A PGA Tour winner’s surprise move has been called arguably the most ‘disappointing signing that LIV has made’…
The current WM Phoenix Open champion is not at TPC Scottsdale to defend his title this week.
Instead, Thomas Detry is in Saudi Arabia preparing for his LIV Golf debut in the league’s season-opener under the lights at Riyadh Golf Club.
The Belgian, who made an imperious breakthrough with his seven-shot win last year in Arizona, made a late decision to join Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces for the 2026 season.
Detry is the highest-ranked player to join LIV since Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton two years ago and, in a recent interview with TG, admitted that missing out on his title defence was “really sad”.
But after multiple chats with his close friend and fellow countryman Thomas Pieters – also a 4Aces player – Detry concluded that he could not turn down LIV’s advances.
The decision not to pursue a burgeoning career on the PGA Tour, however, has also left Detry open to scrutiny. DP World Tour winner Eddie Pepperell addressed Detry’s move to LIV on the latest episode of The Chipping Forecast.
“I’m just exasperated at that, but there we are,” Pepperell sighed.
“I like Thomas and he’s a wonderful golfer, but I’m not sure I can think of a more disappointing signing, actually, that LIV has made.
“There’s somebody who really should be a top-10 golfer in the world. I know he lacks a bit of self-belief – I think he’s been open about that in the past [on] his troubles performing under pressure – but he overcame that obstacle last year by winning the Phoenix event. I thought at that point he was going to kick on and become this player we all know he could and should become.
“By going to LIV he certainly ruins that opportunity for the foreseeable future and I just find that really disappointing as a golf fan and as a fan of him and his game.”
Detry says his move was centred around providing a more comfortable lifestyle for his young family.
“I was about to head over to the US and get ready for the season to start on PGA Tour,” the 33-year-old said. “I was in a pretty comfortable situation on the PGA Tour last year, so I had two years’ exemption.
“I was doing pretty well. But I had this phone call from Thomas [Pieters] just before Christmas. It had never really crossed my mind to join because there has to be a spot available. He said there’s potentially a spot available and I didn’t really think that much of it, but it was still in the back of my mind.
“I have a wife and two small children, and we’ve pretty much been living like [nomads] all around the US, going from tournament to tournament. We live half in Dubai, half in London, and then we sort of slowly came around the idea that it actually could fit our life much better.
“We feel a little bit more at home when we’re in London and Dubai rather than spending six months on the road, living out of a suitcase with two children.”