Hours after his star player said goodbye to him, his team and a time to introduce himself to the professional world, LIV Golf and “a number you can’t turn back from,” Chris Malloy is hypothetically asked what he would have done if such an offer had come a little more than 25 years ago, when he too was a major golfer on campus.
At first he laughed.
“I have no earthly idea. I can’t answer that,” Malloy said.
“But I know it would have been a difficult decision.”
On that, he and Michael La Sasso agree, the University of Mississippi coach said Tuesday afternoon. But there the defending NCAA champion was at 10 a.m. Eastern, sprinkled everywhere social media channels for LIV and HyFlyers, one of its teams, and his selection was announced. In press releaseseveryone seemed excited at the press release as well. La Sasso. Phil Mickelsonsix-time major winner and team captain. It was Lefty, in fact, who said last Wednesday at a LIV media event that “fresh energy” was coming, teasing the La Sasso deal.
However, there are layers here. In signing, there is money, both now and in the near future. And Mickelson. But there was also the chance to defend a crown. And the shot to go to the Masters. And an opportunity to play on the PGA Tour. This is all a new world. Or certainly none seen, say, a quarter of a century ago.
The man he’s leaving behind, however, had this to say about his now former player:
“As a coach, of course we want to compete for national championships, team championships, all that stuff,” Malloy said, “but you also want to see your guys develop and enjoy themselves and achieve their dreams. And that’s part of that process.
“And the timing is unfortunate, of course, but again very proud and very happy for Mike.”
So here’s a look at how LIV signed La Sasso.
Why would Michael La Sasso sign with LIV?
money
Malloy would not disclose the specifics of La Sasso’s contract, nor would LIV’s press release. But the guaranteed money has been one of the biggest draws of LIV, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
La Sasso also had reasons not to sign (and we’ll address them all below), giving him potential leverage. Malloy said he and his player had been talking about the LIV move “for a while” and that “things probably picked up a few days ago.”
In an interview, Malloy had only this to say about the deal:
“A lot of financial stability.”
And this:
;)
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“Financially, a number you can’t back out of.”
a ‘road’
La Sasso will play starting in LIV’s season opener, set for February 4 in Saudi Arabia. In other words, he will not play in a feeder tournament. (We’ll cover that soon, too.)
In LIV events, all 57 players are also paid, and each tournament awards $22 million in individual competition (along with $8 million for teams).
“Staying in the States and going through the PGA Tour U and the PGA Tour all of that, they’re probably a lot less guarantees at this point for some of these guys,” Malloy said. “So I think the stability, the way forward for him was probably a little too much to pass up.”
Phil Mickelson
La Sasso will play under a team coached by Mickelson, and Malloy said “it’s a very nice opportunity.”
“To learn, to be coached by someone with Phil’s resume, that’s a big deal for some of these golfers,” he said. “And while I think LIV can lose on a lot of things, I think that’s something they have and they’ve done a really good job with it. One lure for these young kids coming out of college is to be on one of those guys’ teams that have done it before.”
Why wouldn’t Michael La Sasso sign with LIV?
Master
As the reigning ncaa champion, la Sasso WELL an exception in this year’s Masters – as long as he maintained his amateur status.
However, Malloy said the spot didn’t play into his decision “as much as you would think.”
“Mike was very good at thinking long-term and not being so short-sighted,” the coach said. “Of course it hurts. I don’t think he ever imagined himself saying, ‘No, no, I’m not going to play the Masters this year,’ but I’ll give him a lot of credit for that. For someone his age going through all that, he really did a good job of thinking long term.”
NCAA title defense
Last spring, La Sasso won the NCAA Division I individual title as a junior, and Mississippi begins its spring season on Jan. 31.
How did the final decision go between the player and the coach?
“It was hard for him,” Malloy said. “It was a lot of things. I was happy for him, I’m proud of him, I’m excited for him. Sad that he wasn’t going to finish the spring. … It was a decision that was kind of forced on him, and the timing, again, was unfortunate. So it was a wide range of emotions, but ultimately again very proud of my finish.”
The PGA Tour
;)
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The PGA Tour has more paths to the tournaments that matter most – the majors – and through The PGA Tour’s “PGA Tour University” programcollege players also have paths to the PGA Tour or PGA Tour-sponsored events. Through a ranking system, they could potentially earn membership and start up to two seasons on the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour or PGA Tour Americas, and La Sasso is currently third on the PGA Tour University Rankings. (In 2025, La Sasso made six PGA Tour starts and made one cut, at the 3M Open.)
