LIV Returning to The Cardinal For 2026 Michigan Team Championship

LIV golf will return to Michigan for a second year at The Cardinal in Plymouth. Competition dates are Aug. 27-30, 2026.

Last summer’s LIV Team Championship at the Cardinal obviously was a success in both the eyes of both LIV and St. John’s management. Attendance seemed good and people seemed to be having fun. Some reports say that the team championship attracted as many as 30,000 fans for the three days (although I am skepitcal of self reported figures from any tournament, LIV or PGAT).

Unfortunately, the LIV event is the same weekend as the venerable Champions Tour Ally Challenge at Warwick Hills. On the positive side, it strikes me that the tournaments serve different demographics and different geographical regions.

LIV, for example, had concerts from Imagine Dragons and Swedish House Mafia. The Ally Challenge over the last several years has had concerts with country acts Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Dierks Bently, Big and Rich, Thomas Rett and Sam Hunt.

I submit that the Little Big Town and Imagine Dragons audiences are generally distinct.

The Rocket Classic, held at Detroit Golf Club is scheduled for July 30 – Aug. 2. This is later than previous years to accommodate the (British) Open Championship.

I thought LIV put on a good show last year, even if it reminded me a bit of a county fair: While the ostensible reason for a county fair is to show livestock and produce, the real attractions are the carnival rides, food, booze and music. Similarly, the golf at LIV in many ways seemed a background for music (blasting from speakers on-course, with two concerts afterwards), food and booze.

That might just be the model for golf tournaments going forward, though. Relatively few will pay the entry fee to see cows and ears of corn. What people are getting at a county fair is an entertanment package.

Similarly, LIV offers an entertainment package. The PGA TOUR should take notes, and think about their tournaments not as golf competitions, but as a day (or weekend) of golf centric entertainment.

I had some ideas for the Rocket Classic in a previous post. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that having concerts included in the ticket price is a must — and a minimum — for the Rocket. The new management at The Rocket also needs to think creatively for other value-added entertainment options.

LIV had a good part of the formula right in 2025. It will be interesting to see if the formula holds for next year.