Plymouth Township ― Michigan has hosted some of golf’s biggest and best championships, as well as every major North American tour. Well, every one except for LIV Golf. That changes this week.
LIV Golf, the rival league to the PGA Tour featuring some of the stars of the game like Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson, is making its Michigan debut Friday through Sunday, holding its season-ending team championship at The Cardinal at Saint John’s Resort.
The Cardinal, an 18-hole championship course that replaced the grounds’ old 27 holes, officially opened last year, and resort officials are banking on LIV Golf’s presence boosting Saint John’s cache on a national level.
“When we designed this place, (we wanted) to be able host to events like this,” said Kevin Doyle, chief operating officer for the Pulte Family Foundation, whose vast charitable business portfolio includes The Cardinal and Saint John’s Resort. “For LIV to come and pick this place to host a global event like this … I think that will generate a great proof point for others to see what a special place this is.”
The LIV Golf team championship marks the first major golf tournament hosted by The Cardinal, a new course (using some corridors from the old layout) designed by acclaimed west-Michigan architect Ray Hearn.
The course maxes out at 6,948 yards for the pros, even with the addition of new tee boxes at LIV Golf’s request, and will play a par 70, with two par-5 holes converted to par 4s for this tournament. LIV Golf also requested some different routing, with the old No. 9 hole, a par 4 that features one of the course’s prettiest features with the church pew bunkers, becoming No. 18 for the LIV Golf team championship.
There’s also more room near the traditional No. 9 (LIV Golf No. 18) for private boxes and fan stands. The traditional No. 18, with the big water hazard left of the fairway and green, becomes No. 13 for LIV Golf, which closes out the state’s 2025 pro-golf schedule, along with the Ally Challenge, the PGA Tour Champions tournament being played over the same three days about an hour away, in Grand Blanc.
Officials at The Cardinal, which opened to rave reviews about the course condition more than the toughness of the course, are expecting crowds of more than 10,000 for all three days of competition, including Friday’s quarterfinals, Saturday’s semifinals and Sunday’s final, where the winning four-man team will pocket $14 million. LIV Golf’s attendance has surged lately, with last week’s tournament in Indianapolis (where Rahm won the 2025 individual championship) drawing more than 50,000, a league record in the United States. LIV Golf plays all over the world.
“Our facility can handle that,” said Doyle, whose Saint John’s Resort is a popular pick for weddings and conferences.
Said golfer Louis Oosthuizen: “We expect the crowds to be good, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The fan experience has been trumpeted for LIV Golf, even more than golf itself, which during the team championship will see match play Friday (six matches) and Saturday (three matches), and stroke play Sunday (with all the league’s golfers competing, even the ones out of contention for the team championship). There is one match Wednesday, between the 12th- and 13th-place teams, with the winner advancing to Friday. Wednesday isn’t open to fans.
Single-day tickets start at just over $40 for the LIV Golf team championship ― noticeably cheaper than the PGA Tour’s Rocket Classic, held every summer at Detroit Golf Club ― and off-site parking is free, with shuttles. On site, there are fan villages, featuring activities for kids and adults. There also are two free concerts, with Imagine Dragons performing after play Saturday, at 2:30 p.m., and Swedish House Mafia performing the closing concert after play Sunday, at 7 p.m.
Music is a signature of LIV Golf, and it’s playing throughout the rounds, even when the golfers are hitting.
Drinking is encouraged, too. Fans can be shirtless. Players drink out of a shoe. The rules of LIV Golf are different on the course (it’s 54 holes, not 72, and they do shotgun starts, so all the golfers start and finish at the same time) and outside of the ropes, too.
“It’s going to be absolutely thrilling,” said Arlo White, play-by-play voice for LIV Golf’s broadcasts on Fox.
“It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen.”
Michigan will see it soon enough.
LIV Golf team championship
▶ When: Friday-Sunday
▶ Where: The Cardinal at Saint John’s Resort, Plymouth Township
▶ Schedule: Friday ― quarterfinals (match play, team vs. team), starting at 12:05 p.m.; Saturday ― semifinals (match play, team vs. team), starting at 10:05 a.m.; Sunday ― finals (stroke play, team counts four scores), starting at 1:05 p.m.
▶ Team standings: 1. Legion XIII (Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbin, Caleb Surratt); 2. Crushers GC (Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri); 3. Fireballs GC (Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer, Josele Ballester, David Puig)
▶ Purse: $50 million (winning team’s share: $14 million)
▶ Tickets: Daily grounds passes start at $44, three-day grounds passes start at $122; children 12 and younger get in free; parking is free at 15000 Ridge Road in Plymouth, with shuttles running every 20 minutes. Details: livgolf.com.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
