David Puig was one of many first school gamers who was offered with this type of alternative as he was contemplating his skilled golf future.
Go the normal route and attempt to earn his means onto the PGA Tour, or take a contract with LIV Golf, the place he might make cash immediately.
Puig shocked the golf world when he left Arizona State early in his senior 12 months, turned professional and joined LIV Golf in September 2022. The then-20-year-old was the first novice golfer to go straight from school golf to the brand new Saudi-backed PGA Tour-rival.
On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar, Puig went over the circumstances of the choice with co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz. Puig stated at first he had reservations about making a league simply because he was unsure the place issues had been going to go along with the upstart league.
“However I talked with my dad and mom and with my workforce, and we simply thought that making that call was the very best for us,” he stated. “However there was just a few reactions from individuals like, who is that this man or we’re by no means gonna know him or this man sucks, LIV sucks, all that via social media. However hopefully, you understand, it clearly received higher, however hopefully it retains getting higher sooner or later.”
After the previous few years, Puig stated he has felt tensions soften a bit, particularly with the play of among the leagues stars like Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, who gained majors in 2023 and 2024.
“So I don’t know if it’s gonna get higher or not, however a minimum of the followers, I feel they’re simply beginning to understand that we’re simply not unhealthy individuals or something like that,” he stated. “We’re simply taking part in some other place.”
As a result of Puig went straight to LIV Golf, the PGA Tour instantly suspended him and he has but to ever tee it up in a PGA Tour occasion, aside from 4 main appearances the final two seasons. However that doesn’t imply he has any regrets.
“I adore it, man. They do an superior job,” he stated. “I imply, we’ve been just about all over the place on the planet. They deal with us very, very effectively. The programs are nice. Individuals are nice. The gamers are, you understand, in case you’re trying like historical past of the gamers, I imply, there’s lots of gamers which are unbelievable golfers. So for me, simply taking part in with them, alongside them and simply form of studying from them, it’s been unbelievable.”
For extra from Puig, together with who the highest tempers on LIV Golf are, watch the total episode under.
