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The Justice Department has begun to examine an agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabian backers of LIV Golf to determine whether it violates federal antitrust statutes, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
The inquiry is in its early stages, and it isn’t clear yet whether the Justice Department would take any enforcement action, the person said. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the inquiry and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The PGA Tour, European tour and Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund came together in a partnership that was negotiated so privately over two months that none of the players and some board members were aware.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan had been critical of LIV Golf since the rival circuit began poaching some of golf’s biggest names with signing bonuses of $100 million or more, money provided by the Public Investment Fund.
