A group of PGA Tour caddies are suing the PGA Tour for making them wear bibs that have the logo of the tournament sponsors without sharing in what it estimates as $US50 million ($A64 million) in endorsement revenue.
The class-action suit on behalf of 81 caddies was filed on Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco.
"This lawsuit is intended to protect the rights of caddies who are required to endorse tour sponsors with zero compensation from the PGA Tour," said Gene Egdorf, the caddies' lawyer.
"Any working professional deserves to be paid based on the income they generate, but that's not happening on the PGA Tour."
PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said there would be no comment.
At issue was whether the tour had a right to force caddies to wear bibs and "retain for itself the tens of millions of dollars in advertising generated by those bibs."
The lawsuit stems from a dispute that has been brewing for more than a year over treatment of caddies.
A tipping point was at The Barclays in August 2013 at Liberty National during a rain delay, when caddies said security would not allow their wives or children in a caddie room because they did not have credentials.
They felt it was an example of how the tour treats them like second-class citizens. At several tournaments, they are not allowed in the clubhouse or in the locker room.
The bibs a caddie wears have the players' name on the back, and the tournament logo on the front. The lawsuit also claims the tour has denied caddies access to basic health care and pensions plan.
Among the caddies represented in the lawsuit were Greg Norman's former longtime bagman Tony Navarro, who now works for Gary Woodland, along with Kenny Harms, who works for Kevin Na, Andy Sanders (Jimmy Walker), Jimmy Johnson (Steve Stricker) and Damon Green (Zach Johnson).
The caddies for Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy were not part of the class-action lawsuit. Joe LaCava, who works for Woods, is a board member of the Association of Professional Tour Caddies that was formed just over a year ago.
The profession has changed over the last few decades. Several caddies on tour formerly played on smaller tours. Michael Maness, who caddies for Kevin Chappell, qualified for The Greenbrier Classic in 2012. Green played in a U.S. Senior Open. Sanders played in the Palmer Cup when he was in college.
PGA Tour players are considered to be independent contractors who employ their caddies individually.
The lawsuit claims the tour has contacted players to ask if they would be willing to fire their caddies for not wearing a bib.
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