Encouraging news about the physical condition of David Puig. The issues that prevented him from playing the last LIV Golf tournament in Virginia and kept him as a major doubt until the last minute at the PGA Championship have been identified. The golfer from La Garriga now knows what he has and steps have been taken to address it. The most positive aspect is that he will be able to play next week at the LIV Golf in Dallas. He returns to competition after missing a tournament where he was replaced by Luis Masaveu.
As you may recall, Puig played the PGA Championship with barely any practice shots and only played nine practice holes in the days leading up to it. He did manage to complete the 72 holes of the second Major after making the cut, showing absolute grit and determination. It was said at the time that he was suffering from back discomfort that had not been fully detected and diagnosed.
The week after the PGA at Quail Hollow, David had another round of medical consultations to try to finally get an accurate diagnosis and thus be able to implement an appropriate and precise treatment. He didn’t have time to play the LIV Golf in Virginia, but at least the tests were satisfactory. The young Spaniard now knows what he has, the appropriate decisions have been made, and from Ten Golf we can confirm that he will play the LIV Golf in Dallas, scheduled for next week.
Puig, therefore, arrives in time to personally defend the possibility of qualifying for the Open Championship through the LIV Golf ranking. As you know, there is a spot reserved for the best in the individual ranking after the Dallas event. The only condition is that he must be among the top five in the ranking and, of course, not already qualified by another means. Currently, the top three in the LIV ranking do have a spot in the Open. They are Niemann, DeChambeau, and Jon Rahm. Thus, the spot at the moment would go to the fourth-ranked player, the Spaniard Sergio García, who is coincidentally Puig’s captain in the Fireballs. However, it is not yet decided, the differences are not very significant, and many players are in contention.
The winner of a LIV Golf tournament receives 40 points in the ranking. This means that even Abraham Ancer, ranked nineteenth, would have a mathematical chance of getting into the Open. Puig is in tenth place in the individual ranking, 17.90 points behind Sergio García, which means he would need to finish at least fourth alone at the Maridoe Golf Club in Dallas to have any chance of getting into the Open.
The good news about his health, combined with the motivation of being able to play another Major, undoubtedly provides a boost for Puig at this point in the season. Obviously, David’s return means Masaveu’s absence. In fact, the Madrid native is playing a HotelPlanner Tour tournament in France this week, a circuit for which he secured a card through the Global Pathway. Puig will share a team for the first time with Josele Ballester, a player with whom he shares a great friendship, having trained together many times and having very good chemistry.
