LIV Golf signs the NCAA winner. Here’s how it went down, his coach says

A few hours after his star player said goodbyes to him, his team and a Masters tee time in order to introduce himself to the professional world, LIV Golf and “a number that you can’t turn back from,” Chris Malloy is asked hypothetically what he would have done had such an offer been around just over 25 years ago, when he, too, was a big golfer on campus.

At first, he laughed. 

“I have no earthly idea. Couldn’t answer that one,” Malloy said.

“But I know it would have been a tough decision.”

On that, he and Michael La Sasso agree, the University of Mississippi coach said Tuesday afternoon. But there the defending NCAA champ was at 10 in the morning Eastern, splashed all over the social media channels for LIV and the HyFlyers, one of its teams, and his choice was made known. In press releases, everyone sounded press-release excited too. La Sasso. Phil Mickelson, the six-time major winner and the team’s captain. It was Lefty, actually, who said last Wednesday at a LIV media event that “fresh energy” was coming, teasing the La Sasso deal. 

Still, there are layers here. In signing, there’s money, both now and in the immediate future. And Mickelson. But there was also the chance to defend a crown. And the shot to go to the Masters. And an opportunity to play on the PGA Tour. All of it is a new world. Or certainly not one seen, say, a quarter-century ago. 

The man he’s leaving behind, though, said this of his now-former player: 

“As a coach, certainly we want to compete for national championships, team championships, all those things,” Malloy said, “but you also want to see your guys develop and taste and achieve their dreams. And this is part of that process. 

“And the timing is unfortunate, certainly, but again very proud and very happy for Mike.”

Here, then, is a look at how LIV signed La Sasso. 

Why would Michael La Sasso sign with LIV? 

The money  

Malloy wouldn’t reveal the specifics of La Sasso’s contract, nor did LIV’s press release. But guaranteed money has been one of the biggest draws of LIV, which is backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund. 

La Sasso also had reasons not to sign (and we’ll address those all below), giving him potential leverage. Malloy said he and his player had talked about the LIV move “off and on for a while” and that “things probably ramped up a handful of days ago” before LIV got their man.   

In an interview, Malloy said only this of the deal:

“A lot of financial stability.” 

And this:

“Financially, a number that you can’t turn back from.”

A ‘pathway’  

La Sasso will play starting at LIV’s season opener, set for Feb. 4 in Saudi Arabia. Put another way, he won’t play on a feeder tour. (We’ll address this soon, too.) 

At LIV events, all 57 players are also paid, and each tournament awards $22 million in the individual competition (along with $8 million to the teams). 

“Staying in the States and going through PGA Tour U and PGA Tour all of that, they’re probably a lot less guarantees at this point for some of these guys,” Malloy said. “So I think that stability, pathway going forward for him was probably a little bit too much to pass up.”

Phil Mickelson   

La Sasso will play under a team captained by Mickelson, and Malloy said “that’s a pretty darn cool opportunity.” 

“To learn, to be mentored by somebody with the resume of Phil, that’s a big deal for some of these golfers,” he said. “And while I think that LIV may miss on a lot of things, I think that’s something that they do have and have done a very good job of it. An allure for these young kids coming out of college is to be on one of those guys’ teams that have done it before.”

Why would Michael La Sasso not sign with LIV? 

The Masters  

As the defending NCAA champion, La Sasso received an exemption into this year’s Masters — so long as he maintained his amateur status. 

Still, Malloy said the spot didn’t play into his decision “as much as you would think.”

“Mike was pretty good about thinking long term and not being as short-sighted,” the coach said. “Certainly that hurt. I don’t think he ever imagined himself saying, ‘No, no, I’m not going to go play the Masters this year,’ But I’ll give him a lot of credit in that regard. Somebody his age going through all this, he really did a good job of thinking long term.”

The NCAA title defense 

Last spring, La Sasso won the NCAA Division I individual title as a junior, and Mississippi starts its spring season on Jan. 31. 

How did the final decision go between player and coach?

“It was hard for him,” Malloy said. “It was a lot of things. I was happy for him, I’m proud of him, I’m excited for him. Sad that he wasn’t going to get to finish out the spring. … It was a decision that was a little bit forced on him, and timing, again, was unfortunate. So it was a wide range of emotions, but ultimately again from my end very, very proud of him.”

The PGA Tour 

The PGA Tour has more avenues to the tournaments that matter most — the majors — and through the PGA Tour’s “PGA Tour University” program, college players also have pathways to the PGA Tour or PGA Tour-sponsored events. Via a standings system, they can earn membership and starts for up to two seasons on the PGA Tour, the Korn Ferry Tour or the PGA Tour Americas, and La Sasso is currently third on the PGA Tour University ranking. (In 2025, La Sasso made six PGA Tour starts and made one cut, at the 3M Open.) 

Malloy said he wished, though, that LIV would start a program in the spirit of the Tour’s, a ranking system, as opposed to free-agent deals. 

“I would hope LIV Golf would do the same,” he said, “because it’s unfortunate that any player would have to make the decision that Michael was faced with with this one.” 

There is also the fight between the PGA Tour and LIV. Should La Sasso want to try to play the Tour after playing LIV, he would face a suspension.

Have there been previous amateur players who have joined LIV?

Yes, there have been. They include:

– James Piot: The 2021 U.S. Amateur winner and former Michigan State golfer played with LIV starting at its first event in June of 2022 after turning pro in May of 2022. He played with LIV in 2022 and 2023 and is now out of the league. 

– Eugenio Chacarra: He joined LIV in June of 2022, leaving Oklahoma State before his senior year. He played with LIV from 2022 to 2024, and he is now on the DP World Tour.  

– David Puig: He played with LIV starting at its first event in June of 2022, then turned pro later that year, giving up his senior year at Arizona State. He is still with LIV.

– Caleb Surratt: He joined LIV in 2024, leaving Tennessee midway through his sophomore year. He is still with LIV.

– Josele Ballester: The 2024 U.S. Amateur winner joined LIV after his senior year at Arizona State. He is still with LIV.

What does LIV get with La Sasso?