied the entry of three former players to the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Gooch, Jones, and Hudson had sought a temporary restraining order to prevent the Tour from implementing the suspension on them.
“From my point of view, common sense prevailed and I thought it was the right decision,” McIlroy said.
PGA Tour against competition
Last week, 11 professional golfers, including Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Perez, and Abraham Ancer, sued the PGA Tour. They demanded a restraining order.
The group criticized the tour’s refusal to grow the game. The lawsuit claims the tour’s monopoly has grown due to its dominance. It has created an arsenal of anticompetitive measures to protect its monopoly. Some of the players have already resigned from the tour.
The emergence of LIV Golf as a competitor has challenged the PGA’s monopoly. The tour has prevented players who joined LIV Golf from participating in their events. Some players affected by the tour’s anticompetitive actions include Hudson Swafford, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Perez, and Abraham Ancer. The measure was carried out to prevent the entry of other competitors.
‘I think they’ve been brainwashed’
Horschel has been very clear about his stance on the issue. He said that he would no longer be able to be diplomatic about it.
“There’s a lot of guys that are hypocrites, that aren’t telling the truth, that are lying about some things, that I, just, I can’t stand to sit here anymore and be diplomatic about it,” he said.
Adding his voice to the growing list of criticism against the Saudi-backed circuit, Horschel also took a dig at the players who joined the league.
He was adamant that the players had been “brainwashed”.
“I think they’ve been brainwashed. The way they feel so adamant that they’re going to be back on the PGA Tour,” said Horschel. “Some of them said to me … ‘See you again, Tour,’ and I say, ‘No, you won’t see.’ Some of them have been brainwashed quite a lot because of the way they think and what they are told.”
Horschel maintained that the Tour had the right to do what it had to do. McIlroy added that it would be unfair for other players if the three players were allowed to compete.
“I think where the resentment comes from with members of this Tour is the fact that they (golfers participating in LIV Golf) want to try to get their way back in here with no consequences,” McIlroy said. “Anyone that’s read the PGA Tour handbook or abided by the rules and regulations, that would feel very unfair to them.”
This week’s 150th Open in Memphis features two players tied for the lead—Cameron Young and Cam Smith.