The LIV Golf 11, who sued the PGA Tour, are down to none.
Golfweek has learned that Bryson DeChambeau and Matt Jones, who were the last players still to have their names in the lawsuit between LIV and the PGA Tour after Peter Uihlein removed his name last week, have opted to do the same.
“Bryson has made the decision to remove himself from the ongoing litigation between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour,” DeChambeau’s agent Brett Falkoff confirmed in a text. “Bryson wants to solely focus on competing at the highest level week in and week out. He will continue to support the growth of golf and its expansion on a global scale, contributing both on and off the course as a positive influence on the game.”
When reached at this week’s LIV Tour event, DeChambeau, who is captain of the four-man team known as the Crushers, added, “I have a responsibility to grow the Crushers, grow my team, and I really need to focus on golf for the most part. It has been a bit of a focus of mine, but it has gotten to a point where it’s going to happen, no matter what. They’ll resolve it, it’ll be figured out one way or the other, and it’s not my fight. That’s my thought on it.”
Matt Jones, who was also prepping for this week’s LIV event, was asked by Golfweek why he elected to withdraw from the lawsuit now. “No reason at all,” he said.
The original lawsuit, which was issued for attempting to monopolize the sport and discourage competition from other leagues like LIV Golf, was filed in August of 2022 by Phil Mickelson and went on to include 10 other players. LIV Golf, which is almost exclusively financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, joined as a plaintiff but has since taken the lead and now stands alone. The wealth fund, organized in 1971 as a means for the Saudi Arabian government to invest in various projects and companies, has been estimated to be worth over $650 billion.
It was just a few months ago that DeChambeau explained that he remained committed to the lawsuit because the Tour owed him $1.75 million from his Player Impact Program bonus, or half of the $3.5 million he said he should have earned for finishing fifth in 2021.
“It’s not about the money; it’s about the principle,” he told ESPN’s Mark Schlabach. “It’s the way you deal with situations.”
Uihlein removed his name from LIV Golf’s antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, according to a Thursday filing in the U.S. Northern District of California.
LIV is back in action beginning Friday with LIV Golf Tulsa at Cedar Ridge Country Club in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
A PGA Tour spokesperson declined to comment at this time.
Cameron Jourdan added reporting to this story.
