From LIV Golf, To The PGA Tour, And Back To LIV Golf? Former Player Could Move Closer To 2026 Return With Asian Tour Victory

Former LIV Golfer James Piot’s career edged a step closer to coming full circle following a third round of 67 at the Moutai Singapore Open, the penultimate event of the Asian Tour’s International Series.

Following the final event of the season, the PIF Saudi International, which begins on November 18^th, the top two in the International Series rankings will be awarded a LIV Golf contract, with Piot no doubt eyeing one of the places with one round to play at the Singapore Island Country Club.

The American, who was part of the initial LIV Golf intake when it launched in 2022, and who played for Phil Mickelson’s Hy Flyers GC, begins the final round on 15 under, level with Jeunghun Wan and Soomin Lee.

Currently, Piot is a long way down the International Series rankings, in 86^th, and on just 22.67 points from his six events.

However, a win would hand him another 180 points, which would put him within touching distance of second, a place currently occupied by Miguel Tabuena, who is on 221.19 points. The leader is another former LIV Golfer, Scott Vincent, on 325.59 points.

Former Michigan State player Piot, who won the 2021 US Amateur, turned professional shortly before joining LIV Golf, but he was relegated after the second season when he finished 47^th in the Individual Championship.

After leaving LIV Golf, Piot finished 2023 on the Asian Tour, before he was restricted to just four world ranking events in 2024 thanks to surgery on his left shoulder, with all of his starts coming in the International Series.

This year, the bulk of his appearances have again come on the Asian Tour, although he also played in the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic in April as a result of his ban from PGA Tour-sanctioned events for appearing in a LIV Golf tournament ending on October 15^th 2024.

Most notably, in June he made his first PGA Tour start since 2022 at the Rocket Classic on an unrestricted sponsor exemption, placing T73.

Piot then began the North America Swing of the PGA Tour Americas season as a conditional member, making two top-five finishes on his way to placing 33^rd on the points list.

That was enough to retain membership of the PGA Tour Americas through the six-event Segment I of the season in 2026, but not good enough to earn a Korn Ferry Tour card.

Nevertheless, it kept his dream of a PGA Tour card alive as it earned him a place in the first stage of PGA Tour Q-School.

Despite that, Piot was clearly not about to put all his eggs in one basket, with his run of four successive International Series starts up to this week’s event beginning in early October with a T50 at the Jakarta International Championship.

Piot then made his way back Stateside for the first stage of Q-School, although he missed out on progressing, placing T38 in New Jersey when only the top 18 qualified.

While that will have been a blow, it means he can focus fully on the chance of regaining his LIV Golf card via the International Series.

With one round to play in Singapore, just 18 holes now stand between him and a giant step forward in that ambition.