Scottsdale, Arizona – Two of the top 10 amateur champions in the world will be listed in the field for next week’s LIV Invitational Series event in the suburbs of London.
2021 amateur champion James Pio, Arizona’s Junior David Puig, and Thailand’s rising star Rachanon (“TK”) Chantananuwat were announced on Tuesday after months of speculation. Compete as an amateur in tournaments. The event is scheduled for June 9-11 at the Centurion Club.
The news was reported about an hour after Puig’s Sun Devils team advanced to the finals of the NCAA Championship. He said in a subsequent interview that he was excited about his second career advancement with a professional after finishing 34th at the Spanish Open on the DP World Tour last year.
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“I thought it was good for me,” he told GolfChannel.com on Tuesday night. “Because I’m from Spain, I thought I’d played pretty well. I’ve been exempted from one European Tour event in the last three or four years. I wanted to play more and prepare for the future.”
The LIV event offers the most abundant $ 25 million wallet in golf history, but Puig said he could maintain his amateur status because he didn’t receive the money to play in the tournament directly. (Amateur may be compensated by other means such as name, image, caricature, according to sources.) Puig said in the summer of 2023 after the NCAA Championship at the Grayhawk Golf Club. He said he plans to turn professional. , Near the Arizona State Campus.
Ranked 9th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, Puig has been one of the top performers in college golf for the past two seasons. Piot was an unprecedented US amateur champion who failed to play well in the final season of the Michigan State Spartans and finished 140th in the Golf Stats ranking. Chantananuwat, 14, is the youngest player to win an OWGR-sanctioned event.
Puig’s decision could have a significant impact on his next college season.
As a junior, he was already enrolled in the PGA Tour University Program. This program gives top-class seniors in the university a chance to play. The top five players on the standings will receive the full status of the Korn / Ferry Tour (and the opportunity to enter the final stage of the Q-School and win one of the 25 PGA Tour cards available). , Get 6th to 15th stats. At one of the other umbrella circuits on the tour.
As a clear attempt to discourage college players from participating in Saudi-sponsored series, the tour announced program changes earlier this month to compete in professional tournaments that are not recognized in the official World Golf Rankings. Said to be disqualified. .. Currently, the LIV circuit has not earned world ranking points.
The ranking of up-and-coming seniors has not yet been announced, but Puig may be in the top five because he won once for the junior season suffering from injuries but missed a considerable amount of time due to wrist and back injuries. Said very low. Except for sensational senior campaigns. He believed that the return of talented players, such as Hogan Award-winning Ludvig Avery and Oklahoma State University star Eugeneo Chakara, would reduce the chances of becoming a full member of the Korn / Ferry Tour. ..
“I think I can probably be in the top 15, but I would like to play in Europe rather than Canada because I may receive other invitations on challenges and DP World Tour through the Spanish Federation. It’s been 2 years. So I didn’t play very well this year, so I have to take advantage of other opportunities. “
Puig said he would consider playing other LIV events on an eight tournament schedule, but is currently only working on the opening round. He said he has a busy summer schedule starting with US amateurs, British amateurs and European amateurs, among other marquee events.
It’s still unclear how the tour will cater to those who tee up at the first LIV event, but Puig said his ultimate goal is to compete full-time on the tour.
“Oh yeah, that’s for sure. That’s my goal,” he said. “I want to play against the best players. So far, LIV has excellent players, but no best players, so I want to play against the best players in the world. But I Also feels I need to get better, and that’s what the LIV tournament is trying to give me. Someday I’ll get better and hopefully play on the PGA Tour. “
