Last month, playing on a mini golf tour in Florida, James Piot took home the title, and a first-place check for $2,500. That’s a long way from his days with LIV Golf, with whom he was guaranteed six-figure paydays at every tournament, even if he finished last.

“A little different than those LIV paychecks, absolutely,” Piot said, with a laugh. “But it doesn’t really matter what I’m playing for. I want to win. I’ve never really checked the paychecks or anything like that. It’s really all about competing. Money makes it sweeter, when you’re on top, but it’s about competing and winning.

“That’s why you play the game. You can’t put a price on trophies.”

In the literal sense, that’s plenty debatable. In 2021, Piot, while at Michigan State, parlayed an amazing week of golf at storied Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania into a U.S. Amateur championship — which led, at first, to some good NIL money, in the early days of NIL, and eventually, a two-year deal with LIV Golf, the upstart rival of the PGA Tour.

LIV Golf was, and still is, steeped in controversy, given where the money comes from (the Saudis, with their atrocious human-rights record), but it set up Piot, at the time just out of college with no status on any professional tour, for years to come. He made $6 million, including a signing bonus and nearly $4 million in on-course earnings.

Piot, a Canton native, bought a condo in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where he spends about nine months of the year, and still has a good nest egg left to continue financing his golf dreams. And, yes, he still has ambitious dreams, even as he’s starting from square one.

‘Moving in the right direction’

That’s what made that mini-tour win, in Stuart, Florida, so special. While he owns the most prestigious trophy in amateur golf, the mini-tour win was his first professional victory. Piot hopes that showing is a springboard to get him back to where he wants to be, playing on the biggest stages, against some of the best golfers in the world. Piot recently spoke to The News for the first time since he joined LIV Golf in June 2022, as LIV Golf eventually dictated what press he spoke with, and when, while he was under contract.

“It’s good,” Piot said, when asked about the state of his golf game. “I feel like it’s moving in the right direction. I’m getting better every year. I’m still young. This is Year 3 of being a pro. It’s funny to think about that.

“I am super blessed to be in the position that I am.”

Piot, 25, is planning for another busy summer, after being relegated along with three other players from LIV Golf after some struggles to make traction during his two years on the tour. He’s in Michigan now, and competed in a local U.S. Open qualifier at Muskegon Country Club on Monday. He shot 70, but lost out on the final spot for sectional qualifying after he lost in an eight-hole playoff to Grosse Pointe’s Patrick Sullivan (Drew Cable, of Lake Orion and Grand Valley State, and Beau Breault, of Hartland, also advanced to sectionals out of Muskegon; Jake Kneen, of White Lake and Oakland, and Joe Juszczyk, of Dearborn Heights, advanced out of qualifying in Sylvania, Ohio).

Piot will play a hefty schedule on the Asian Tour, in a bid to earn back some status on LIV Golf, as the tours have teamed up to allow for an opportunity for promotion. And this fall, Piot will head to Qualifying School, in a bid to earn status on the Korn Ferry Tour, and eventually the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour remains a top goal for Piot, and it’s achievable. He joined LIV Golf without status on any other tour, meaning he’s not subject to any penalties, unlike those who left the PGA Tour or DP World Tour (European Tour) to join LIV Golf. Those players earned bans.

Because of LIV Golf, Piot has the bankroll to fund his golf escapades, without having to grovel for sponsors, like so many players toiling on the mini-tours. (One of those players, by the way, is former Michigan State golfer Donnie Trosper, the Canton native who made an ace in the mini-tour event Piot won — and tied for 17th, for all of $275).

Money management remains key, of course. The expenses add up when you consider travel, usually airfare, and hotels and meals and the caddie. Former MSU assistant Dan Ellis was Piot’s caddie for the U.S. Amateur, and resigned from the school to become Piot’s full-time caddie with LIV Golf.

“My parents keep me humble,” Piot said of Glenn Sr. and Judith. “I’m not into anything super fancy.

“I’m still driving the same car since college.”

Help from Lefty

Piot was in college just three years ago; now, he’s played all over the world, forming friendships with some of the biggest names in the history of the game. No. 1 on that list is World Golf Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson, who was Piot’s team captain in 2023, and made himself accessible for anything Piot needed, on the golf or mentorship front.

Piot even made multiple trips to Mickelson’s home in California, where they would work on their games together. Anytime Piot has a question, or needs to talk, he can text Mickelson. Mickelson has provided a lot of chipping instruction, and some swing tips, too.

And, yes, of course, when they played practice rounds together, there were stakes, but Mickelson, Piot said, always stated on the first tee that they’d only play for whatever Piot was comfortable with. Mickelson usually won the match, but Piot said he got him a few times.

“He may be 53,” Piot said of Mickelson, who’s won more major championships (six) than Piot has played in (two), “but he’s still one of golf’s greats.”

Piot also credited his other 2023 teammates, longtime PGA Tour players Brendan Steele and Cameron Tringale, for helping him make the transition from amateur to professional. Tringale and Piot live close to each other in Florida. Piot also praised Harold Varner III, a teammate of his from 2022.

But the best lessons he learned thorugh LIV Golf came on the golf course.

“It’s definitely been a big step. You get to play on the biggest stage,” Piot said. “I think seeing the best of the best play, that’s such an advantage at my young age, to see what you have to be able to do to succeed at that level.

“I can’t speak enough good things about it. The people there were awesome. … It was kind of like hitting the lottery, with LIV Golf coming out that season (2022). It was awesome.

“I learned that even the best players in the world, they’re still normal people. It was kind of cool meeting a lot of guys. … Having Phil as a mentor was really cool.

“He did everything he could to try to make me better. … That’s a cool number to have.”

Canton’s James Piot spends most of the year at a condo in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, working on his golf game.

No regrets

A less-cool number? That would be 923rd, which is Piot’s standing in the latest Official World Golf Rankings. In the grand scheme of things, with a world population of over 8 billion, that’s pretty good when you think about it. But it’s not where Piot wants to be, considering the white-hot buzz that surrounded him after he won the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont (where, by the way, he’s now an honorary member; he went back last year with Ellis and swing coach Brian Cairns, a teacher at Fox Hills, and Ellis shot 67 from the tips to beat Piot and win a bet — Piot had to buy him a new bag from the clubhouse), and after he joined LIV Golf. He never seriously contended to win an individual title on LIV.

Still, Piot has zero regrets about his decision, which was controversial. Players who joined LIV Golf were widely criticized, though not everything was apples to oranges. Many PGA Tour players left one gravy train for a gravier train, but Piot was fresh out of college, and, frankly, looking for a job. He took the high-paying job.

He took some heat on social media, of course, though he didn’t pay much mind to it. His family and friends were supportive. His best friends before he went to LIV Golf remains his friends today.

“Honestly, it didn’t change much with friends and family, and that was the coolest thing,” said Piot, who will play a bit of competitive golf in Michigan this year, maybe the Tournament of Champions, but he can’t play the Michigan Open, because he’s not a full-time Michigan resident anymore. “I’ve always had a pretty nice circle of friends. Everyone’s still treating me the same, and I’m still the same person I’ve been.”

Even if sometimes, particularly when he’s playing over in Asia where the time difference prevents him from keeping in touch with his closest, golf starts to feel more like a job than a game.

“It’s different when you’re out there in your own world. It feels like a job,” said Piot, a Detroit Catholic Central High School alum who still occasionally watches highlights on YouTube from his U.S. Amateur title when he needs to get some good vibes going. It was an unforgettable day, winning a USGA championship, and then learning moments later that Tom Izzo suddenly knew his name. “At the same time, I love it.

“As soon as the tournament starts, there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing. It’s what I love to do.”

That’s regardless of the numbers on the check.

What matters is the name on the trophy.