The professional’s logo tells an interesting story about the LIV era

Golfers can say the logo. Where they played. Where do they pay their membership fees? For some golfers, the logo says more than others. Especially in the case of professional golfers, there is always something to convey.

Just like Tiger Woods put his TW base logo on his hat, not Nike Swoosh, it’s a message. It was a message when Brooks Koepka took part in the Nike logo specifically on Liv, rather than his Smash GC gear. The same goes for every level of the game, until this week’s particularly interesting sponsor waiver: James Piot. Piot’s story is embedded in these logos.

When most of the golf worlds first learn about Piot, it was four years ago among American amateurs in 2021. When he was hot in Oakmont and won the biggest award for amateur golf, he was at home for his fifth senior season at Michigan State. With it, there were a lot of fixtures, most notably serving in the Masters of the second year. As we see him fighting side by side with Bryson DeChambeau in April 2022, Piot shook a white Titleist hat, the Spartan logo on the right, and the “Michigan State University” on the left. On his collar is FJ – is the footsteps – to the right of his chest, is the logo of vehicle seat maker Lear Corporation.

This is very standard for a very talented emerging talent waiting to become a professional player. Lear may be a smaller, feel-good deal, cuts for local boys in two suburban towns in Detroit. But less than two months later, all Piot’s logos will change.

On May 31, 2022, Piot was announced as one of 48 initial players at Liv London, the first game of the upstart, Saudi-backed Golf Tour. Liv Golf is happy to have Piot, and he is excited to be there because there are few opportunities to compete with some of the best golfers in the world. Even better, he doesn’t have to cut his teeth to get there. That has been taken care of. He signed a two-year contract for $6 million.

Piot was drafted by Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs and immediately put a cartoon-burning golf logo on the lid. His chest has no logo. So are his shirt sleeves. Only the standard footstep logo was seen at the back of his neck.

Piot is now a fireball golfer, just one week, and as a more important signer, Abe Ancer officially joins Liv. By the time he was attending the second LIV event, Piot is now wearing Niblicks GC Green. He was wearing Chervo outfits and had a small logo on his chest, but the front and center on the hat were the brands that the brand actually paid him: Liv Golf.

Before the hats of Bedminster’s third LIV event, it was Flecha Azul, a tequila company co-founded by Ancer, which apparently only had a week. Five weeks later, when Piot was held in Boston again, Liv Golf Back in front of his hat, also carved on his collar. The LIV logo also appeared on his right sleeve. A few weeks later, he had a Chervo logo on the front of his hat.

The musical chair of this logo is extremely atypical, but shows Piot’s location at that time. He is a Neve asset that signs his potential, not his ability to beat Dustin Johnson. He also signed the autograph when Liv was launched and before a few stars arrived. Leaf need The famous players and the unlucky start of the league made bumpy rides and many switch lanes.

Piot isn’t necessarily alone. Patrick Reed started his 2022 year in front of his hat, but was also sporting “Leeve Golf” later that year. The sponsors are great. Transactions are constantly changing. Today, for the best players on LIV, many sponsorship deals have been settled. That said, for the best players on LIV. Life may be beneficial to Liv’s main winners, but not perfect for the younger group.

Piot was never one of Liv’s best players, finishing in just the top ten in his first season. But as a two-year contract holder, he was able to find a place in Phil Mickelson’s hyflyers team in 2023. This takes care of a lot of logo dances because he just shocked the team logo anywhere he plays. Unfortunately for Piot, his form plummeted, and he failed to surpass T18 in his second season and ranked 47th out of 52 players. He failed to qualify when he was about to regain his position in LIV in a LIV promotion.

Suddenly, Piot has no LIV status and forgets any PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour or Canadian Tour status he has obtained through the normal means of most elite amateur golfers. Worse, the PGA Tour imposes a one-year match, i.e. any Liv Golfer that plays. His 2024 season only played some international series on the Asian Tour because it had places in the fields of former LIV players, and his ending was seldom profitable. His hat and body are a consistent brand: Chervo.

The meaning of logos is fascinating, because having them is (most likely) benefiting from a formal relationship. Free clothes, some economic benefits, etc. The baseline income level that PGATour Pros can earn from their skills is usually equal to the same spending baseline you need to enjoy the tour. In exchange, the brand cuts these deals in hopes that players will find their best form, as the performance often follows great performances that are competitive in front of the biggest audience on TV.

Piot’s greatest audience may be swaying that white champion hat in the 2022 Masters (or even the 2021 American Amateur) with various Michigan greens engraved in it. From a result perspective, he had two unsuccessful years and then had shoulder surgery at the end of 2024. This is the most physical reset that a professional golfer can imagine. The golf club collects dust, the treatment roller coaster starts and you sweat more than slack pants.

Piot now appears on the other side with a more visual reset. This week, he returned to that white title cover with the same Michigan logo on it. He is also at the PGA Tour Stop in Michigan, a Rockets classic at the Detroit Golf Club, not far from his growth. His college coach and family were present throughout the week when he was unable to attend the same way he was in Bangkok, Australia or Saudi Arabia. His six-point shortfall in two rounds will likely leave him reluctant to advance on the PGA Tour with one shot. Although it may not look Like success, it may feel like something closer to it.