Top amateur golfer set to make professional debut at LIV Golf Chicago
David Puig has played in two LIV Golf events as an amateur, but he is set to make his professional debut in Chicago before his senior year in Arizona.
Top amateur golfer David Puig has decided to turn professional and play in the LIV Golf Series ahead of his senior year at Arizona State University.
Puig, who reached as high as fifth in the amateur world rankings, played in the first LIV Golf Invitational at Centurion and participated in the Bedminster Invitational.
He won three times as an amateur golfer, most recently at the Southwestern Invitational in January which he also won in 2021. He suffered from a back injury which slightly slowed his progress.
Puig represented the International team at the Arnold Palmer Cup in 2021, a matchplay event for college golfers. He won three of his four matches in an event which has seen the likes of Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler play in previous years.
The Palmer Cup was played at Rich Harvest Farms on that occasion and Puig will be returning to this course to play in the fifth LIV Golf Invitational in Chicago.
On Monday, the 20-year-old announced on his Instagram page that he has turned professional, but he still intends to graduate in 2023 and remain an Arizona State student.
"Although it has probably been the hardest decision that I’ve ever made, I’ve decided to turn professional this week. However, I’m still an ASU student and plan to graduate in the next year. My base will be in Tempe, hopefully forever. What a great place to live and become a champion golfer," Puig wrote.
James Piot and Eugenio Chacarra are two examples of other top college golfers who turned professional before playing in the Saudi-backed series in 2022.
It would seem that having secured big names from the PGA Tour such as Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson and Joaquin Niemann, LIV Golf is targeting future stars from the college golf pool.
