David Puig was one of the first college players to be given this type of option as he contemplated his golfing future.
Go the traditional route and try to find your way into the PGA Tour, or take a contract with LIV Golf, where you can make money right away.
Puig shocked the golf world when he left Arizona State early in his senior year, became a student and joined LIV Golf in September 2022. The 20-year-old was the first freshman golfer from college to the new Saudi-sponsored a PGA Tour competitor.
In this week’s episode of Subpar GOLF, Puig discussed the circumstances of the decision with co-managers Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz. Puig said at first he was hesitant to make the league simply because he wasn’t sure how things would go with the first league.
“But I talked to my parents and my team, and we just thought that making that decision was good for us,” he said. “But there was some reaction from people like, who is this guy or we will not know him or this guy is disgusting, LIV is bad, all that through social media. But hopefully, you know, obviously it got better, but hopefully it will continue to get better in the future. “
After the last few years, Puig said he has felt the tension diminish a little, especially with the play of major league stars like Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, who won majors in 2023 and 2024.
“So I don’t know if it’s going to get better or not, but at least the fans, I think they’re starting to see that we’re not bad people or anything like that,” he said. “We’re just playing somewhere else.”
Because Puig went straight to LIV Golf, the PGA Tour stopped him immediately and he has never made it to a PGA Tour event, except for four major appearances in the past two seasons. But that doesn’t mean he has no regrets.
“I love you man. They are doing an excellent job,” he said. “I mean we are all over the world. They treat us very well. The lessons are good. People are great. Players, you know, if you look at the history of players, I mean there are a lot of players who are unbelievable golfers. So for me, just playing with them, around them and just learning from them, it was unbelievable.”
For more from Puig, including who’s most angry at LIV Golf, watch the full episode below.
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