The first of many rulings in the PGA Tour vs. LIV Players
This past week, on Tuesday, a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) filed by Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, and Matt Jones was denied by Federal Judge Beth Freeman.
In the near future, we will do a deep dive on the lawsuit filed by the 10 (formerly 11 before Carlos Ortiz dropped out) LIV defectors. However, this initial denial of the TRO is a big win for the PGA Tour. There are years of discovery, deposition, and more juicy tidbits in our future, but this first ruling felt significant. It is less about the decision and more about how it felt.
Frankly, the LIV lawyers seemed underprepared in both the content of their motion and their understanding of their audience. The Plaintiffs, represented by Gibson Dunn, made a handful of clumsy assertions that lacked strength and even contradicted things we have been told by LIV previously, such as the confirmation that tournament winnings were recouped against the LIV contracts. I am sure each contract is different for each player but it was a slip-up nonetheless. As it pertains to their audience, Gibson Dunn presented to Judge Beth Freeman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Gibson Dunn presumably filed in San Francisco for its more liberal approach to anti-trust matters. Judge Freeman is, apparently, a staunch opponent of the overuse of footnotes (aren’t we all). Per the Fried Egg, she has been known to make firms re-write briefs that indulged in the overreliance on footnotes. Plaintiff’s attorneys referenced footnotes to make their arguments a handful of times only to be scorned by the Judge.
These seemingly small details showed me that the Plaintiffs believe this case is (or was) a home run and prepared as such. The Defendants (PGA Tour), represented by a handful of the nation’s top firms (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and Keker Van Nest & Peters), were prepared, made simple and concise arguments, and did not have any missteps. Of course, they were not perfect and there is certainly a legitimate case against them, hence the lawsuit, but they were certainly the better side.
Following the denial of the TRO, golf twitter was a fantastic place to be. A personal favorite was from Tron Carter.
These two guys were so sure the ruling would be in their favor, they were parked just outside the tournament gates. If they won, did they expect an Edwin Diaz-like trumpet entrance? I am sure the other players would have been thrilled to see them show up < 5 minutes after winning the TRO.
They are almost SO sure, it makes me believe that a certain Shark, who has not been known to be the paragon of truth and transparency, told these players that the PGA Tour would have to let them play. On No Laying Up’s recent podcast with Davis Love III, DL3 disclosed that both Talor Gooch and Hudson Swafford said something along the lines of “We will see you in Hartford!” following their entry into the first LIV event in London. Of course, they were not permitted into Hartford or any other PGA Tour event since. I am curious, how much longer until LIV defectors begin to realize, or care, that Norman was either lying or completely full of it? Some of these younger players are gambling with their future by joining this exhibition tour, and the recent TRO ruling and general attitude of LIV players and lawyers seem to be swinging momentum back towards the PGA Tour.
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