LIV Golf season-ending Team Championship set for cancellation

LIV Golf players have been warned that the season-ending Team Championship later this month is set to be cancelled, BBC Sport has been told.

Tickets for the event in Michigan cannot now be purchased online, with LIV's official website stating both ground passes and hospitality passes are "no longer available".

As first reported by the Telegraph, next week's tournament in Indiana looks increasingly likely to be the final event in the 2026 campaign.

However, LIV Golf is yet to make an official announcement, amid further reports that former world number one Jon Rahm could soon leave the league.

European golf's DP World Tour is warning members who are also LIV players that it is highly unlikely they will be granted conditional release agreements for 2027.

Nine players - including Rahm - agreed such deals this year, allowing them to feature on both tours without facing fresh disciplinary action. But they could face heavy fines and tournament suspensions if they want to continue appearing in a reduced LIV programme next season.

Last week, the LIV series said it had secured an unnamed lead investor to keep the competition running in 2027 after the withdrawal of Saudi Arabian financial backing.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) said in April it would end its multibillion dollar bankrolling of the breakaway tour at the end of the season, plunging the future of the series into doubt.

Chief executive Scott O'Neil said a signed agreement with a new investor is in place and has been approved by the LIV Golf board, with the transaction expected to be completed in September. Until then, LIV bosses are said to be taking a disciplined approach to support its long-term sustainability and maintain operations.

No details of the amount of money that will be invested were announced. PIF has pumped in more than $5bn (£3.71bn) since the league launched in 2022.

O'Neil added LIV will make its players "majority equity holders" in the competition, calling it "a first for a major global sports league".

The LIV press release said the proposed deal with the lead investor is for "2027 and beyond".

The competition will reduce to 10 events from next season, with five in the United States and five held around the world.

There were 14 events planned for the 2026 season but in April, LIV postponed June's New Orleans competition amid questions over its future and has not announced a rescheduled date.

Last week, O'Neil said LIV was focused on "finishing the 2026 season strong", but made no explicit mention of the final two events scheduled this season, in Indianapolis from 23 August and the concluding Team Championship in Michigan from 30 August.

In July, former world number one Martin Kaymer said he felt it was "highly likely" the Team Championship would be cancelled, although last week Cameron Smith said he still expected the event to proceed and that players "would be disappointed" if it does not go ahead.

Alongside Rahm, major winners including Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Smith, Kaymer and Sergio Garcia remain part of the LIV roster after having left the PGA Tour.

American major champions Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed rejoined the PGA Tour after it introduced a returning member programme.

Last week, when asked about the series' biggest stars, O'Neil said: "I think when you have a global game and you have 57 players from 21 countries and you're playing in 10 countries on five continents, how you define stars gets really interesting.

"So while I have all the time in the world for Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, I think I'd be remiss in saying they're not only two of the biggest, best golfers on the planet, but I think they're some of the biggest stars in sports, let alone golf.

"Would certainly love them to come along for the ride and journey because they carry maybe more weight than anybody in the game and I have a lot of time for that."

In July, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour struck an alliance with the Asian Tour in another blow to LIV Golf.

LIV was founded in 2021 and launched the following year with 54-hole events, taking its name from the Roman numeral for 54.

However, it moved to the traditional 72-hole format for golf tournaments from this season.