26 February 2024 , 10:00
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LIV Golf's rise to the top of the professional golf pyramid has split the opinion of many in the game, but one man who can not speak highly enough of the breakaway league is former U.S. Amateur champion, James Piot.
Having announced himself as one of the world's leading amateurs, Piot opted to take an alternative route into the professional game after he was handed the lucrative opportunity to sign with LIV Golf. The man from Michigan was one of the breakaway league's original members and played in LIV's first ever event at Centurion back in June 2022.
Despite the noise surrounding the Saudi-backed series, Piot remained on the roster for the rest of the 2022 season, before being recalled a year later to compete in the league's first full campaign.
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After some steady showings in season one, the extended schedule proved a little trickier and, after failing to find his best form, found himself relegated from the league alongside Chase Koepka, Sihwan Kim and Jediah Morgan. Despite things ending not how he would have liked, Piot has nothing but praise Saudi-funded circuit.
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He told Mirror Sport: "Playing in the past two seasons with LIV was the coolest part of my life so for me I really want to get back there. Getting the opportunity to go out there and play with top tier golfers at world class venues. I think LIV Golf is the coolest thing ever coming from someone who was there for two years.”
Fortunately for Piot all is not the lost, with the American given the chance to compete on the Asian Tour on the back of his relegation from the LIV setup. Piot has since turned his attention to the Tour's International Series, which provides the season-long winner a spot on the LIV roster the following campaign.
James Piot spent two years with LIV Golf (Getty Images)The first beneficiary was fellow former U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree, who dominated the Series in 2023 to earn a recall to the breakaway league, having initially been dropped after event one at Centurion. Unsurprisingly, Piot is hoping he can follow in Ogletree's footsteps.
"[Earning a LIV sport] is everything," he added. "All these guys want it too, everybody knows the LIV spot is on the line and it is time to go. For me I want my spot on LIV back really bad and that is the plan.” Venturing to the Asian Tour has no doubt provided a different perspective on golf for Piot, with trips to the likes of Oman and Macau a world away from Michigan State.
The new adventure across the other side of the world is one he is enjoying though. "It has been unique, that is the best adjective for it," he commented. "A lot of different places that as an American I would never have expected to go and they have been great events. The fields have been really strong, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, it has been cool travelling the globe, being able to do what I love to do so I have had a blast.”
Piot's path onto the LIV setup was maybe smoother than most, after he was given the chance to team up with golfing legend, and the league's poster boy, Phil Mickelson. The six-time major champion opted to include Piot in his HyFlyers for 2023, allowing the 25-year-old to learn from one of the very best.
Hailing Mickelson's impact, the former Amateur champion said: "It was phenomenal, Phil is an awesome captain. He went over and beyond for what I expected from him as a captain. Walking in I did not know what to expect, knowing he is one of the greatest players of all time, but I think he exceeded my expectations.
"He was a great mentor and captain and a great leader.” No doubt keen to reunite with Mickelson in 2025, Piot enjoyed a solid start to his International Series campaign, finishing in a tie for 27th in Oman last week, ending the tournament at three-under-par.