David Puig was one of the first college players to be presented with such a choice as he considered his professional golfing future.
Go the traditional route and try to earn his way onto the PGA Tour, or get a contract with LIV Golfwhere he could make money immediately.
Puig shocked the golf world when he left Arizona State early in his senior year, turned pro and joined LIV Golf in September 2022. The then 20-year-old was pFirst amateur golfer to go straight from college golf for the PGA Tour’s new Saudi-backed rival.
On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar, Puig went over the circumstances of the decision with co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz. Puig said at first that he had reservations about making a league only because he was unsure of where things would go with the initial league.
‘A pretty easy decision’: How LIV Golf teamed up with one of golf’s greatest amateurs
“But I talked to my parents and my team and we just thought that making this decision was the best for us,” he said. “But there were just some reactions from people like, who is this guy or we’ll never know him or this guy is dirty, LIV is disgusting, all through social media. But hopefully, you know, it’s definitely improved, but hopefully it will continue to improve in the future.”
After the last few years, Puig said he has felt the tensions ease, especially with the play of some 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 just starting to realize 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 immediately suspended him, and he has yet to feature in a PGA Tour event. in addition to the four main appearances the last two seasons. But that doesn’t mean he has regrets.
“I like it, man. They do a wonderful job,” he said. “I mean, we’ve been pretty much everywhere in the world. They treat us very, very well. The courses are excellent. People are wonderful. The players are, you know, if you’re looking at the history of the players, I mean, there’s a lot of players that are incredible golfers. So for me, just playing with them, alongside them and just learning from them, it’s been incredible.”
For more from Puig, including the strongest in LIV Golf, watch the full episode below.
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