Mickelson requests removal

Phil Mickelson, the driving force among PGA Tour players in the rival LIV Golf series, and three other players asked a federal judge Tuesday to remove their names from the antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour. Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Ian Poulter filed separately to have their names removed. That leaves only three players — Bryson DeChambeau, Peter Uihlein and Matt Jones — and Saudi-funded LIV Golf as plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in early August. The trial is not scheduled to begin until January 2024. Mickelson’s decision was not a surprise. He had said two weeks ago to SI.com that he no longer needed to be involved in the lawsuit now that LIV Golf has joined as a plaintiff. LIV Golf already suffered one setback in court when U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman denied a temporary restraining order that sought to allow LIV Golf players to compete in the PGA Tour’s lucrative postseason.