The St Jude Invitational Golf tournament tees up in Memphis today at the start of the Fed Ex Series playoffs that will over the next three weeks whittle players down from 125 to 30 in the final event worth in excess of €20 million to the winner.
It will do so without the three members of the Tour who are currently suspended from the PGA because of their signing to the LIV Golf tour and who yesterday failed in an attempt through the California courts to be allowed to play.
Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford had filed a temporary restraining order to lift their suspension from the PGAbut after hearing arguments from legal teams representing the three players on one side and the many of the PGA Tour on the other she ruled that there was “no irreparable harm” to their exclusion and that they had made the financial choice to join LIV for which they had been very well compensated.
The FedEx Series allows the top 125 golfers on the Tour to play in what was described during the hearing as “The Super Bowl of Golf. Six other players from among those who have signed to LIV golf did not choose to have their suspensions overturned.
There are eleven golfers who filed an anti-trust suit against the PGA Tour last week, a case in which the rebels’ argument has undoubtedly been damaged by yesterday’s ruling.
Yesterday’s trio are among them alongside the more marquee names of Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau.
The presence of LIV Golf dominated pre-tournament talk in Memphis with reports circulating that Open Champion Cameron Smith would be the next name to declare for the Saudi-backed venture. He remained tight-lipped though saying that he was fully focused on this week’s tournament.
Rory McIlroy said he was pleased with the ruling and that the ‘sideshow’ of LIV Golf could be put to one side for the next few weeks.
That we would suggest is somewhat wishful thinking.
