A Northern California judge’s attempt to force attorneys for the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) to resolve a complicated discovery dispute have failed and will likely require a pivotal ruling.
Attorneys for the Tour expanded the scope of their discovery in the ongoing antitrust lawsuit beyond LIV Golf, which sued the circuit in August, to the PIF, which funded and owns 93 percent of the startup league, and its governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan. The Tour claimed Al-Rumayyan and the PIF are “alter egos” of LIV Golf and that they are involved in the day-to-day operations of the circuit, so it sought discovery in its countersuit that claimed LIV, and by proxy PIF, forced Tour players to violate their agreements with the Tour to join LIV.