How do you face people who once called you a ‘traitor’ for turning your back on them? That’s a question a lot of LIV players must feel from time and time. When James Piot walked away from LIV Golf after two difficult seasons, his biggest insecurity wasn’t about how he’ll perform, but how the locker room would treat him. For a player who once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Phil Mickelson on the HyFlyers GC, returning to the PGA Tour could have meant cold shoulders or quiet resentment. Instead, Piot has found quite the opposite.

Speaking with Monday Q Info, the 2021 US Amateur Champion admitted he had braced himself for backlash but was surprisingly mostly met with curiosity and good-natured ribbing. “I just get a lot of questions like ‘What’s this guy like,’ and no pushback. I just get a lot of sarcasm from the boys. You know if we’re going to dinner or something, they’ll just be like ‘This one’s on you, right?’ So things like that.” When Piot joined LIV, he had received a $6 million guarantee for a two-year deal to compete at the Saudi-backed league. So, no wonder his fellow players pull his leg for paying the bills. LIV has been known to offer eye-watering amounts, sometimes as high as $300 million for allegiance to it. A point over which multiple PGA Tour players have taunted the LIV defectors.

But for Piot, all this was just light-hearted banter. This sense of relief became real during the Rocket Mortgage Classic, where the Michigan native teed it up this summer on a sponsor’s exemption. He admits he was nervous about how players would react, considering it was a PGA Tour event, but the practice rounds quickly eased his worry. “I played a practice round with a couple of guys from tour, and they had, you know, no beef with me or anything like that. So that was cool to see.”

The Rocket Mortgage Classic marked a full-circle moment for Piot, who was among the very first wave of players to defect to the breakaway league in 2022. He wasn’t a top-ranked amateur from Michigan, but his stellar run for the Havemeyer Trophy at Oakmont made him a prime target. At that time, LIV was looking for fresh young names to have within its ambit. The money he received at the time was a massive payday for someone barely out of college.

But all of the anticipation went down the drain. His results could never match the hype. Piot failed to notch a single top-20 finish across 14 LIV events. He wound up 57th in the standings in 2023 and was eventually relegated to the Asian Tour. A shoulder surgery added to his setbacks, sidelining him for much of 2024. Piot’s once promising career looked uncertain.

But when his ban from the PGA Tour expired, a window opened. Thanks to late withdrawals at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, he received a call to play in the tournament. It was like a universal sign for Piot, who was going to aim for the event anyway through the Monday Qs. “For it to actually happen is the coolest thing in the world…Ever since the event was created on the schedule, I wanted to be a part of it,” he told Detroit News back then.

Although he made it to the event, his performance was not that spectacular. He finished T73 and took home just under $19,000. But it was finally when he felt he belonged. Even though Piot still hasn’t formally joined the PGA Tour, it did offer him some clarity. After bouncing between the Korn Ferry Tour, the Asian Tour, and other mini-circuits, he finally got a chance to build a clear path. And even though his career went into reverse gear through LIV, he still has a lot of respect for the organization and for the man who gave him the chance. “No one treats you better than the LIV Golf League.”

But James Piot isn’t the only player to find his way to the PGA Tour. There are others, too, with a much better result.

Laurie Canter shows life after LIV

James Piot isn’t the only former LIV player carving out a second act on an established tour. English pro Laurie Canter, who lost his playing rights after failing to secure a 2024 LIV contract, has since staged one of the more impressive comebacks. Once “pushed out” of the league, Canter returned to the DP World Tour. His comeback was iconic as he picked up wins at the 2024 European Open and the 2025 Bahrain Championship, cementing himself inside the world’s top 50. That ranking earned him a spot in the PGA Tour’s Players Championship, making him the first ex-LIV golfer to qualify for the event through merit rather than exemptions. Although his return was not as welcoming as that of Piot.

Throughout the event, he faced multitudes of journalists following him around, eager to ask questions, all of their cameras and mics up to his nose. Even though Canter missed the cut that week, his treatment at the event stood out. One particular incident was when PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan side-eyed Canter. “That’s Laurie Canter, that’s the LIV guy,” Monahan’s assistant whispered to him.

With consistent performances across both the DPWT and the PGA Tour, including a top-25 finish at The Open, Canter’s trajectory stands in sharp contrast to Piot’s slower rebuild. But then again, his comeback wasn’t all covered with roses either.