The world’s best golfers are descending upon Royal Troon Golf Club on the west coast of Scotland this week for the Open Championship, which comes at a pivotal time for the professional sport.

When the tournament tees off Thursday morning, it will be the 10th men’s major championship since the launch of LIV Golf in June 2022. PGA Tour players have won seven of the nine so far, with Brooks Koepka (’23 PGA Championship) and most recently Bryson DeChambeau (’24 U.S. Open) as the only LIV members to claim a major title. But the real leaderboard watch is off the course, where negotiations continue between the PGA Tour and LIV’s financial backers at the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.