Former LIV Golf competitor James Piott will make PGA Tour history this week with Rocket Classic.
In a late addition to the field at Detroit Golf Club in Michigan, he was one of the first former LIV players to return to the PGA and was the first to receive a sponsor exemption on the PGA Tour, Golf Digest reported.
Piot, 26, a native of Farmington Hills, Michigan, and a 2021 US amateur champion, made his last appearance on the PGA Tour in 2022, missing out on a cut at the Masters and the US Open. He has not played any LIV events since 2023. That means you are eligible for a Detroit event. The PGA Tour rules provide an annual ban on players who participate in unauthorized events.
“There was a lot of support and it was the happiest call I’ve made,” the tournament’s official Mark Hollis told Detroit News. “He is the person we want to start when we were going through the process.
Piot is not the first LIV player to return to the PGA Tour. England’s Raleigh Canter has competed in five events so far in 2025.
“It’s the coolest thing in the world that actually happens,” Piot told Detroit News. “It’s great. The fact that you can finally play with Rocket Classic makes your dream come true. Since the event was created on a schedule, I wanted to be a part of it.”
Piot has agreed to a two-year deal that has been part of the first player to sign on Breakaway at Saudi-backed Liv Golf Circuit in the summer of 2022, with the allegedly $6 million guaranteed.
He only recorded one top-10 finish in the T6 in Bangkok in October 2022. Some of Captain Phil Mickelson’s High Flyers GC team were demoted to the Asia Tour in 2023, finishing 47th in individual points. He also had shoulder surgery during that p
PGA Tour rules require a one-year ban on players participating in fraudulent events such as Liv Golf. Piot qualified again in late October.