Latest news with #Piot
Newsweek
12 hours ago
- Automotive
- Newsweek
PGA Tour Rocket Classic Sees Former LIV Golfer in the Field
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Regarding LIV Golf players, the PGA Tour has its position perfectly clear: they cannot return until one year has passed since their last appearance in the Saudi-backed league. Although there are cases of former LIV golfers who have already met that deadline, it is still notable that they have not sought to return to the PGA Tour, at least not on a permanent basis. One such case is that of James Piot, a 26-year-old who will be making his first PGA Tour start since 2022 next weekend. Piot has played only seven American-based circuit events in his career, four of them as an amateur. The player received a sponsor's exemption to play in the Rocket Classic, which is held at the Detroit Golf Club, in his hometown. James Piot of the United States in action on the 10th hole during the second round of The International Series Japan presented by Moutai at Caledonian Golf Club on May 9, 2025 in Yokoshibahikari, Chiba,... James Piot of the United States in action on the 10th hole during the second round of The International Series Japan presented by Moutai at Caledonian Golf Club on May 9, 2025 in Yokoshibahikari, Chiba, Japan. MoreMark Hollis, one of the directors of Rock Ventures and the Rocket Classic, told the Detroit News details about this decision: "There was a lot of support, and it was one or the happiest calls I've made. He's somebody we wanted in from the get-go as we were going through the process. It had to play out the way it played out," Hollis said. Piot, for his part, described the idea of being able to play in his hometown: "For it to actually happen is the coolest thing in the world. It's awesome. Just the fact I finally get to play in the Rocket Classic, it's a dream come true. Ever since the event was created on the schedule, I wanted to be a part of it," he said. A very revealing detail is that Piot was preparing to play in the Monday qualifier to try to win a spot in the event when he received the call from the sponsors. James Piot had a distinguished amateur career, highlighted by his 2021 US Amateur title. He graduated from Michigan State in 2022, beginning his professional career in May of that year. 🚨👀⛳️ #NEW — James Piot has been added to the field at The Rocket Mortgage Classic on an unrestricted sponsors exemption. The move is significant as he completed a 2-year stint with LIV Golf, before being relegated at the end of 2023. Piot is a Michigan native. — NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) June 23, 2025 Opportunities to play on the PGA Tour immediately arose, and he teed off at the Charles Schwab Challenge and the Memorial Tournament. However, after playing in the 2022 US Open, he decided to answer the call of LIV Golf, effectively closing PGA Tour's door to date. Piot played 21 individual LIV Golf events in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. His results were generally poor, and he was relegated at the end of his second season. Since then, he has been playing primarily on the Asian Tour. Piot had already played one tournament under the PGA Tour umbrella in April of this year: the LECOM Suncoast Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour. The list of former LIV Golf players who have returned to the PGA Tour is extremely short. Bernd Wiesberger and Laurie Canter played in the 2024 Scottish Open, but only because it's a co-sanctioned event with the DP World Tour. Canter himself became the first former LIV player to make the field of a tournament run solely by the PGA Tour when he played in the 2025 Players Championship. More Golf: Tommy Fleetwood, Wife Clare, Share Emotionally Viral Moment after Travelers
USA Today
16 hours ago
- Automotive
- USA Today
This former LIV player received a sponsor exemption into the 2025 Rocket Classic
Another former LIV golfer will make a return to the PGA Tour this week. James Piot, who competed for LIV Golf in 2022 and 2023, received a sponsor exemption into the 2025 Rocket Classic on Monday after a series of field shuffles allowed him into the field. Piot, who grew up outside of Detroit and played collegiately at Michigan State, will make his first PGA Tour start in more than three years and his first at Detroit Golf Club. Piot won the 2021 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club and joined LIV Golf for the league's inaugural season, competing for Phil Mickelson's HyFlyers GC. His contract was not renewed after the 2023 season. Since then, a majority of his schedule has been played in Asia, though he did Monday qualify for a Korn Ferry Tour event, the Lecom Suncoast Classic, earlier this year. He was in the Rocket Classic Monday qualifier before he received a spot in the field this week. In March, Laurie Canter became the first former LIV golfer to play in a PGA Tour event when he teed it up at the Players Championship.
NBC Sports
17 hours ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Former LIV player receives sponsor invite into hometown Rocket Classic
James Piot will finally play his hometown PGA Tour event. The 26-year-old Piot, who grew up just outside Detroit in Canton and starred at Michigan State, received a sponsor exemption into this week's Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club. Piot got the call on Monday morning, just before he was set to tee it up in the Rocket Classic's open qualifier at Fieldstone Golf Club in Auburn Hills. 'For it to actually happen is the coolest thing in the world,' Piot told the Detroit News on Monday. 'It's awesome. Just the fact I finally get to play in the Rocket Classic, it's a dream come true. Ever since the event was created on the schedule, I wanted to be a part of it.' This will mark Piot's first PGA Tour start in over three years. He competed in four Tour events, plus the Masters and U.S. Open, in 2022, a year after he won the 2021 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont. But Piot's Tour future – including a likely invite into the Rocket – was put on hold when he opted to join LIV Golf for the league's inaugural season in June 2022. Piot also competed the following season on LIV, but after finishing 47th in points, just inside the open zone, his contract was not renewed by the HyFlyers, the team captained by Phil Mickelson. Piot's PGA Tour suspension ended in October 2023. He has played mostly on the Asian Tour since his LIV stint ended, but earlier this year he Monday-qualified for the Korn Ferry Tour's Lecom Suncoast Classic, where he missed the cut.
