Hank Haney is taking on the PGA Tour.
The former golf coach and current on-air personality filed a lawsuit against the PGA Tour, Inc. Wednesday morning in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Haney is seeking damages for harm he says the PGA Tour caused by allegedly interfering with his show on SiriusXM’s PGA Tour Radio station.
In his lawsuit, Haney claims the PGA Tour had “long-standing animus” toward him dating from a desire to “settle an old score” relating to his 2012 book, The Big Miss, about his relationship with Tiger Woods, whom he coached for six years.
After a controversy surrounding the U.S. Women’s Open, Haney was originally suspended, then dismissed from his show with Steve Johnson due to insensitive comments about the potential winner of the Open:
Johnson: “This week is the 74th U.S. Women’s Open, Hank.”
Haney: “Oh it is? I’m gonna predict a Korean.”
Johnson, laughing: “OK, that’s a pretty safe bet.”
Haney: “I couldn’t name you six players on the LPGA Tour. Maybe I could. Well … I’d go with Lee. If I didn’t have to name a first name, I’d get a bunch of them right.”
The lawsuit claims that his firing “cost [Haney] advertising revenues that would have amounted to millions of dollars over the life of the agreement.”
