Another landmark moment in the PGA Tour–LIV Golf divide is happening at this week’s Rocket Classic in Detroit.
James Piot is becoming the first former LIV player to receive a special invite via sponsor’s exemption to a PGA Tour event. The golfer received the invite earlier this week after several players in the original field withdrew.
Piot, 26, joined LIV in 2022 when he was the reigning U.S. Amateur champion out of Michigan State. He played two seasons on Phil Mickelson’s team, the HyFlyers GC, winning $3.2 million in individual earnings. However, after finishing outside the top 50 in the 2023 season, he was relegated from the league.
The PGA Tour has a blanket one-year ban for non-members who compete in a LIV event. So, Piot became eligible for PGA Tour play last fall, but he didn’t have enough status to immediately play anywhere notable.
Currently ranked No. 1,647 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Piot played in a Korn Ferry Tour (the PGA Tour’s “minor league”) event in April after successfully making it through Monday qualifying the week of the tournament, which he was planning on doing for this week’s tournament before getting the call up.
All Around the World
While Piot had plenty of potential coming out of college in 2022, there’s no guarantee he’ll be able to find superb form again. But his situation shows yet another prime example of former LIV players finding opportunities to get back onto the PGA Tour.
Eugenio Chacarra, another young golfer who signed with LIV shortly after his collegiate career ended in 2022, recently told Front Office Sports he had “been enjoying life again” since leaving LIV following three seasons and $9.12 million in individual prize money.
Chacarra is now a full DP World Tour member and will be eligible to compete in next month’s Scottish Open, which is a co-sanctioned event with the PGA Tour. He is banned from solely PGA Tour–sanctioned events until September but intends to pursue getting his PGA Tour card after that.
In March, Laurie Canter became the first former LIV golfer to qualify for a full-field PGA Tour event when his world ranking inside the top 50 earned him a spot in the Players Championship. He also played in the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April.
