The PGA Tour said on Thursday that after a meeting this week with U.S. President Donald Trump it was closer to reaching a deal with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf that would help end the years-long divide in professional golf.

Tour officials said the session at the White House “brought us closer to a final deal” that would be subject to Justice Department antitrust scrutiny.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and player-director Adam Scott met with President Donald Trump to discuss the Tour's possible merger with LIV Golf.

There always seems to be an inflection point each professional golf season, during which the slow play problem dominates the discourse on the PGA Tour. The issue isn’t a new one. It’s an age-old problem in the pro game. Everyone knows it: Golf can crawl.

Donald Trump met with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and player director Adam Scott last week as the organisation looks to strike a deal with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf project

After a lengthy impasse following the shock announcement of a "framework agreement" over the merger of LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, U.S. President Donald Trump has been drafted into talks