DOWN AND DIRTY

Justice Dept Probes PGA Tour’s Fight Against Saudi-Backed Circuit

The federal agency will look for anticompetitive behavior in PGA’s attempts to keep its players from jumping ship to rival LIV Golf.

The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the PGA Tour and whether anticompetitive behavior has been used against its Saudi-backed rival circuit LIV Golf, according to a Monday report by The Wall Street Journal. A source close to the matter told the newspaper that the Justice Department’s antitrust division will look into the tour’s attempts to keep its players from defecting to LIV Golf, which debuted last month. The American tour has thus far suspended all players who participate in LIV events, prompting LIV chairman Greg Norman to accuse it of running an “illegal monopoly.” Officials for PGA confirmed the probe to the Journal. “This was not unexpected,” a spokesperson said. “We went through this in 1994 and we are confident in a similar outcome.” In 1994, the Federal Trade Commission investigated PGA regarding its players’ abilities to play in non-PGA events and on television. The agency dropped its probe the following year.