Ex-LIV Golf star could become first rebel to return to PGA Tour after difficult move

Laurie Canter, a founding member of the breakaway LIV Golf tour, is on the brink of making history as the first player from the tour to join the PGA Tour. The UK star played two LIV events at the start of this season as a reserve player before returning to the DP World Tour with impressive results.

Canter clinched victory at the European Open in Germany in May and has three top-10 finishes under his belt heading into this week's Irish Open. He's off to a flying start at Royal County Down, trailing leader Rory McIlroy by just one shot early in his third round on Saturday.

His stellar performances have propelled him towards the top of the Race to Dubai rankings, with the top-10 players at the end of the season securing full PGA Tour membership.

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Currently sitting 16th in the rankings, Canter is poised to move into the top 10 with just a few events left before the DP World Tour Championship in November, especially considering five of the players above him already hold PGA Tour cards.

After leaving LIV Golf, Canter made it clear at The Open Championship in July that earning PGA Tour membership was his main goal.

"That would be awesome, wouldn't it? To play on the PGA TOUR is something I would love to do at some point," Canter said. "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."

LIV has covered the bills of players who've flown back to the PGA Tour nest, like Canter and Bernd Weisberger, who pocketed clean-ups into the hefty hundreds of thousands in fines. Canter, still tipping his hat to LIV, argues the league and tour are not oil and water but can mix it up just right on the green.

"The one thing I would say is having done both, I think there's room for both," Canter stated. "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."

However, the path back to the greens of the American circuit for Canter could face some rough if he scoops up a PGA Tour card. He dropped a hint to GolfWeek this June the tour's brass communicated a possible timeout penalty before teeing off his opening game.

"I would have to serve a year from the time of my final LIV event," Canter disclosed. "That would be a year after this year's LIV Las Vegas [in February]. I thought it was absurd. I've never played on the PGA Tour."