Report: Jason Kokrak And Abraham Ancer Withdraw From LIV Golf Lawsuit Against The PGA Tour

In a tweet by Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard, the LIV Golf pair of Jason Kokrak and Abraham Ancer "have dropped out of the antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour," with Hoggard's tweet adding: "Jason Kokrak and Abraham Ancer have been removed in an amended complaint that was filed Friday. The original 11 plaintiffs are now seven."

According to a report in Sports Illustrated, the LIV Golf antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour is set to go to trial in the early part of 2024, with Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau amongst those seven players that also include the likes of Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones.

An official announcement is yet to be made by both Kokrak and Ancer, but the pair would join Carlos Ortiz and Pat Perez in withdrawing from the original 105-page complaint against the bans imposed by the PGA Tour on any of its members defecting to the Saudi-funded breakaway circuit.

Ancer was announced by LIV Golf back in the end of June, with the Mexican explaining his decision via Instagram. In the statement, Ancer said: "It is after careful consideration that I've made the decision to join LIV Golf. This is not a decision I have taken lightly. I am incredibly grateful and would like to thank the PGA Tour for the opportunities I have had in my career up to this point. I look forward to what the future has in store for my career in golf." 

Kokrak meanwhile was announced a month later than Ancer, with the American revealed alongside Charles Howell III and former European Ryder Cup captain, Henrik Stenson.

The antitrust lawsuit surrounds the players who have defected to the Saudi-funded breakaway circuit that have been indefinitely suspended from the PGA Tour. It is that sanction they wish to challenge.

Jay Monahan and other Tour officials believe they are well within their power to ban any members who tee it up in conflicting events without permission and won out when Gooch, Swafford and Jones attempted to gain entry into the FedEx Cup Playoffs via a temporary restraining order (TRO).

In what was likely to be the first of many courtroom battles, Judge Freeman ruled the trio of LIV players faced no irreparable harm due to the mega money on offer on the Greg Norman-fronted circuit.