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.

Trump has been eager to step into the conversations between the PGA Tour and PIF since taking office and stated before the election that he could strike a deal between the two sides in 15 minutes. The President has relationships with both the PGA Tour and the PIF; his golf courses have been utilized by both circuits to hold tournaments.

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.