Until recently, the best amateur golfers in the college ranks were hoping and dreaming to reach the PGA Tour one day.
But David Puig wasn’t swayed by the history of the PGA, saying Thursday it was a “pretty easy decision” to join LIV Golf when he turned pro earlier this month.
Puig, a native of Spain, played at Arizona State and was the ninth-ranked amateur golfer in the world when he chose to turn pro. He played in two of LIV’s first three events — London and Bedminster, N.J. — before turning pro.
Puig was asked ahead of this week’s LIV Golf Invitational Chicago why now was the right time for him to turn pro and choose LIV over the PGA.
“Why now? You know, I actually think I had a pretty good amateur career, and I didn’t get a lot of — or basically just one opportunities to play with pros before LIV even started,” Puig said. “LIV was very supportive, and they gave me two exemptions as an amateur, which I really appreciated them a lot. They also gave me an opportunity to play against the best players in the world, so it was obviously a tough decision to leave ASU, but it was a pretty easy decision to join LIV.”
Asked if he had ever applied for an exemption to play the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Phoenix Open while at nearby Arizona State, Puig said he hadn’t tried.
“Not really,” Puig said. “At least for what I know, getting into the Phoenix Open is pretty tough, especially when a guy is from Spain. … Being from Spain, I would say it’s just pretty tough because I would say they’d rather give the exemptions to people that are local.”
To that end, Puig has found Spanish-speaking mentors at LIV as the controversial organization continues to sign golfers from around the world. Countryman Sergio Garcia gave him advice, and the captain of Puig’s team, Torque, is Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, the No. 20 player in the world.
Puig did not discuss the hefty signing bonuses LIV has handed out, nor where the money comes from. The Saudi Investment Fund finances the tour, which has led to widespread criticism of “sportswashing” its image.
“Here in LIV they take care of you really good, which is awesome, and then the courses we play, they’re really good, too,” Puig said. “I played two courses and now this one, Rich Harvest Farms. All of the three courses were really good, so that is also helpful.
“And then the players. We started in London with a pretty good amount of really good players, and every day it’s growing. Now the field we have here at LIV is crazy, and it’s really good.”
–Field Level Media