NCAA champion golfer Michael La Sasso is giving up his opportunity to play in this year’s Masters in order to join LIV Golf.

The Ole Miss star is also forfeiting his final year of college eligibility as he is joining HyFlyers GC’s LIV Golf team, which is captained by Phil Mickelson.

LIV Golf made the announcement about La Sasso joining its league last week.

“I’m incredibly excited to join HyFlyers GC and take this next step in my career,” Michael La Sasso said in a statement. “It’s a rare opportunity to learn from one of the greatest players in the history of the game, and I don’t take that lightly.

“LIV Golf allows me to compete at the highest level on a global stage, and I thrive in a team environment, especially one with the camaraderie and support that defines HyFlyers GC. My focus is on learning, continuing to improve, and doing everything I can to help our team succeed.”

Michael La Sasso won the 2025 NCAA individual national championship and was named an All-American twice during his college career.

Ole Miss golf coach Chris Malloy spoke with golf.com about La Sasso’s decision to join LIV. According to Malloy, money played a large role in the decision.

“A lot of financial stability,” Malloy said of his star player joining LIV. “Staying in the States and going through PGA Tour U and PGA Tour all of that, they’re probably a lot less guarantees at this point for some of these guys. So I think that stability, pathway going forward for him was probably a little bit too much to pass up.”

He added that it was, “Financially, a number that you can’t turn back from.”

While the decision makes sense for La Sasso financially, there are downsides, including missing out on playing in the Masters.

However, he made the decision that he believes is best for him long-term, according to Malloy.

“It was hard for him,” Malloy said. “It was a lot of things. I was happy for him, I’m proud of him, I’m excited for him. Sad that he wasn’t going to get to finish out the spring. … It was a decision that was a little bit forced on him, and timing, again, was unfortunate.

“So it was a wide range of emotions, but ultimately again from my end very, very proud of him.”