LIV Golf Officially Joins Lawsuit Against PGA Tour Despite Some Players Backing Out

Just a few weeks ago, a number of players who joined LIV Golf filed suit against the PGA Tour in an attempt to overturn their suspensions.

There have already been a number of twists and turns, with new reports Saturday detailing the latest in an increasingly fascinating lawsuit.

Two players, 24th ranked Abraham Ancer and several time tour winner Jason Kokrak, officially withdrew from the complaint Friday, according to The New York Post.

BEDMINSTER, NEW JERSEY - JULY 29: Abraham Ancer of Fireballs GC plays his shot from the 11th tee during day one of the LIV Golf Invitational - Bedminster at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster on July 29, 2022 in Bedminster, New Jersey. (Photo by Charles Laberge/LIV Golf via Getty Images)

Several others have also dropped out in recent days, namely Carlos Ortiz and Pat Perez.

The remaining complainants are Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Ian Poulter, Hudson Swafford, Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Peter Uihlein.

LIV members have already been fighting with the PGA in order to participate in events, but one judge sided with the PGA by keeping Jones, Swafford and Gooch out of the FedEx Cup Playoffs:

Although some of the players are ending their participation in the suit, the official LIV Golf organization is now joining.

The argument, according to the filing, is that if they don't receive a ruling in their favor, their ability to "maintain a meaningful competitive presence in the markets will be destroyed."

LIV also made the claim that the "Tour forced it to raise its costs in order to be able to sign players and that it kept it from recruiting others over the threat of facing punishment."

Apparently, the PGA's behavior also forced their competitors to delay their rollout and "have a smaller schedule than originally planned this year."

For their part, the PGA Tour concludes the playoff season on Sunday, and a number of other golfers are expected to leave for the upstart, Saudi-backed organization.

While the lawsuit could take a while to play out, its ramifications are enormous. Despite the PGA's Tiger Woods-led attempts to adjust to combat the LIV group, allowing players like Mickelson to compete in both would make it significantly harder for the PGA to retain talent.

Now that LIV is officially involved, maybe more players will back out to take their names off the record as having sued the PGA.