Things are looking absolutely grim for the LIV Golf tournament set for Metro Detroit next month, with its season-ending team championship, scheduled for Aug. 27-30, hanging by a thread amid a massive league-wide funding crisis. Five weeks out from the event, there’s literally *nothing* to suggest a major golf tournament is about to happen, and one of the league’s own stars just threw some serious shade on its chances.
Zero Hospitality Suites and a Player’s Dire Outlook
Forget grand preparations; a Detroit News reporter checked out The Cardinal at Saint John’s Resort as of Wednesday night and found zero infrastructure buildout. We’re talking no hospitality suites on the 18th hole, no stage for the post-round concerts and championship celebration, no player walking bridge across the signature pond, and no visible signage. Seriously, no nothing. For a tournament of this magnitude, buildout usually takes multiple months. So yeah, this isn’t looking good.
To make matters worse, two-time major champion Martin Kaymer, a LIV Golf player, cast some major doubt on Wednesday. After a players’ meeting with LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil on Tuesday in the UK, where O’Neil updated captains on the desperate search for emergency investor funding, Kaymer told Today’s Golfer, “Michigan, highly unlikely.” He even pegged Michigan’s chances of hosting the LIV Golf team championship at a dismal 5%. “Of course, we are disappointed,” Kaymer added.
Billions Lost and a Scramble for Survival
This isn’t just about Michigan, though. The 5-year-old rival golf league has been scrambling for at least $300 million in investor funding after its original cash spigot, the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF), cut off its support earlier this year. The PIF pulled funding in late April after the league reportedly lost billions. They already canceled a tournament in New Orleans, and with this week’s event in the U.K. underway, only tournaments in New Jersey and Indianapolis remain before the planned Michigan championship.
Player movement isn’t helping either. LIV Golf hasn’t signed a huge-name golfer since Jon Rahm in 2024. Earlier this year, Brooks Koepka paid millions in penalties to return to the PGA Tour in 2026, and Patrick Reed left LIV Golf, positioning himself for a PGA Tour return in 2027. It’s a rough look.
Last year, LIV’s first run in Michigan was a huge hit with fans, with tens of thousands showing up to see Rahm’s team beat Bryson DeChambeau’s team in a sudden-death playoff. Saint John’s even paid a multi-million hosting fee, believed to be $3 million, to LIV Golf. Kevin Doyle, COO of the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, which oversees The Cardinal, declined to comment on the state of the buildout, only saying that “LIV’s planning is ongoing and the Saint John’s team continues to work closely with them on it.” Sounds like we’ll have to wait and see if that 5% chance even materializes.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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