Although the U.S. Open is well underway, the wheels of justice aren't pausing to watch. The Justice Department is the latest government entity to take a close look at the potential merger between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

Per a new report in the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Department of Justice has informed the PGA Tour that it is reviewing the proposed merger for antitrust concerns. The PGA Tour and LIV Golf, the golf beneficiary of the PIF wealth, had been involved in litigation with one another, including allegations that the Tour had engaged in anticompetitive practices, but the proposed merger would end all litigation between the two entities.

The prospect of antitrust litigation ending with both antagonists merging with one another is a scenario that always draws significant regulatory scrutiny. Government entities had already been taking a close look at the two tours, both independently and in concert, and the stunning news of the merger — which took almost the entire golf world by surprise — only heightens the stakes of that scrutiny.