David Puig, air miles, the ranking and the “good headache” for the Olympic Games.

The Catalan David Puig He knew what he was doing when the golfer entered Barcelona Golf Club of Sant Esteve Sesrovires left the Arizona State University to join the LIV Golf, the Super League funded by Saudi Arabia, although for him it’s not just about the money. The guarantee that LIV offers Puig isn’t so much a sum – he played two events as a novice before turning professional – but rather a slot to play against some of the best players in the world, just in case Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau.

And what he provided was a faster path to the big tournaments because LIV didn’t offer world ranking points. And the Olympic Games? “It’s almost a dream. Even at the beginning of the year I didn’t think going here was an option,” Puig said in Valhalla (Louisville, Kentucky) this Wednesday where the player 22-year-old PGA Championship debut.

Puig shot 64 shots in the second round of the previous round in Los Angeles to qualify in 2023 for the US Open., a first indication that he is willing to go anywhere in the world and try anything to get where he wants to go. And yes, Paris is closer? He currently occupies the second Olympic berth available for Spain, so his performance at the PGA Championship is crucial for his aspirations.

Puig became an example that even college players who join the LIV don’t have to give up some of the advantages afforded to those on the PGA Tour. Puig is based in Scottsdale, Arizona – he left the Sun Devils after his junior year, but finished his degree – and has covered nearly 80,000 kilometers since February. In a seven-week stretch, he went from the Gulf Coast to Las Vegas, from there to Malaysia, Oman and Saudi Arabia, and then to Hong Kong and Macau before returning home to Arizona. Only four of those scales are included with LIV.

His performance was, at best, cautious. He finished 31st in the standings in his first full year in 2023 and 43rd after four events this year. But his performances outside the Super League have been exceptional. He won the Malaysia Open, earning him an exemption from July’s British Open in Royal Troon, Scotland, this summer. He tied for 10th in the International Series in Oman and, after two other LIV events in Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong, he was runner-up in the International Series in Macau. He won the Singapore Games in October, his first victory as a professional, and rose to 309th in the world rankings. The result in Macau – the same week that The Players Championship was played – took him to No. 105 in the world, and Puig kept his ranking around that position by flying back to Saudi Arabia to play in an Asian Tour tournament and finishing fifth.

“In my mind, I’m thinking, ‘Yeah, I’ll play two or three tournaments. Obviously, winning in Malaysia and getting that little bonus (a rise in world ranking for two wins in a calendar year), finishing second in Macau, a couple of other top 10s, I got closer to the world top 100. It was a lot of trips, but they were definitely worth it,” he said.

This year he will play at least two majors – this PGA and the British Open – and again try to qualify for the US Open in the qualifiers.

“He made up his mind,” she said. Jon Rahm, who defected from LIV in December in a bold move that created more fractures in the golf spectrum. “You receive an offer when you are in college, he made his decision, then he promised to do his best to continue entering the majors, in important tournaments. He goes where he has to go to earn points in the world ranking “I am proud of the work he is doing,” added the Basque. “The fact that he takes advantage of that opportunity and then plays well when he gets there is important,” Jon said.

And the Olympic Games are in their sights. Puig is currently ranked 109th in the world ranking at this US PGA. Each country gets two places – four if they are among the world’s top 15 – and Rahm already has one guaranteed. “Obviously I want to be a couple with Jon. It would be super cool,” confessed the Catalan. This makes Valhalla an important week for Puig. If he doesn’t qualify for next month’s US Open, the PGA will be his last chance to earn world ranking points.

The Basque Adrián Otaeguiwho secured a spot in the PGA Championship through the Asian tour of the European tour, is four places behind Puig in the world rankings after his victory two weeks ago in the DP World Tour’s Volvo China Open ( European circuit).

Jorge Campillo from Extremadura He tied for fourth last week at Myrtle Beach on the PGA Tour and is two spots behind Otaegui. Qualification for the Olympic Games, based on world rankings, ends on June 19, just after the US Open.

Puig updates the world ranking page every Monday to check his progress. Equally encouraging was the email he received a week ago informing him that he had been invited to the PGA Championship. The PGA prefers to have as many players in the top 100 as possible, and often drops a few spots.

“I knew I had a chance just because of the world rankings, but I thought it was 50-50 on Sunday (May 5) I didn’t receive a notification and I thought, ‘Well, maybe I won’t go.’ But then on Monday I got the email, which was really cool to see,” David said. His parents flew in from Spain and he had to find accommodation for everyone. But then he thought about how far he had come (air miles and world rankings) and smiled: “They have a headache,” added the Catalan golfer.