Two-time major champion Dustin Johnson is among more than 10 LIV golfers seeking a total of more than $100 million from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, The Athletic reported Sunday.
The PIF funded LIV Golf with lucrative contracts and tournament purses from the league’s debut in 2022 until April, when it announced it would withdraw its support.
The group of golfers, which includes fellow two-time major champion Bubba Watson, is seeking payments due under their original LIV contracts or money owed through severance agreements.
Three-time major champion Jon Rahm of Spain has already announced he will not return for the reconfigured tour, dubbed LIV 2.0. Tyrrell Hatton, Ian Poulter and Tom McKibbin also have announced in recent days that they will not return to LIV.
LIV 2.0 set a Sunday deadline for players to commit to the league’s new era. New investor BC Partners Credit has the ability to extend the deadline, according to the report.
Johnson’s lawyer, David Cornwell, who also represents the players pursuing the claims against LIV, told The Athletic that further proceedings will depend on how the PIF handles the end of the league’s initial iteration.
According to Cornwell, the players seeking payments relied on the PIF’s promises to keep LIV viable.
“The PIF was an honorable business partner until what we regard as its abandonment of LIV golfers,” Cornwell told The Athletic. “Professional sports leagues and their player unions in the United States, along with sports organizations worldwide, should take notice: the PIF’s treatment of LIV golfers may signal how it will treat professional athletes in other sports. How you do one thing is usually how you do everything.”
–Field Level Media
