Florida Court Sets Deposition Dates For Woods And McIlroy In Lawsuit Against PGA Tour

A Florida court has ordered that Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy be deposed as part of a lawsuit against the PGA Tour in the next couple of months

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods
(Image credit: Getty Images)

A Florida court has ordered both Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy be deposed in the next couple of months as part of a civil lawsuit against the PGA Tour launched by lawyer Larry Klayman.

A press release from Klayman's 'Freedom Watch' organization stated that the "15th Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County ordered the depositions of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy to proceed on January 30 and February 23, 2024 respectively."

Klayman wanted to depose Woods and McIlroy in January 2023, but neither player has as yet been spoken to.

“Woods and McIlroy are not above the law and their frivolous and now failed multiple attempts to avoid being deposed creates more than a presumption of liability for their efforts to harm LIV Golf and its players," Klayman said in a statement after the new deposition dates were set.

The statement from Freedom Watch claims that: "The testimony and the full production of documents ordered by the court in Palm Beach of both Woods and McIlroy will be most revealing, as both were heavily involved in attempts by the PGA Tour to maintain its monopolistic hold over professional golf, as members of the PGA Tour Players Advisory Council. 

"And both professional golfers assisted Commissioner Monahan in defaming and disparaging LIV Golf and its players after the new league came into existence, all of which were intended to scare sponsors and television rights contracts away from LIV Golf and its players, to restrain its entry into the professional golf tour market."

The statement continued: "As just the latest example of the anticompetitive acts and unfair trade practices of the PGA Tour and Monahan, after what most golf fans believe to be the number one professional golfer and independent contractor, Jon Rahm, recently decided to also play professional golf on the LIV Tour, he was immediately suspended from playing on the PGA Tour and is now likely to also be suspended and fined by its joint venture partner the DP World Tour, aka the European Tour."

Attorney Larry Klayman launched an antitrust suit against the PGA Tour over a year ago for “an anticompetitive scheme to restrain trade though monopolization, attempted monopolization, group boycotts and other antitrust violations to destroy the new LIV Golf Tour and its players to the detriment of golf fans in Florida.”

Paul Higham
Contributor

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.