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LIV Golf joins antitrust lawsuit against PGA Tour

(CNN)The Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series has joined the antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour in an amended lawsuit in which four golfers originally named in the original lawsuit have had their names withdrawn.

Carlos Ortiz, Abraham Ancer, Pat Perez and Jason Kokrak all withdrew their names, leaving just seven golfers, including six-time major champion Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, and LIV Golf as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Earlier this month, 11 golfers participating in the LIV golf series filed an antitrust lawsuit to challenge their suspensions from the PGA Tour.

Three golfers still named in the lawsuit — Matt Jones, Talor Gooch and Hudson Swafford — had their request for an injunction to play in the FedEx Cup playoffs denied by a judge in early August.

The amended lawsuit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Northern California.

According to the amended lawsuit, LIV Golf is seeking “punitive damages against the PGA Tour for its tortious interference in LIV Golf’s prospective business dealings.”

PGA Tour said they were “aware” of the amended complaint but had not commented. CNN reached out to LIV Golf but didn’t get an immediate response.

The LIV Golf series is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and the man credited in a US intelligence report as responsible for approving the The operation carried out is called the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Bin Salman has denied any involvement in Khashoggi’s murder.

According to the PGA Tour, every golfer who has joined LIV Golf has been denied tournament eligibility since early June.

LIV Golf’s next three-day event is scheduled to begin September 2 in Boston.