Mickelson withdraws LIV Golf's lawsuit against the PGA

Golfer Phil Mickelson on Tuesday morning removed his name from a high-profile antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour over its treatment of its controversial,

Saudi-funded new rival LIV Golf, an apparent blow to LIV's case given Mickelson's early appearance in the case. The initial circuit claims that "nothing has changed" about the suit.

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Mickelson voluntarily dismissed his lawsuit against the tour in a filing Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Northern California when he first filed the lawsuit on Aug.

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.Fellow LIV defectors Talor Gooch, Ian Poulter, and Hudson Swafford also removed their names from the suit on Tuesday.

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The exodus leaves just three golfers, including Bryson DeChambeau, in the lawsuit after LIV joined the case on Aug. 27.

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Jonathan Grella, LIV's chief communications officer, explained the changes in a statement to Forbes because the suit "no longer needs a wide variety of players to be on it."

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A trial in the antitrust case will begin in January 2024, while a summary judgment hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence one way to make a trial unnecessary will be held.

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Funded by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund and closely associated with former US President Donald Trump, LIV burst onto the scene this year,

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