CNN
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Phil Mickelson is among a group of players who have withdrawn from LIV Golf’s lawsuit against the PGA Tour and suspension of players who competed on the Saudi Arabia-backed tour.
The six-time Major winner is joined by Ian Poulter, Talor Gooch and Hudson Swafford, who are withdrawing from the lawsuit. The players filed a voluntary dismissal of their lawsuit against the PGA Tour in US District Court on Tuesday.
Of the original 11 players who filed the lawsuit against the PGA Tour, only LIV Golf itself, Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Jones and Peter Uihlein remain as plaintiffs. Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Pat Perez and Jason Kokrak had already had their names removed.
Mickelson’s decision comes as no surprise after hinting two weeks ago that his role in the lawsuit is no longer as important as it once was.
“Now that LIV is involved, I no longer need to be involved,” Mickelson told SI.com at Rich Harvest Farms ahead of the LIV Golf event in Chicago. “I still am at the moment. I don’t know what I’m gonna do, really.
“The only reason for me to stay in is (monetary) damages, which I actually don’t want or need. I think it’s important that players have the right to play when and where they want, when and where they qualify. And now that LIV is a part of that, that will be achieved when they win.”
The lawsuit was dealt a blow in August when a judge denied a request for an injunction to compete in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced in June that golfers playing in the controversial breakaway series have been suspended and are no longer eligible to play in PGA Tour tournaments.
The lawsuit says the PGA Tour threatened to issue lifetime bans on players participating in the LIV golf series, adding that they were faced with “unprecedented bans.” The lawsuit also alleges that the PGA Tour threatened sponsors, vendors and agents to force players to refrain from attending LIV golf events and from accessing their members.
According to several media, the trial is scheduled to begin in January 2024.
The LIV Golf series is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and the man credited in a US intelligence report as responsible for the permit of the operation that led to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Bin Salman has denied any involvement in Khashoggi’s murder.
The tour consists of eight events around the world. The first took place in London in June. The last took place in Chicago on September 16-18 at Rich Harvest Farms.