FILE PHOTO: Jul 29, 2022; Bedminster, New Jersey, USA; General course view during the first round of a LIV Golf tournament at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
(Reuters) - LIV Golf has joined a handful of its players in their antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, according to an amended complaint that showed four golfers have now removed their names.
Phil Mickelson and 10 other golfers sued the PGA Tour in early August over its decision to suspend them for playing on the new Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf circuit.
According to the amended complaint filed on Friday in San Jose, California federal court, LIV Golf is seeking "punitive damages against the PGA Tour for its tortious interference with LIV Golf's prospective business relationships."
The lucrative LIV Golf series is being bankrolled by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which critics say is a vehicle for the country to improve its image in the face of criticism of its human rights record.
Three players still on the lawsuit - Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford - had sought a temporary restraining order that would have allowed them to compete in the PGA Tour's playoffs but their request was denied.
The amended filing showed that both Abraham Ancer and Jason Kokrak had dropped out of the complaint, while Carlos Ortiz and Pat Perez had removed their names in recent weeks.
The remaining players in the complaint are Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Ian Poulter, Peter Uihlein, Gooch, Swafford and Jones.
(This story refiles to fix typographical error in third paragraph).
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Richard Chang)
