Two companies are now suing for damages, claiming LIV Golf League essentially stole their idea in the run-up to the launch of the Saudi-backed circuit.
Lawyers for British companies World Golf Group (WGG) and Premier Golf League (PGL) are seeking damages of between $210 million and $630 million from LIV Golf, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and other individuals and entities on charges of secrecy and unlawful conspiracy, ESPN reported.
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ESPN said it had obtained records of the lawsuit filed in London’s Commercial Court in April, adding that the records had not been made public but were confirmed as genuine by two sources.
Those named in the lawsuit include former WGG founders Richard Marsh and Jed Moore, who are accused of breach of fiduciary duty for helping PIF launch LIV Golf in June 2022.
“Plaintiffs developed the idea for a new golf league to be called the Premier Golf League,” the complaint states, according to ESPN. “Over the years, Plaintiffs refined the format of the League and created a business plan, contracts, financial model, and other intellectual property owned by Plaintiffs that served as the blueprint for the League’s launch and success.
“Defendants conspired to use Plaintiffs’ confidential information without Plaintiffs’ permission to launch LIV Golf League.”
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ESPN reported that LIV Golf did not respond to a request for comment.
The suit calls LIV Golf a “bald clone of PGL,” and alleges that PGL leadership first devised a shotgun start, a 54-hole event (changed to 72 holes this year), simultaneous individual and team competition, a team championship knockout round, and a franchise with four golfers, including a captain.
The complaint alleges that the idea for the World Golf League was conceived by Andy Gardiner in 2009, who then brought in Richard Marsh as a consultant in 2016. More partners joined, and in 2018, 30 people eventually became the founders of World Golf Group.
And in 2019, while WGG was working on raising funds, the plaintiffs allege that Gardiner and Moore met with PIF President Yasir Al-Rumayyan about a potential Saudi investment in PGL. Moore had already been in contact with Golf Saudi CEO Majid Al Soloul, and the complaint says he and PIF representatives were then given access to online data that allowed them to view business plans, promotional materials, financial models and contracts with potential golfers.
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According to the complaint, PGL secured $1 billion in equity from Layne Mulligan in late 2019, and PIF agreed to invest $490 million in exchange for the league signing top-level players who were then members of the PGA Tour. The plaintiffs allege there were discussions with major winners and their representatives, including Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, Patrick Reed and Adam Scott. It is said that contract offers were made to 11 players in June 2020.
“However, Plaintiffs, PIF, Golf Saudi, and Reign recognized the players’ reluctance to enter into a contract,” the lawsuit states. “This is due to the following reasons: first, threats by the PGA Tour that players who participate in the PGL will be suspended, and second, players’ concerns that they will not earn Official World Golf Ranking points by participating in the PGL.”
The complaint alleges that PGL approached the DP World Tour to partner with the DP World Tour in search of another circuit for its players to compete, but that the European Tour ultimately joined the PGA Tour in a “strategic partnership.”
ESPN reports that the plaintiffs say that’s when PIF became interested in acquiring PGL, rather than as a minority investor. The complaint alleges that PIF offered Gardiner and Marsh positions within the league, and that it was Marsh who ultimately resigned from PGL and joined Saudi in May 2021.
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LIV Golf, with Greg Norman as CEO, has used large upfront deals to hire Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. The first tournament was held in June 2022 and was contested for four seasons before cracks in the business model started to show this year. PIF has invested more than $5 billion, and after much speculation about the league’s future, Saudi Arabia announced it would no longer fund the tour after 2026.
Rahm, Johnson, DeChambeau and Mickelson (who played in only one tournament this year) will remain in LIV Golf, but their futures are uncertain and LIV CEO Scott O’Neal is tasked with raising $300 million to keep the league afloat through 2027.
