According to the Wall Street Journal, the PGA Tour has received a notification from the Justice Department regarding the examination of its merger deal with LIV Golf in Saudi Arabia due to antitrust worries.

The review creates another possible challenge to the deal, and could delay the amount of time the parties were looking to finalize it.

It’s worth mentioning that the resistance against the deal in Washington D.C. is certainly increasing. Moreover, besides the Department of Justice, Democrats in Congress are increasingly raising concerns about the deal’s impact on competition and connections to Saudi Arabia, causing more commotion.

Just a heads-up: When the agreement got publicized, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, stated that it could take a few weeks to finalize. However, the Wall Street Journal reported that anonymous PGA Tour sources indicated that completing the deal could actually take up to a year.

Both the DOJ and LIV have yet to comment to any media about the situation.

Three Democratic senators are either investigating the agreement or requesting that the Department of Justice evaluate it. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden have written a joint letter addressed to both Attorney General Merrick Garland and DOJ antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter, expressing their concern over the deal that would make a US organization complicit in Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses. They also believe that the proposed deal will have a negative impact on competition in violation of several provisions of US antitrust law.

Basically, the politicians claimed that the suggested agreement breaks three laws, two from the Sherman Act and one from the Clayton Act. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) launched an inquiry on Monday regarding a deal that has sparked concerns about a foreign government gaining control over a significant American establishment.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) have also been critical of the suggested plan.

The PGA Tour made it clear to Congress that they don’t view their agreement with LIV as a consolidation.

“Let me be clear that despite numerous reports, this arrangement is not a merger between the PGA TOUR, LIV Golf, and the PIF,”

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan in a letter to Congress last week.

The PIF has only invested a minority stake in the new commercial entity, while the majority equity investor is the PGA Tour, wrote Jay Monahan, PGA Tour commissioner, in a letter to Congress last week regarding the recent deal’s announcement.

In a recent update, a spokesperson from the PGA Tour conveyed their confidence that as Congress becomes more familiar with the ways in which the Tour will pioneer this new endeavor, they will appreciate the chances it brings about for golf players, communities, and the sport overall, all while upholding the beloved American institution of golf.

Al-Rumayyan’s desire for a completed deal may not come to fruition anytime soon, especially since one of the key people involved have left.