Thomas Detry’s latest career move is already stirring debates across the golf world. Notably, the timing has drawn particular criticism as it prevented Lee Hodges from advancing in the FedEx Cup standings to enter the top 100 and get full exemption status. Yet, despite all the chaos, Detry has revealed the reason for his switch to LIV Golf, and it’s the same reason  which Brooks Koepka cited while ditching the Saudi-backed league and heading back to the PGA Tour.

“That’s my reason, for sure. My kids, I see them two more months a year, and you get twice the pay, so I just don’t see why you wouldn’t do that,” revealed Thomas Detry in an exclusive interview with Ben Parsons from Today’s Golfer.

“I have a wife and two small children, and we’ve pretty much been living like [nomads] all around the US, going from tournament to tournament. We live half in Dubai, half in London, and then we sort of slowly came around the idea that it actually could fit our life much better. We feel a little bit more at home when we’re in London and Dubai rather than spending six months on the road, living out of a suitcase with two children.”

The 33-year-old Belgian golfer decided to join Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC for the 2026 LIV Golf season. While almost every golfer who moves to the Saudi-backed league faces criticism, some analysts criticized Thomas Detry for the timing, too. The PGA Tour’s policy said that if any golfer from the top 100 in the FedEx Cup Fall standings moves to LIV before December 31, 2025, the others will move one position up. However, Detry didn’t switch until mid-January 2026, which drew criticism.

While many are criticizing him, his decision makes complete sense. Detry is from Belgium, and his residence is in Dubai. He lives with his wife, Sarah Taylor, and two daughters – Sophia (born 2022) and Alba Elizabeth (born 2024). Thus, traveling nine months, January to September, in the US for the PGA Tour would be challenging for his family.

On the contrary, LIV Golf runs from February to August, which means two months less on the road. Thomas Detry had previously revealed in a Subpar episode in 2024 that his family is living out of a suitcase.

“Right now, we’re living out of a suitcase, we’re pretty much living week by week,” Detry said.

The Belgian golfer said that it is not easy to do that. The 2025 WM Phoenix Open winner moved to Dubai in 2021 and earned his PGA Tour card in 2022. He could not decide whether to buy a house in the US, so he was living out of a suitcase in the meantime. Switching to LIV Golf to spend two months more with the family makes much more sense amid all this.

The move came within a month of Brooks Koepka leaving LIV. On December 22, 2025, the 5x major champion’s representatives released an official statement announcing his decision. Just as Thomas Detry, Koepka’s decision was influenced by family.

“Family has always guided Brooks’s decisions, and he feels this is the right moment to spend ‌more time at home,” the statement read.

Since then, he has reapplied for PGA Tour membership and even got reinstated. Although some PGA Tour professionals are not happy with this, Koepka will play the 2026 Farmers Insurance Open.

While some people might be unhappy about Thomas Detry’s move, his LIV captain surely isn’t.

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Dustin Johnson is confident about Thomas Detry joining his team

Dustin Johnson expressed strong enthusiasm for Thomas Detry joining his 4Aces GC team. He highlighted the recent time spent together and past playing experience, noting Detry’s talent as a really good player.

“Thomas Detry is a great addition; he’s confident, competitive, and that fits exactly what we’re about,” DJ said.

The 4Aces GC captain shared in a preseason interview that he has played with the Belgian professional a few times. Besides that, the two spent good quality time before the preseason. DJ also reflected on Detry’s talent, which is evident from his 2025 PGA Tour season.

The 33-year-old made 24 stars in the 2025 PGA Tour season. Of these, he made the cut in 19 and won the WM Phoenix Open. He carded rounds of 66-64-65-65 to finish at 24 under par. This took him to a huge win with a seven-stroke margin. What’s more astounding is that the event featured a strong field, including Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Sepp Straka, and others. Apart from that, he also had a T5 finish at The Sentry 2025.

Thomas Detry’s move to LIV Golf may continue to divide opinion. However, his explanation draws a clear line between career ambition and personal priorities.