David Puig has called on all majors championships to form a pathway for LIV Golf players to qualify for the pro golf's four flagship events, having earned a spot at the PGA Championship for the very first time this week.
Puig has announced himself as one of the sport's rising stars since joining the breakaway league. The Spaniard opted to come out of college golf and turn professional by joining the LIV setup in September 2022 at just 20 years old. Despite pledging his loyalties to the Saudi-funded series, Puig has predominately made a name for himself on the Asian Tour.
His membership with LIV has allowed him to compete on the Asian Tour where his schedule suits, and the youngster has more than took advantage of this opportunity - especially in recent months.
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With LIV continuing to operate without accreditation from the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), Puig's only opportunity to battle his way up the rankings has been to turn to the Asian circuit. And his commitment to playing elsewhere has come with plenty of reward, having won twice in the last seven months in Singapore and Malaysia.
Elsewhere the former Arizona State star has five top-10s and three top-20s on his Asian Tour record over the past year, form that has helped him climb as high as 104th in the world rankings. Whilst this spot was not enough to earn him a spot at Valhalla this week, his efforts on the Asian Tour were recognised through a special invite from the PGA of America, one he was over the moon to receive.
Discussing the moment he learned of his invite, he told Mirror Sport: “It felt good when I knew I had the chance to play. When my agent told me that an email came and I was invited I was super pumped and excited... I worked my whole life to achieve playing this tournament. It feels very good to be in the field and to have a chance of winning it."
Puig won the Malaysian Open on Sunday to qualify for The Open (ARIF KARTONO/AFP via Getty Images)Puig is not the only LIV star to be handed a special exemption this week, with seven in total offered an invite. The likes of Joaquin Niemann, Patrick Reed and Talor Gooch are all in the same boat as Puig this week. And whilst the opportunity to compete is an important one, the Spaniard believes a more concrete way for all LIV members to qualify should be introduced at all four majors.
"I would like to see a pathway for LIV golfers to get into the majors," admitted the Fireballs GC star, who also has a spot in this summer's Open Championship thanks to his Malaysian Open win. "I think it is important, and there are a lot of LIV golfers that deserve to be playing majors. Right now it is a little tough still but hopefully they find the solution soon."
Recognising the importance of the positive steps made this week, Puig added: "I think recognising the LIV players is good. Talor Gooch deserved it and so did Dean Burmester among others. I think it is a good step in the right direction for LIV, and hopefully the other majors can do the same and see both Tours come together."
With the fallout between LIV and the PGA Tour well documented, the hopes will be at Valhalla that the off-course politics will be put aside for this week at least. Puig will kick off his PGA Championship career in Kentucky on Thursday, joining Thriston Lawrence and Matt Dobyns in the opening two rounds.
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