Coach says this is how LIV Golf contracts with NCAA champions.

Hours after his star player bid farewell to him, his team, and his Masters tee time to introduce himself to the professional world, LIV golf, and the “numbers of no return,” Chris Malloy was asked a hypothetical question about what he would have done if he had been offered such an offer some 25 years ago, when he too was a big-time golfer on campus.

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At first he laughed.

“I don’t have a realistic idea. I couldn’t answer that,” Malloy said.

“But I know it was a difficult decision.”

He and Michael La Sasso agree on this, the University of Mississippi coach said Tuesday afternoon. But there, the defending NCAA champion was splashed across LIV and one of its teams, the High Flyers’ social media channels, at 10 a.m. ET, making his selection known. Even during the press release, everyone was excited about the press release. La Sasso. Phil Mickelson, six-time major champion and team captain. In fact, it was Lefty who said at last Wednesday’s LIV media event that “fresh energy” was coming, teasing the La Sasso deal.

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Still, there are layers here. When you sign, you earn money not only now, but also in the near future. And Mickelson. But he also had a chance to defend his title. and qualified for the Masters. And a chance to play on the PGA Tour. Everything is a new world. Or certainly something that was not seen, say, a quarter of a century ago.

But the man he left behind said of his former player:

“As coaches, we want to compete for national championships, team championships and everything else, but we also want to see our players grow and taste and achieve their dreams, and this is part of that process,” Malloy said.

“And while the timing is certainly unfortunate, I’m also very proud and very happy for Mike.”

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Here’s a look at how LIV signed with La Sasso.

Why would Michael La Sasso sign with LIV?

money

Mr. Malloy did not provide details of Mr. La Sasso’s contract, nor did they do so in LIV’s press release. But the guarantee is one of the biggest attractions for LIV, which is backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

La Sasso also had reasons not to sign (all of which are explained below), giving him potential leverage. Malloy said he and his players have been talking about moving to LIV “on and off for a while” and that “things have probably been accelerating for the past few days.”

Malloy said this much about the deal in an interview.

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“We’re pretty stable financially.”

And this:

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“Economically, it’s a number we can’t go back from.”

“route”

La Sasso will start in LIV’s season opener, scheduled for February 4 in Saudi Arabia. In other words, he won’t play on feeder tours. (I’ll explain more about this in a moment.)

The LIV event will also reward all 57 players, with each tournament awarding $22 million in individual competition ($8 million to teams).

“The guarantees are probably going to be pretty low for some of them at this point, considering they’ve been in America and been through the PGA Tour U and the PGA Tour,” Malloy said. “So I think that stability, that path forward, was probably a little too heavy for him to ignore a little bit.”

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Phil Mickelson

La Sasso will be playing for a team captained by Mickelson, and Malloy said, “It’s a tremendous opportunity.”

“Learning and being coached by someone with a resume like Phil’s is a big deal for some golfers,” he said. “And I think LIV may have missed a lot, but I think that’s what they have and they’ve done it very well. The appeal for these young kids coming out of college is to be on one of their teams that’s done it before.”

Why doesn’t Michael La Sasso sign with LIV?

masters

As the defending NCAA champion, La Sasso was exempted from competing in this year’s Masters as long as he maintains his amateur status.

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Still, Malloy said the spot didn’t influence his decision “as much as you might think.”

“Mike was pretty good about thinking long-term and not being short-sighted,” the coach said. “Obviously, that hurt. I don’t think he ever imagined he’d say, ‘No, no, I’m not going to the Masters this year.’ But I give him a lot of credit for that. Having gone through all this at his age, he did a really good job of thinking long-term.”

NCAA title defense

La Sasso won the NCAA Division I individual title as a junior last spring, and the University of Mississippi begins its spring season on January 31st.

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How was the final decision made between players and coaches?

“It was tough for him,” Malloy said. “A lot of things happened. I was happy for him, proud of him, excited for him. I was sad that he couldn’t finish the spring. … It was a decision that was a little bit forced on him, and again, the timing was unfortunate. So there were a lot of different emotions, but at the end of the day, I was still very, very proud of him.”

pga tour

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The PGA Tour has more paths to its most important tournaments, the Majors, and through the PGA Tour’s “PGA Tour University” program, college players are also being given a path to the PGA Tour or PGA Tour-sponsored events. Earn membership through a ranking system and potentially start up to two seasons on the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour or PGA Tour Americas, and La Sasso is currently No. 3 in the PGA Tour University Rankings. (In 2025, La Sasso made six starts on the PGA Tour and one appearance at the 3M Open.)

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But Malloy said he wants LIV to start a program based on the spirit of the tour, a ranking system rather than free agent signings.

“I hope LIV Golf does the same,” he said, “because it would be a shame for any player to have to make the kind of decisions that Michael faced in this match.”

Are there any amateur players who have joined LIV in the past?

Yes, there was. They include:

– James Piot: The 2021 U.S. Amateur winner and former Michigan State University golfer turned pro in May 2022 and played in LIV starting with his first tournament in June 2022. He played in LIV in 2022 and 2023, but is currently out of the league.

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– Eugenio Chacala: He joined LIV in June 2022 and left Oklahoma State before his senior year. He played with LIV from 2022 to 2024 and is currently on the DP World Tour.

–David Puig: He played in LIV from the first event in June 2022, then turned pro later that year, forgoing his senior year at Arizona State University. He is still with LIV.

– Caleb Surratt: He joined LIV in 2024 and left Tennessee midway through his sophomore year.

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

What does LIV get from La Sasso?

Malloy answered this question:

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“Charming, big personality. I think he’ll grab a lot of people’s attention. Between his personality and his golf play, he has talent. And again, I think that’s a perfect fit for the LIV Golf brand. I think he’ll be an extremely valuable asset to them.”

“Plus, he’s a great golfer.”

Post LIV Golf signs NCAA champion. His coach first appeared on “Golf” and told the story as follows.