No.1: James Piot of Canton Wins U.S. Amateur Championship

By Tom Lang

When people say the phrase ‘It couldn’t have happened to a nicer person’ – this past August they’d likely have been talking about golfer James Piot. 

And many are still saying it four months later.

The MSU senior from Canton vaulted to the top of the golf world, if only for a day, by running through the match play buzz-saw and winning the 121st U.S. Amateur Championship at Oakmont CC with a two-round final 2-and-1 victory over North Carolina’s Austin Greaser. But quite frankly the ‘high’ has lasted a lot more than one day and no one could blame Piot that the situation still keeps him hovering at or near the top today.

The U.S. Amateur is the world’s premier amateur golf championship. Nothing else comes close, which is why it stands alone – and which is why it’s without question the No. 1 story in Michigan this year. He became the first ever Michigan native to win the prestigious event in its 12-plus decades.

His caddie and MSU assistant golf coach Dan Ellis recently told me Piot would just a soon be relaxing with his buddies, focusing on the MSU team, and forgetting about the biggest accomplishment of his career.

“And I keep reminding him he doesn’t get that anymore,” Ellis said. “You are a big deal, and it will be that way for a long time now. And you earned it.”

Piot has truly remained grounded. Much of that comes from the upbringing he had by parents, Glenn, Sr. and Judy. His long-time golf teacher, PGA member Brian Cairns, has also worked hard to not just keep Piot’s swing in good shape, but to keep him grounded mentally and personally.

“My goal from the beginning has been ‘don’t let this change you,’” Piot told me. “My mentality about golf is it’s just golf. Obviously, it’s a big part of my life, it’s what I do but there’s more to life than golf and just one good week doesn’t change who you are as a person, and it shouldn’t. For me, I wouldn’t say I’m putting it in the past, but just focusing on the future and being who I am. Right now, I’m just trying to enjoy college.”

It's not lost on Piot that he didn’t accomplish some lower-level goals on his way to the U.S. Amateur title, another thing that keeps him humble. He never won an individual high school state championship, coming closest one-stroke off the winning score his freshman year (2014). He never was awarded Mr. Golf (while future MSU teammate Andrew Walker won it three times), nor the tournament he wants the most, a Michigan Amateur championship. He was runner up in 2020.

“There’s always been a chip on my shoulder that I’ve been there but not gotten it done,” Piot said about the Michigan Amateur. “So, for this one (U.S. Amateur) to be the one I got done, that was the coolest feeling in the world.”

Playing for a potential Big Ten title is a top goal for Piot this spring. He came back to the MSU team this year by advantage of the NCAA extension for student/athletes due to Covid-19, and he’s thrilled he did. 

But PGA Tour exemptions loom large in the coming months, starting with Bay Hill (where Cairns will caddie) and of course The Masters in Augusta, where Ellis will caddie. Piot also gets exempted into a handful of others, with the biggie being the U.S. Open. Yet how quickly he turns pro to try earning points for the next PGA Tour season hinges on how much he does or doesn’t want to play in the British Open in mid-July. He needs to remain an amateur to keep that invitation. 

Piot told me there’s a 75 percent chance he will turn pro after the college season ends in May, and Ellis (who began recruiting Piot in 2013 in high school) is scheduled to remain his caddie, while remaining on staff at MSU, to get Piot through the summer. 

“We obviously had something good going at Oakmont,” Ellis said about the player-caddie relationship. “He trusts me and he’s certainly a fun horse to take around the track because he hits it right where he’s looking all day.

“He’s more of a quick-playing, little less thought and more ‘let’s just hit it’ – and my personality is to kind of over-analyze and make sure you get the details right. So, we kind of meet in the middle there and it’s a good balance. There were a lot of good decisions at Oakmont that ended up working out in our favor, putting pressure on opponents and being conservative when you have to. Match play is so strategic in that way.”

Since the big August win, Piot has had more than his fill of stardom and celebrity status. He’s heard well wishes from Magic Johnson and dozens of past U.S. Amateur champs, including Bryson DeChambeau. Cairns said even Phil Mickelson took Cairns’ call and gave a ton of sage advice for people to connect with to help advance Piot’s career.

There was the Kirk Gibson golf outing invitation, and a practice-green conversation with Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino as both prepped for a special event at the Ally Challenge (and Nicklaus was prepared with multiple U.S. Amateur photos he signed for Piot.) 

Piot was also introduced on the field of Spartan Stadium between quarters of the MSU-Michigan football game in October, soon after appearing on the Fox Big Noon Kickoff pregame show, chipping balls into a trash can vs. former NFL start Reggie Bush on national TV. 

“Throwing out the first pitch at the Detroit Tigers game was probably the cool one for me because I had all my buddies there and it was the first week after going from just a college kid to 4 days later throwing out the first pitch,” Piot said. “That might be when it really set in.”

Piot was also invited to represent the U.S. in the Spirit International Golf Championship at Whispering Pines in Texas. The men-women combined event had just four players total representing each of their countries. Piot won gold and silver medals. The Spirit alumni have gone on to win over 650 professional titles, 25 major championships and 17 Olympic appearances. They include 16 PGA Tour winners, 25 European Tour winners, 23 LPGA Tour winners and 21 Ladies European Tour winners.

There he spent six days with LPGA star Stacy Lewis who was U.S. team captain. It’s the most amount of time Piot has spent with any pro of her caliber.

“She’s a super-laid back down to earth person,” Piot said. “You don’t know what to expect when you meet a big-time golfer like her. But she shared a lot of life advise. 

“She was kind of critiquing my game, my tempo. I’m a faster player and she was showing me the ropes like how you have to be locked into every shot, and just have a no-quit mentality. She was awesome at talking about the specifics of golf and course management and just how I play the game. Definitely learned a lot from her outside of golf, too, managing time and relationships. It was awesome.”

That’s one cell phone number Piot will hold onto with dear life.