To the dismal list of indignities visited upon men’s professional golf — profound division, cutthroat rancor, naked greed, rampant entitlement — we can add brazen obsequiousness, evidenced by Thursday’s statement in which PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and player-directors Adam Scott and Tiger Woods had to fluff Mango Mussolini’s ego to help secure government approval for a deal to reunify the sport.

Scott O'Neil, LIV Golf's new CEO, is in favor of President Donald Trump getting involved in negotiations to bring about an alliance with the PGA Tour.

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.