From LIV to PGA Tour: James Piot Shows Path Back From Rival League
June 25, 2025
James Piot, a former LIV Golf player, is competing in this week’s PGA Tour event, showing a rare example of a golfer making it back to the tour he spurned.
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.