Understanding Golf’s Civil War: An Antitrust Analysis and Discussion

For years, professional golf has been ruled by the PGA Tour. But in 2022, the PGA Tour’s monarchy started to crack when LIV Golf, a new Saudi-backed golf league, entered the scene and sued the PGA Tour for antitrust violations. Players and fans had to take sides: the legacy of the PGA Tour or the deep pockets of LIV Golf? The lawsuit resulted in a settlement between the entities, but the complaints exposed dealings engaged in by the PGA Tour that this Note argues are violations of the Sherman Act. Beyond illegality of the Tour’s acts, the dispute between LIV and the Tour reinvigorates what scholars have already discussed about the business practices and antitrust issues of professional sports entities. This Note applies previous scholarly discourse in this area to professional golf and examines what options could create meaningful change in the professional golf realm.