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LIV Golf has a habit of saying one thing and doing another. This time, it’s happening in real time in front of the fans. LIV Golf’s $40 million Team Championship in Michigan is reportedly dead, but the league was still selling tickets for it as of Wednesday.

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“It’s unsurprising given the reports that have been out there a while… It’s evidence that nothing is ever as LIV says it is. The fact that they’re still selling tickets as of this morning for an event that isn’t going to happen,” Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch said on the show.

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The Telegraph’s JM Corrigan first reported that LIV players were told the finale event isn’t happening. LIV, however, has issued no official confirmation. Yet, as of Wednesday morning, four-day passes were still listed at $124 and moving day tickets at $52 on LIV’s own website for a tournament that insiders across the golf world have already written off.

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By Thursday morning, those tickets were no longer available, with the site stating they “are no longer available.”

Moreover, Fox Sports had removed Michigan from its listings while keeping Indianapolis positioned as the season’s last event, effectively treating it as the final tournament.

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Corrigan had also voiced his frustration on X after receiving a promotional email pushing him to buy tickets for the same event.

Golf analyst Eamon Lynch has tied it to a pattern. This was a tour that insisted just months ago that its Saudi funding was locked to 2032, when it wasn’t. The Public Investment Fund confirmed in April that it would end its backing after the 2026 season.

The reversal has reportedly blindsided executives and players who’d been told the money would last another six years. Furthermore, its credibility has come into question after CEO Scott O’Neil vowed the season would continue at full throttle.

It clearly hasn’t been able to, as this is likely the second cancellation for 2026.

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Of the 14 events listed, June’s New Orleans event was scrapped in April, and Michigan now looks set to become the second cancellation of the year. New Orleans fell apart around the same time reports of the Saudi funding pullback began to intensify. This timeline makes Michigan look less like an isolated incident and more like a pattern repeating itself.

LIV announced last week that it had signed a new lead investor to anchor its next era, with players reportedly set to become majority equity holders in the same league for the first time. Ironically, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil has refused to name the investor or disclose the deal.

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“We’re keeping the details of the deal, the investors, and how much of what you might want to know out of the media,” he told the reporters.

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The LIV CEO hasn’t just kept the media in the dark; he’s kept his own players in the dark too. Speaking with Garrett Johnson, Adrian Meronk confirmed the players are not aware of the situation, but they choose to remain optimistic with the new investors’ lead.

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Indianapolis emerges as LIV’s real finale

With Michigan reportedly dead, the Chatham Hills stop in Indianapolis, running from August 20 to 23, is on track to become the last competitive event of LIV’s 2026 season by default, not by design.

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And yet, players lack clarity.

Ripper GC’s Cameron Smith said he’d been told to prepare as if Michigan were still happening, despite every outward sign pointing the other way.

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“We’ve been told to prepare as though it’s going ahead,” he said. “I’m really unsure, but we had a great year there last year in Detroit, and we are hoping to get back there. It’s a great golf course, a great venue, and the crowds really turned up as well. Yeah, would be disappointed if it wasn’t.”

Cleeks GC’s Martin Kaymer had already given the event just a 5 percent chance of taking place weeks earlier. He even expressed his disappointment around the same to Today’s Golfer.

“Of course, we are disappointed. I heard yesterday, actually, on the Golf Channel that there were talks that Indianapolis could become a team event instead of Michigan. That we don’t know. I think that would be a shame that we get reduced even more individual tournaments.”

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Even Richard Bland declined to answer directly when asked if the tournament is still on.

LIV has decided to offer no timeline for clearing up the confusion, leaving its promises without any action.

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Roshni Dhawan

467 Articles

Roshni Dhawan is a Golf Writer at EssentiallySports, covering the financial and human side of the professional game. Her reporting centers on player earnings and tournament economics, from net-worth profiles of pros such as Sahith Theegala to the prize-money breakdown at the 2026 U.S. Open, alongside explainer features that introduce readers to the tour's lesser-known names, including her profile of Harry Higgs. She also reports on everything that define a tournament week, covering on-course conduct, rules decisions, and the fan and media reaction that follows, with much of her 2026 work centered on the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. Roshni's background is in research and brand strategy, which informs the accuracy and structure she brings to her coverage. She works methodically, prioritizing verification and the detail that a strong earnings or profile piece depends on.

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Tanay Sahai

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