TROON, Scotland – Not even the rain that fell as he played the back nine at Royal Troon Golf Club could dampen the spirits of Laurie Canter after shooting 1-under 70 in the third round of the 152nd British Open. Canter smiled wide at the thought of earning a PGA Tour card through the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai standings.
“That would be awesome, wouldn’t it? To play on the PGA Tour is something I would love to do at some point,” he said.
Canter, a 34-year-old Englishman, is trying to do a first: go from LIV Golf to the DP World Tour and then earn a spot on the PGA Tour via a pathway opened for players last year to procure status on the PGA Tour with their play on the DP World Tour.
Before Canter could return to the DP World Tour, he had to pay his fines which he said LIV Golf took care of and totaled £725,000. How that money would be used, he didn’t know.
What Canter did next could be life-changing: he won the European Open in Germany and entered the week No. 13 in the DP World Tour Race to Dubai rankings. Ten PGA Tour cards are available to the highest-ranked players in the final Race to Dubai standings who don’t already hold Tour status for finishing in the top 125 of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. The likes of Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Ludvig Aberg, Adam Scott and Tommy Fleetwood therefore wouldn’t count in the top 10, meaning he’s currently eighth, though there is a long way to go.
But even if he were to earn his PGA Tour card, Canter said he’s been notified that even though he’s a non-member (and thus not suspended) he’s ineligible for PGA Tour competition for playing on LIV.
Canter was a founding member of LIV Golf and played on the Cleeks in 2022. But he lost his roster spot in 2023 and played as a reserve. He managed to compete in 11 of the 14 events and finished 44th in the standings. He lost out in a 3-for-2 playoff to join a team this season. Nevertheless, he played in the first two events this season at Mayakoba and Las Vegas, but has since returned to the DP World Tour.
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“It’s been amazing to come back and play full time on the DP World Tour, and I’m thankful I can do that,” Canter said Saturday. “In that respect I’m one of the lucky ones, and I’ll just keep chasing it the rest of the year and hopefully try and finish as high up the list as I can.”
Canter said he would be strictly playing the DP World Tour and honor its rules.
“Once the arbitration business, it was like them the rules,” Canter said of the legal battle that allowed the Euro Tour to be able to suspend and fine LIV Golf players who featured in conflicting events without permission.
Canter’s victory at the European Open, his first on the DP World Tour, has him in position to earn a PGA Tour card much the way that MacIntyre and Matthieu Pavon played their way onto the American-based circuit and parlayed status into victories as rookies this season. But the PGA Tour has blocked LIV golfers from playing on the tour and hasn’t been clear in sharing what the path back might be. Asked if he knew if he would be allowed to play on the PGA Tour should he earn his card, Canter said he was sent an email detailing that his dream to compete there would be deferred and his start date on the Tour would be backdated from his last unauthorized start. The Tour confirmed that to be accurate.
“I would have to serve a year from the time of my final LIV event,” he said. “That would be a year after this year’s LIV Las Vegas (in February during Super Bowl weekend).”
“I thought it was absurd,” he added. “I’ve never played on the PGA Tour.”
But thanks to his win in Germany, Canter may have to serve a suspension for his LIV participation anyway. Still, a Tour card has never seemed more possible.
“It’s kind of slightly moved the goal posts for me,” he said of being in the mix for one of the 10 cards through the Strategic Alliance between the two tours. “I’ve got something to aim for, and that would be great, yeah.”
Canter has a unique perspective having played both LIV and DP World Tour and he said there is room for both.
“I like both formats. Can I say that? Are you allowed to say that these days, like you actually like both things? I really do,” he said. “I think the four-round, what we grew up watching, the kind of hearty cuts, and you see (Max) Homa’s reaction yesterday, that’s awesome. As a professional when I see that, I think that’s amazing, that something like that still happens in golf. That should always be the staple of the big tournaments.
“But I love the LIV stuff. I love the three rounds, and you’re bringing a kind of different energy. I think it has the potential to be so exciting for fans, especially if the team thing can keep picking up some momentum. I really think it could be cool. I’m firmly on the middle of the fence because I actually like both.”
