Former LIV Golf star chasing PGA Tour history after move backfired

Former LIV Golf star Laurie Canter is aiming to be the first player to earn a spot on the PGA Tour after previously competing on the breakaway circuit.

Canter participated in seven of the eight events hosted by LIV in its inaugural 2022 season, before being called up as a reserve to replace Sam Horsfield for the Majesticks in the following campaign. After playing the first two LIV events of 2024 as a wildcard, he has since returned to the DP World Tour – and with notable success.

Canter was somewhat of an anomaly in the off-course politics between LIV and the DP World Tour, as he was able to play on the Saudi-backed series without punishment due to his membership category with the tour.

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His comeback to the Wentworth-based circuit has been impressive, with three top-10 finishes this season, culminating in his maiden victory at the European Open in June. This win has propelled him up the DP World Tour's rankings, a crucial move as the top 10 players on the Race to Dubai list who are not already exempt are given cards on the PGA Tour for 2025.

Currently, the Englishman finds himself in one of those coveted top 10 spots and has a solid opportunity to bolster his position at The Open Championship this week, where he sits at two-over-par with 18 holes left to play. If Canter manages to play his way onto the PGA Tour, it would be a significant moment for the sport, especially after the tour banned its members from joining LIV, with none having returned so far.

When asked if he was aiming for the PGA Tour card, he told to reporters at Royal Troon: "Yeah, I think so. That would be awesome, wouldn't it, to play on the PGA TOUR is something I would love to do at some point."

However, Cater remained grounded, admitting: "Still, we've got such a long way to go. with the second half of the year. A lot of big-point tournaments. I kind of, to be honest, before I won, was just a little bit trying to play as well as I could out of my category, make sure I was all right for next year. It's kind of slightly moved the goalposts for me. I've got something to aim for, and that would be great, yeah."

Reflecting on his time with LIV, he added: "Yeah, didn't [it] work out for me playing on the LIV Tour, but I felt like I improved a lot as a golfer. I was around so many good players for quite a long period.

"I was able to bring a bit of that back to Europe and I think that's probably been helpful to me. To be around sort of the best players in the world, which was a position I wasn't really in playing in Europe before.

Canter also believes that the differing formats on either side of professional golf's civil war can co-exist peacefully. "The one thing I would say is having done both, I think there's room for both," he claimed. "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... I'm firmly on the middle of the fence because I actually like both."