According to a press release on Freedom Watch, attorney Larry Klayman representing Patrick Reed will subpoena Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy for a deposition because they participated in the players-only meeting at Wilmington Country Club before the BMW Championship.
“This is not a personal ‘thing’ against Woods, McIlroy and Monahan,” Klayman said.
Many of the top-ranked players in the game were present at the BMW meeting, where Woods outlined his plans for PGA Tour events with smaller fields and bigger purses.
In the fight against the Saudi Arabian-owned LIV Golf, Woods and McIlroy have emerged as two of the PGA Tour’s most steadfast allies among the players. McIlroy tends to be vocal about the rival tour and its players, while Woods is rumored to have assisted in the decision-making.
The subpoenas are part of a civil lawsuit filed before the Reed case in June. The PGA Tour and its commissioner, Jay Monahan, as well as the DP World Tour and its chief executive, Keith Pelley, are named as defendants in this civil suit.
According to the lawsuit, Florida citizens who bought tickets to PGA Tour events after June or planned to buy tickets in the future suffered harm because the PGA Tour and DP World Tour allegedly weakened tournament fields by suspending players who left for the LIV Golf Series.
Klayman added that it’s about “getting information about what occurred at the players’ meeting and generally with regard to allegations in our complaint that the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and their commissioners Jay Monahan and Keith Pelley, are allegedly colluding in restraint of trade and the antitrust laws to harm the LIV Golf Tour and its players.”
Klayman claimed that the defendants engaged in “concerted refusal to deal” and strived for “horizontal market division, monopolization, attempt to monopolize the relevant market and civil conspiracy.”
According to the latest press release, Woods and McIlroy have been asked for documents, audio, and video records of the Wilmington meeting. The documents will be used at the Woods, McIlroy, and Monahan deposition, which is scheduled on September 27.
Klayman continued by saying, “Just today, the PGA Tour announced changes in its tournaments by again upping winning purses with guaranteed attendance payments for top players, attempting to emulate LIV Golf, while continuing to allegedly harm LIV and its players by, among other alleged anticompetitive acts, working to deny them world ranking points to compete in major tournaments such as the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA championships. One can perhaps now call the new PGA Tour ‘LIV Light’.”
New golf competition
Woods and McIlroy also discussed their thoughts on technology-driven competitions that would be broadcasted in primetime beginning in 2024.
TMRW Sports, founded by Woods, McIlroy, and sports executive Mike McCarley, has created the TGL, a new golf league that aims to use technology to “feature progressive approaches to sports, media, and technology.”
The TGL intends to introduce golf to a younger audience by utilizing technology and specially designed venues.
According to a press release, the high-tech idea will involve players shooting on a virtual screen before going to a “state-of-the-art short game complex” located in the middle of the stadium.
Every shot will be played within a two-hour window to make golf more interesting for fans.
“We all know what it’s like to be in a football stadium or a basketball arena where you can watch every play, every minute of action unfold right in front of you,” Woods said in a statement.
There will be 15 games in the first season, followed by playoffs and a championship game.