Caddies launch lawsuit against PGA Tour

Kenny Harms is a named representative in the class action

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 4 February 2015

More than 80 PGA Tour caddies have launched a lawsuit against the PGA Tour, claiming a share of earnings from the $50 million the Tour has earned from caddies wearing sponsored bibs.

More than 80 PGA Tour caddies have launched a lawsuit against the PGA Tour, claiming a share of earnings from the $50 million the Tour has earned from caddies wearing sponsored bibs.

The caddies believe they should be entitled to a share of the monies received by the Tour through the sponsorship of the bibs they wear on a weekly basis.

The action, which was filed on Tuesday in Northern California, also accuses the Tour of denying access for caddies to healthcare and pension plans. The lawsuit lists a series of grievances against the PGA Tour including, caddies being viewed as “second-class participants of the game" who have to “use portable lavatories that lack running water,” during tournaments.

Michael Hicks who has caddied for Payne Stewart and Greg Norman and Kenny Harms who caddies for Kevin Na have been named as two of the representatives in the collective class action.

The caddies are asking for a share of profits form the sponsored bibs, together with “damages and disgorgement” for wearing the bibs in the past.

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Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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