LIV Golf members Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones will not be allowed to play in this week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship after losing their case for a temporary restraining order (TRO) in court Tuesday in San Jose, Calif.
U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman heard the case and ruled in favor of the PGA Tour, which had filed a filed a motion in federal court to keep the three suspended players from competing in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
Gooch, Swafford and Jones sought a TRO from the court, with the first leg of the playoffs scheduled for Thursday in Memphis, Tenn. The trio argued the PGA Tour’s suspension was causing them “irreparable” harm.
The judge sided with the PGA Tour, which argued that the players were trying “to have their cake and eat it too,” according to the tour’s motion.
“LIV contracts are based upon players’ calculation of what they were leaving behind,” Freeman said as part of her ruling.
Gooch, Swafford and Jones would have qualified for the FedEx Cup Playoffs based on their position in the points standings had they not been suspended for playing LIV events without the PGA Tour’s consent.
It is the first significant court decision amid the yearlong dustup between the PGA Tour and the upstart, Saudi-financed LIV series.
Gooch, Swafford and Jones are among a group of 10 LIV players suing the PGA Tour. The group originally included 11 golfers before Carlos Ortiz of Mexico reportedly withdrew from the suit Tuesday.
–Field Level Media