Eleven LIV players, including superstars Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, joined their new employer to sue their former one after being suspended from playing on the PGA Tour.

Only three names remain on the application, DeChambeau, Matt Jones and Peter Uihlein, which claims the US-based tour does not allow for "fair competition".

Now the PGA Tour is making its counter-move and reconciling the LIV Tour, reports Golf Digest.

The PGA Tour, in turn, claims that "if anyone competes unfairly, it is LIV" and believes that LIV's attitude is "a cynical attempt to avoid competition and try to flaunt our investment in the development of professional golf".

Trying to sign players

The lawsuit also states that LIV players such as Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau committed a breach of contract when they left and that LIV Golf is nothing more than an attempt at "sportwashing" by the state-owned Saudi investment fund, PIF.

Mickelson and DeChambeau are also accused of trying to lure new players to the Saudi-backed upstart.

At the same time, the PGA Tour brushes off the LIV players' claim that they are trying to prevent golfers' freedom to play wherever and whenever they want, calling it "fiction".

“Golfers transferring to LIV must sign exclusive long-term contracts that require them to participate in all LIV events and prohibit them from competing on other tours that run during the same weeks.

This is merely a way of trying to deflect criticism towards their own business model," the lawsuit states.

Leaked documents revealed the demands

This is backed up by the fact that LIV requires its players to participate in all their competitions, give up their sponsorship rights, wear their logo on their clothing, participate in marketing gimmicks and not be interviewed without LIV: s approval, as revealed by leaked documents.

The PGA Tour's lawsuit seeks compensation for "damages caused as a result of LIV's breach of the tour's contracts with players, including lost revenue, damaged brand and legal fees."

The trial is expected to begin on January 8, 2024.