# DELETE/UPDATE approach

### Overview

Live event changes are expressed through the `action` field.

The possible values are `ADD`, `UPDATE`, and `DELETE`.

This page explains how `UPDATE` and `DELETE` messages are shaped.

### Update behavior

Updates use the `UPDATE` action.

Updates follow a full payload pattern.

That means the message includes the changed fields and the unchanged fields in the same payload.

Consumers should replace the previously stored version of the event with the new one.

### UPDATE message example

{% code title="UPDATE message" overflow="wrap" expandable="true" %}

```json
{
  "specversion": "1.0",
  "id": "0da2b5ba-b92f-42bd-b9d2-0fcd978fec85",
  "source": "/tournaments/1971",
  "type": "Event.Sport.Golf",
  "time": "2026-05-04T14:23:01.123Z",
  "tournamentid": 1971,
  "datacontenttype": "application/json",
  "data": {
    "id": "0da2b5ba-b92f-42bd-b9d2-0fcd978fec85",
    "action": "UPDATE",
    "type": "Event.Sport.Golf.BallHoled",
    "created_at": "2026-04-24T11:09:15.267Z",
    "sport_event": {
      "id": "sr:match:67607764"
    },
    "payload": {
      "event_time": "2026-04-24T11:09:15.267Z"
      ......... // event specific data
    }
  }
}
```

{% endcode %}

### Delete behavior

Deletes use the `DELETE` action.

The message identifies an event that was previously sent and should now be removed.

For `DELETE`, only `id`, `action`, `created_at`, and `sport_event` are included inside `data`.

The `payload` field is omitted.

`data.id` refers to the previously sent event that is being deleted.

### DELETE message example

{% code title="DELETE message" overflow="wrap" expandable="true" %}

```json
{
  "specversion": "1.0",
  "id": "0da2b5ba-b92f-42bd-b9d2-0fcd978fec85",
  "source": "/tournaments/1971",
  "type": "Event.Sport.Golf",
  "time": "2026-05-04T14:23:01.123Z",
  "tournamentid": 1971,
  "datacontenttype": "application/json",
  "data": {
    "id": "0da2b5ba-b92f-42bd-b9d2-0fcd978fec85",
    "action": "DELETE",
    "created_at": "2026-04-24T11:09:15.267Z",
    "sport_event": {
      "id": "sr:match:67607764"
    }
  }
}
```

{% endcode %}

### What to do in your consumer

* Treat `UPDATE` as a replacement of the previous event version.
* Treat `DELETE` as removal of the referenced event.
* Use `data.id` as the stable event identifier across versions.

{% hint style="info" %}
The outer WebSocket envelope stays the same. Only the `data.action` and `data` content differ.
{% endhint %}

### Related pages

* [Live Events](/live-data/live-data-golf-api-design/ld-golf-api-documentation/live-events/live-events.md)
* [Round Events](/live-data/live-data-golf-api-design/ld-golf-api-documentation/live-event-types/round-events-sportevent.md)
* [Hole Events](/live-data/live-data-golf-api-design/ld-golf-api-documentation/live-event-types/hole-events.md)


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