A Boston attorney emailed me this afternoon and asked, “Did you see Tiger Woods’ statements today? He stepped in it big time relative to DOJ’s anti-trust probe.”
I emailed my source and asked to clarify.
He replied as follows (full email thread):
From: Redacted
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2022 1:23 PM
To: Jeff Smith
Subject: RE: Tiger Woods/PGA Tour Collusion
Tiger attempted to intimidate college golfers, saying that by signing on with LIV Golf these young prospects would be forfeiting the chance to play in major championships.
He also rather unwisely expounded on the “governing bodies” possibly changing “the criteria” that would effectively ban LIV golfers from major championships.
Here’s Tiger’s key quote from the open’s website:
“Some players have never got a chance to even experience it. They’ve gone right from the amateur ranks right into that organization and never really got a chance to play out here and what it feels like to play a TOUR schedule or to play in some big events.
“And who knows what’s going to happen in the near future with world-ranking points, the criteria for entering major championships.
“The governing body is going to have to figure that out.
“Some of these players may not ever get a chance to play in major championships. That is a possibility.
“We don’t know that for sure yet. It’s up to all the major championship bodies to make that determination.
“But that is a possibility, that some players will never, ever get a chance to play in a major championship – never get a chance to experience this right here, walk down the fairways at Augusta National.”
I sent the above statement to [email redacted] at the DOJ’s Anti-Trust Division in DC.
This is straight up mob talk: “Nice golf swing you got there. Be a shame if you never got a chance to play in a major – never got to experience the Open at St Andrews, or a walk down the fairways at Augusta National.”
Bottomline, this a clear-cut violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, which states, “When competing firms get together to divide business between them, or to make other anticompetitive arrangements that provide no benefits to the consumers, the Government will act promptly to protect the interests of the American consumer.”
Does not offering world-ranking points to the LIV Tour, which has stronger fields than every worldwide tour on the planet, other than the PGA Tour, benefit the consumer? Of course not.
Does banning the best players in the world from majors (because they play on a different tour) “benefit the consumer?” Of course not. It benefits only the monopoly known as the PGA Tour and its allies in the governing boards.
As we’ve discussed, without world ranking points, the LIV Tour dies rather quickly. With world-ranking points, the PGA Tour dies slowly.
From: Jeff Smith
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2022 12:56 PM
To: Redacted
Subject: RE: Tiger Woods/PGA Tour Collusion
Context… clarify?
From: Redacted
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2022 12:39 PM
To: Jeff Smith
Subject: Tiger Woods/PGA Tour Collusion
Did you see Tiger Woods’ statements today? He stepped in it big time relative to DOJ’s anti-trust probe.
It may not seem important now but I think the Norman-Murdoch relationship will be key
to LIV’s success.