Most golfers would kill to leave a league with $30 million in the bank. David Puig did it anyway. The Spaniard explains walking away from the breakaway circuit on Monday without a hint of regret, according to Today’s Golfer. Across four complete seasons, his prize earnings totaled slightly under $30 million. Rather than pursuing larger payouts in the desert, he opted for a full 2027 schedule on the DP World Tour. This move flips the script on the usual narrative that money is the only thing that matters in pro golf.
Puig joined LIV as a top amateur fresh out of Arizona State. He was the ninth-ranked amateur in the world when he made the jump. The league made him a better player, he admits. He played in eight majors and found his way into elite fields. But the instability of the breakaway tour became too much. He watched events get cancelled at the end of seasons. He faced uncertainty about where he would play next. That lack of a clear path drove his decision to return to the European circuit.
“The last few months have been difficult,” he says of the uncertainty. “Looking at the past and not knowing if we’re going to play certain events. Events got cancelled at the end and this and that. The stability, it just made sense.” This quote from Today’s Golfer shows his priority is not just winning, but knowing he has a spot to play. His sole DP World Tour victory came at the 2025 BMW Australian PGA Championship. That win gave him the platform to secure his future on the “Old World” tour.
The contrast with other LIV players is stark. While Puig secured his spot, others are hitting dead ends. Michael La Sasso, the 22-year-old champion of LIV Golf Indianapolis in August, did not progress past the second stage of DP World Tour Q-School. Heavy.com reported that La Sasso finished tied for 65th at Desert Springs Golf Club in Spain. He missed the top 20 finishers needed to move to the final stage. Sam Horsfield, Yosuke Asaji, and Luis Masaveu also failed to qualify. Their futures remain unclear as the league battles for its own survival.
Puig sees a clear path to the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor. He knows he must perform at his best to earn a spot on Luke Donald’s European team. “It’s something that I’ve been thinking for my life, honestly,” he says of those hopes. He is not trying to put a lot of pressure on himself right now. He just wants to play his best golf and let the results take care of the rest. “I’m just not trying to put a lot of pressure on myself, trying to perform the best I can and if I do that, hopefully I’m going to be on the team.”
The $9 million DP World Tour Playoffs event in Abu Dhabi is his next test. He is ready to contend there. His departure signals that the breakaway league may have peaked for some young stars. They want the consistency of a full schedule more than the risk of a fractured tour. Puig is happy with his time in the league, but he is ready for the next chapter. “I mean, everything has been amazing, right?” he grins. The money was great, but the schedule matters more.
