Golf: Phil Mickelson will deal w/ Saudis to pressure PGA "They killed & have a horrible record on human rights" UPDATE! PGA/LIV MERGE!
- Thread starter playahaitian
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Bob was thuggin'.....
LIV's plea to subpoena Augusta members denied
A federal judge denied a request by LIV Golf to expand discovery in its antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour to include communication with 10 Augusta National members.
Judge denies LIV Golf request to expand discovery to Augusta members
A federal judge denied a request by LIV Golf to expand discovery in its antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour to include communication with 10 Augusta National members, including former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
LIV Golf had issued subpoenas to five PGA Tour board members and Tim Finchem, the retired PGA Tour commissioner. It wanted all communications between them and "any member of Augusta National" relating to a new tour, but not limited to LIV Golf, the Saudi-funded rival league that launched last year.
In a redacted filing last week, LIV Golf alleged Rice and Arkansas banking executive Warren Stephens "apparently attempted to influence" the Justice Department not to investigate the PGA Tour.
LIV Golf also alleged Stephens was "apparently asked by tour employees" to push Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, to lobby against LIV.
In her ruling Monday, U.S. Magistrate Susan van Keulen said LIV Golf's request for 10 additional Augusta National members and the Masters Committee "is overly burdensome on the Subpoenaed Parties and not in proportion to the needs of the litigation."
Communication with the additional 10 members would have gone beyond what she described as "agreed-upon targets." Those were four Augusta National employees, including Chairman Fred Ridley, and seven members. The members include Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast, which owns Golf Channel.
LIV Golf attorneys argued in last week's filing that part of the PGA Tour's attempt to snuff out competition from the new tour was to threaten players, other tours, broadcasters, vendors and any other third party if they worked with LIV Golf.
"Discovery has shown that the tour delivered these threats not only through its own executives and employees, but by dispatching other influential persons on its behalf," LIV Golf attorneys wrote in the filing.
The judge said any connection based on the documents LIV Golf cited is "highly speculative."
"The cited documents do not implicate in any way the Subpoenaed Parties," she wrote in her order. "Nor do they reflect communications by or between the identified additional targets. Indeed, for the most part, the identified targets appear merely as names on lists or in other oblique references made by others."
Tour attorneys previously had argued that LIV Golf accusations of the tour leaning on Augusta National to block LIV Golf players from competing in the Masters was baseless because the Masters announced in December that everyone eligible would be able to play.
The 16 LIV Golf players eligible for the Masters include Bryson DeChambeau, who remains one of three players still listed as a plaintiff in the antitrust lawsuit.
This is gettin' messy, sounds like collusion was going on between the PGA and Augusta; this kinda reminds of the collusion the NFL had with it's owners about KAEPERNICK.......LIV's plea to subpoena Augusta members denied
A federal judge denied a request by LIV Golf to expand discovery in its antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour to include communication with 10 Augusta National members.www.espn.com
Judge denies LIV Golf request to expand discovery to Augusta members
A federal judge denied a request by LIV Golf to expand discovery in its antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour to include communication with 10 Augusta National members, including former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
LIV Golf had issued subpoenas to five PGA Tour board members and Tim Finchem, the retired PGA Tour commissioner. It wanted all communications between them and "any member of Augusta National" relating to a new tour, but not limited to LIV Golf, the Saudi-funded rival league that launched last year.
In a redacted filing last week, LIV Golf alleged Rice and Arkansas banking executive Warren Stephens "apparently attempted to influence" the Justice Department not to investigate the PGA Tour.
LIV Golf also alleged Stephens was "apparently asked by tour employees" to push Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, to lobby against LIV.
In her ruling Monday, U.S. Magistrate Susan van Keulen said LIV Golf's request for 10 additional Augusta National members and the Masters Committee "is overly burdensome on the Subpoenaed Parties and not in proportion to the needs of the litigation."
Communication with the additional 10 members would have gone beyond what she described as "agreed-upon targets." Those were four Augusta National employees, including Chairman Fred Ridley, and seven members. The members include Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast, which owns Golf Channel.
LIV Golf attorneys argued in last week's filing that part of the PGA Tour's attempt to snuff out competition from the new tour was to threaten players, other tours, broadcasters, vendors and any other third party if they worked with LIV Golf.
"Discovery has shown that the tour delivered these threats not only through its own executives and employees, but by dispatching other influential persons on its behalf," LIV Golf attorneys wrote in the filing.
The judge said any connection based on the documents LIV Golf cited is "highly speculative."
"The cited documents do not implicate in any way the Subpoenaed Parties," she wrote in her order. "Nor do they reflect communications by or between the identified additional targets. Indeed, for the most part, the identified targets appear merely as names on lists or in other oblique references made by others."
Tour attorneys previously had argued that LIV Golf accusations of the tour leaning on Augusta National to block LIV Golf players from competing in the Masters was baseless because the Masters announced in December that everyone eligible would be able to play.
The 16 LIV Golf players eligible for the Masters include Bryson DeChambeau, who remains one of three players still listed as a plaintiff in the antitrust lawsuit.
PGA Tour can depose LIV financier Al-Rumayyan
A federal judge has ordered Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund to open its books and ordered its governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, to be deposed by the PGA Tour's lawyers in the tour's ongoing legal battle with LIV Golf.
assist:PGA Tour can depose LIV financier Al-Rumayyan
A federal judge has ordered Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund to open its books and ordered its governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, to be deposed by the PGA Tour's lawyers in the tour's ongoing legal battle with LIV Golf.
Judge: PGA Tour may depose LIV Golf financier Yasir Al-Rumayyan
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In the 58-page ruling, which was released by the U.S. District Court for Northern California on Thursday night, U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen rejected arguments from PIF's lawyers that the fund and Al-Rumayyan were shielded from the tour's subpoenas on the grounds of sovereign immunity because they were agents of a foreign government.
The court rejected PIF's and Al-Rumayyan's claims of sovereign immunity and lack of jurisdiction and ruled that their conduct fell within the commercial exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act. The court also rejected their personal jurisdiction defenses because they allegedly "directed their activities at the United States."
"It is plain that PIF is not a mere investor in LIV; it is the moving force behind the founding, funding, oversight and operation of LIV," van Keulen wrote in the ruling. "PIF's actions are indisputably the type of activities by which a private party engages in trade and traffic or commerce. Accordingly, the court concludes that PIF has engaged in commercial activity."
Lawyers for PIF and Al-Rumayyan have indicated that they will ask a federal judge to review van Keulen's ruling. U.S. District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman has scheduled a hearing for Feb. 24.
PIF and Al-Rumayyan had argued that they were merely investors in LIV Golf, which is being fronted by two-time Open Championship winner Greg Norman, and weren't involved in the day-to-day operations or recruitment of players. PIF has invested more than $2 billion in LIV Golf, which begins its second season in Mexico next week.
The PGA Tour's lawyers had argued that Al-Rumayyan personally recruited players and "played an active role in contract negotiations, and expressly approved each of the player contracts -- all while knowing that these deals would interfere with the players' tour contracts." In her ruling, van Keulen agreed with the PGA Tour.
"These carefully-worded and conclusory denials do not overcome the evidence concerning PIF's own commercial activities," the judge ruled.
If the PGA Tour is successful in obtaining discovery documents from PIF and in deposing Al-Rumayyan, it would offer a rare look into the sovereign wealth fund, which the Saudis have long tried to keep secret. It is purportedly worth $676 billion. At earlier hearings, lawyers for PIF and Al-Rumayyan argued that ordering discovery would be "pretty significant" because PIF is a major investor in the U.S.
On Aug. 3, 11 golfers, including Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, alleging that it was using its monopoly power to squash competition and was discouraging broadcasters, sponsors and other vendors from working with LIV Golf.
Mickelson and seven other golfers later removed themselves as plaintiffs in the case. LIV Golf joined DeChambeau, Matt Jones and Peter Uihlein as the remaining plaintiffs.
The PGA Tour filed a countersuit against LIV Golf, alleging that it was interfering with the tour's contracts with its members. Last month, the PGA Tour filed a motion for leave to add PIF and Al-Rumayyan as defendants in its countersuit.
More than 30 PGA Tour members have moved to LIV Golf, lured away by guaranteed contracts worth as much as $200 million and the richest purses in men's golf history. Former major championship winners Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith are among the players now competing in the LIV Golf League, which features 48 players on four-man teams competing in 54-hole tournaments with shotgun starts and no cuts.
Among the documents the PGA Tour lawyers are seeking are those related to the creation of LIV Golf; to the solicitation of golfers to join LIV, including negotiations with golfers and their agents; to the recruitment of any current or former PGA Tour employees; to money or any other benefits provided to current or past PGA Tour members; or to LIV Golf's business or strategic plans; also board minutes and materials related to the PGA Tour.
LIV players can play in the Open champion now....
Fred Couples rips ‘nutbag’ Phil Mickelson as LIV Golf feud rolls on
Fred Couples, PGA Tour loyalist, thinks Phil Mickelson is a bit nutty for defecting to LIV Golf.
nypost.com
Fred Couples, PGA Tour loyalist, thinks Phil Mickelson is a bit nutty.
Couples spoke to Randy Youngman of the Orange County Register about a range of topics concerning the Saudi-backed LIV Golf, which has become a firebrand in the sport throughout its two-year existence.
The 63-year-old Couples called Mickelson a “nutbag,” but clarified that he considers the lefty as one of the 10 greatest golfers ever and “still” likes him.
Nevertheless, Couples felt Mickelson was wildly overpaid by LIV Golf considering his current abilities.
“If you’re willing to give Phil Mickelson $200 million at age 53 to shoot 74 and 75, God bless you,” Couples said.
Couples and Mickelson are longtime friends and have been teammates on the United States’ Ryder Cup team, but Couples was highly critical of Mickelson’s decision to join LIV Golf last year.
“I don’t have a problem with LIV. What my problem has been when I tweet every now and then, is what these guys say when they go to the LIV Tour,” Couples said.
Couples mentioned Cam Smith — not by name, but as last year’s British Open and Players Championship winner — and admonished him for having said, “Now I can have birthdays and go to the weddings of my mates.”
“I find that comical because my favorite to ever play has five kids, 40 grandkids and he has never missed anything — and that was Jack Nicklaus,” said Couples.
Couples, who won the 1992 Masters, also expressed annoyance with “all these other clowns, like Sergio (Garcia),” who criticized a PGA Tour ruling before defecting to LIV Golf in 2022.
“Just go to the LIV Tour, but stop blasting something I’ve been a part of for 42 years,” Couples said.
“That’s my problem with (LIV golfers). They’re all bashing the PGA Tour, and that affects me a little bit.”
LIV Golf landed a TV deal with The CW, a broadcast network known for entertainment programming as opposed to live sports, which drew a veiled shot from Couples.
“It was on the CW a couple weeks ago, or whatever that channel everybody is laughing about,” he said derisively.
“I turned it on three times. It was so bad, I couldn’t even watch anyone that I liked. They don’t show ’em. … Who won the last one? I don’t even know.”
Charles Howell won the $4 million champion’s purse at LIV Golf’s first event of the year with a 15-under in Mayakoba, Mexico.
Koepka: LIV golfers not 'washed up' after Masters
LIV Golf's representatives fared well at the Masters, led by Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson, who tied for second. "We're still the same people," Koepka said.
I guess Jon Rahm won, thanks for the link....
side note, this is what I said in another thread:
I don't think it matters much anymore about Jack Nicklaus/Tiger Woods comparison; the golf generation of today, their GOAT, hands down, is Tiger Woods. All the young PGA stars of today are Tiger's children, basically, and the best of the best golfers will say that.
Plus with the introduction of LIV golf, will the Major tournaments mean as much as they used to? Time will tell.
I don't think it matters much anymore about Jack Nicklaus/Tiger Woods comparison; the golf generation of today, their GOAT, hands down, is Tiger Woods. All the young PGA stars of today are Tiger's children, basically, and the best of the best golfers will say that.
Plus with the introduction of LIV golf, will the Major tournaments mean as much as they used to? Time will tell.
Gooch holds early lead at LIV Golf in Australia
Talor Gooch upstaged the more fancied names on the LIV Golf tour by shooting a 10-under 62 Friday to take a 4-stroke lead after the first round of the inaugural Australian tournament at The Grange.
Koepka's 3rd PGA Championship caps 'long road'
Brooks Koepka became the first LIV Golf player to win a major championship, carding a final-round 67 on Sunday at Oak Hill to win his third PGA Championship by 2 strokes over Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland.
Bryson: Koepka win 'validates' LIV golfers' words
LIV golfer Bryson DeChambeau said Brooks Koepka's victory at the PGA Championship "validates everything we've said from the beginning: That we're competing at the highest level and we have the ability to win major championships."
This right here....
LIV spent enough to lure top talent away from PGA and PGA felt that.....whether it was ratings, social media engagement, merch, sales.....etc....
But they obviously felt it.
Now that they are merging in essence they're agreeing to split the pot with the Saudis.....
The Saudis / PGA no longer have to offer big money contracts.....because now where will a golfer go? There's no other group of Saudis to offer the bag........no ther real competition......
Damn Tiger, didn't they offer this dude hundreds of $Mills?!
The fact that the PGA had no control over the big tournaments like The Masters and others like it, made them basically paper tigers. This was a foreseen L.
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Money talks....
In surround sound!
But so many golfers stayed loyal to the PGA and stated they had principles/ morals..........
The PGA just spit in their faces.....because there's no more money coming to the golfers........
The Liv players and the Saudis themselves won
They did offer Tiger a huge deal but he turned them down.
‘Not even close to that:' Tiger Woods’ lucrative LIV offer clarified in report
In a New Yorker article published this week, the Saudi Golf Federation CEO shed more light on the offer LIV Golf extended to Tiger Woods.
golf.com
Yeah man LIV and it's players won......smhThey did offer Tiger a huge deal but he turned them down.
‘Not even close to that:' Tiger Woods’ lucrative LIV offer clarified in report
In a New Yorker article published this week, the Saudi Golf Federation CEO shed more light on the offer LIV Golf extended to Tiger Woods.
This is extremely fishy to me. I think the Saudi‘s are using the PGA to launder money around America. If I was a golf player I would retire right now because this is not going to end well.
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Personally, I think when Mickelson was bitching about the PGA, they should've listened to him.
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