Larry Klayman, the founder of both Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch and a former federal prosecutor in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), had this to say about the Professional Golf Association’s (PGA’s) recent actions and commentary, which he says is tantamount to “using its dominant market power to stifle competition in the golf industry through monopolization, group boycotts, market division” and what he alleges are “other anti-competitive acts.”

 

According to Klayman, a former U.S. Senate candidate in Florida, who was on the DOJ trial team that broke up the AT&T monopoly, “PGA commissioner Jay Monahan has showed his hand at a press conference,  effectively admitting that the PGA will attempt to kill the new LIV Golf Tour, using Saudi financing as a pretext.”

Klayman also alleges that Monahan conceded that the PGA Tour is itself affiliated with other tours, such as the DP World Tour, which Klayman said is largely financed by Arab-Muslim money.

“While no one condones the Saudi government, the hard fact is that Arab-Muslim money is already a large part of world golf, and thus the PGA’s attempt to monopolize golf, as well as attempting to lean on and have other tours, in addition to the PGA Tour, sanction and ban players who choose to be a part of the LIV Golf Tour, would constitute other per se violations of the antitrust laws, commonly known as an illegal group boycott and market division.”

Accordingly, Klayman further alleges “those former PGA star players such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia, Bryson De Chambeau, Patrick Reed, Lee Westwood, Kevin Na, Louis Oosterheisen, Rickie Fowler, Abraham Ancer, Ian Poulter, Adam Scott and a host of others who have been suspended by the PGA for joining the LIV Golf Tour, coupled with the PGA’s attempted monopolization, group boycott and market division, have legal rights which could can and should be asserted against Monahan and the PGA.”

Klayman continued: “As someone who believes in competition, and as an antitrust lawyer among other legal specialties, I am committed to seeing that Monahan and the PGA do not kill competition in the greatest sport the world has ever known, particularly when it comes to integrity, sportsmanship and class in particular.

“Freedom to choose and excel in golf, without anti-competitive repercussions, is as important as freedom generally to the nation as a whole!”