Former Ryder Cup winning captain Paul McGinley says he believes a deal between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf could be announced before the Masters in April.

The PGA Tour has been involved in protracted negotiations with LIV’s backers, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) aimed at healing the split but a resolution has yet to be reached.

“I think the best thing for the game is to come together somehow – it’s not going to be easy as we’ve seen, it’s taken a long time to get to where we are, but it sounds like we’re closer now than we ever have been,” McGinley told BBC Sport NI.

“It’s not going to start with everybody back together and friends – you know, it’ll be a slow process in that regard, but the main thing is to find some kind of an umbrella that both tours can work under as well as the DP World Tour and then try to get some kind of award schedule out of that.

“The main thing is that there’s going to be something announced and from what I hear, it’s going to be announced relatively soon, maybe even before the Masters.”

The big-money LIV Golf was launched in 2022 and includes Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka among it’s high-profile list of players.

Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin joined the Saudi-funded tour last month, opting to forgo the PGA Tour card he secured two months earlier and going against the advice of compatriot and mentor Rory McIlroy.