And after collecting $3.6 million in prize money and finishing 44th in the FedEx Cup standings, he was locked in for the circuit\u2019s money-spinning Signature Events for the 2026 season and perhaps beyond.<\/p>\n
So why did Thomas Detry then decide to join LIV Golf?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was one of the toughest decisions I ever had to make,\u201d the 33-year-old, who\u2019ll join Dustin Johnson\u2019s 4Aces, tells TG at the league\u2019s preview week in Florida.<\/p>\n
Detry says a phone call with 4Aces player Thomas Pieters, a close childhood friend and former University of Illinois teammate, planted a seed in his mind about crossing the divide.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was about to head over to the US and get ready for the season to start on PGA Tour,\u201d he explains. \u201cI 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 just before Christmas. It had never really crossed my mind to join because there has to be a spot available. He said there\u2019s potentially a spot available and I didn\u2019t really think that much of it, but it was still in the back of my mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cI called Thomas, and [told him that] there\u2019s obviously always loads of rumors going around, so I\u2019d like to have a little bit more of a formal offer, rather than just him sort of giving me a call, saying, \u2018Oh, there\u2019s a spot for you.\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018OK, good to know, but if I could have someone a little bit more official.\u2019 But I think it was just his job to call me and plant the seed in a way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pieters says that he advised fellow countryman Detry to make a \u201csmart business decision\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last year or so I could see a little interest,\u201d Pieters recalls. \u201cI wanted him to come to the league, obviously. I just wanted him to explore and see what it was like.\u00a0You don\u2019t hurt anybody by just going and listening to their pitch. He did that, and he liked it.\u00a0Knowing him, with his family and two kids and the financial stuff that comes with it, it\u2019s kind of once in a lifetime. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my reason, for sure. My kids, I see them two more months a year, and you get twice the pay, so I just don\u2019t see why you wouldn\u2019t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eventually, Detry was sold.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spoke to our GM, and then the head of recruitment, and that\u2019s sort of how it worked,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt really took us a couple of days to sort of make our minds up, and as soon as we were committed, we were ready to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a wife and two small children, and we\u2019ve pretty much been living like [nomads] all around the US, going from tournament to tournament,\u201d he says. \u201cWe 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\u2019re in London and Dubai rather than spending six months on the road, living out of a suitcase with two children.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, the team aspect was fun. I was joining a fun team with two major winners [Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed]\u00a0and back again with my childhood friend Thomas,\u00a0who I played a lot of golf with.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea of not defending the Phoenix was really sad to me, because it was obviously my biggest win, and I think it\u2019s potentially one of the coolest tournaments on the PGA Tour, so really sad not to do that. But then, again, there\u2019s plenty of other positives, like the team events and being able to be a little bit more at home.\u201d <\/p>\n
![\"Thomas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/thomas-detry-thomas-pieters.jpg\")
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