A former LIV Golf member is making a bit of history this week on the PGA Tour.
James Piot was in the first wave of players to defect to the fledgling league backed by the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in the summer of 2022. Though he wasn’t necessarily a top-ranked amateur in his collegiate career at Michigan State, Piot made a surprising run at the 2021 US Amateur at Oakmont, ultimately capturing the Havemeyer Trophy.
That was enough to get the attention of LIV’s backers, as Piot was part of a strategy to target younger players to fill out LIV’s roster in its inaugural season. Piot reportedly received a $US6 million guarantee for a two-year deal to compete at LIV.
But Piot struggled on the LIV circuit, and failed to post a finish inside the top 20 in any of LIV’s 14 events, finishing outside the top 50 in the limited-field league to get relegated to the Asian Tour. He didn’t do much of note on that tour either, playing a limited schedule in 2024 after shoulder surgery forced him to the sidelines. However, because Piot hasn’t played in a LIV event since 2023, he is eligible to return to the PGA Tour. And, thanks to a wave of last-second tournament withdrawals, the Rocket Mortgage Classic extended Piot an invite, becoming the first former LIV player to receive a sponsor exemption on the PGA Tour.
“There was a lot of support, and it was one or the happiest calls I’ve made,” tournament official Mark Hollis told the Detroit News. “He’s somebody we wanted in from the get-go as we were going through the process. It had to play out the way it played out.”
Piot was in the parking lot of a Monday qualifier hoping to play his way into the tournament when he received the news. “For it to actually happen is the coolest thing in the world,” Piot told the Detroit News. “It’s awesome. Just the fact I finally get to play in the Rocket Classic, it’s a dream come true. Ever since the event was created on the schedule, I wanted to be a part of it.”
Piot is not the first LIV Golfer to return to the PGA Tour, as Laurie Canter has appeared in five starts this year.
Talks between the PGA Tour and PIF remain nonexistent, sources have told Golf Digest, after a White Houst meeting in the spring did not go as planned. Last week the PGA Tour announced NFL executive Brian Rolapp would be its new CEO, although Rolapp would not comment on LIV in his opening press scrum.