The PGA Tour and LIV’s Saudi backers have a deal—but there’s one holdup

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. When the PGA Tour announced a stunning alliance with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf that it had spent months battling on and off the course, the plan was for the two sides to have a final agreement by the end of the year. That is, the end of last year.

Ever since they committed to striking a deal, there has been no public sign of headway. At times, it has seemed as if the former warring enemies were struggling to come to terms—or even that things had quietly fallen apart. The biggest question in golf over the past 12 months has also been the most repetitive: What’s taking them so long? Quietly, though, the two sides have made significant progress and have actually reached an agreement for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to invest over a billion dollars in the PGA Tour, people familiar with the matter said.

Yet that investment hasn’t been formally unveiled because it’s in front of the Justice Department, which had already been investigating the golf industry over potential antitrust violations. If it goes through, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund would pour $1.5 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises in return for a minority stake. And while the sides still have numerous issues to work out in order to achieve fans’ dreams of reunifying the top players in the sport, things are now looking as bright as ever that the deal will withstand antitrust scrutiny and allow the two sides to proceed.