Laurie Canter ranked second in the South African Open at the DP World Tour after local hero Dylan Naidoo lost to the playoffs. Not only is this another great result for the British, it also put him in the top 50 in the official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) and qualifies him for the player title.
Canter has never played at TPC Sawgrass before and has made history through qualifying. He was the first former LIV golfer in a PGA Tour approved event. Kanter himself and Bernd Wiesberger have already participated in the 2024 Scottish Open, but it is a joint approval event between the US and European Tours.
With Monday's update, it took less than two weeks to stand out in the Players Championship, with Kanter ranked 42nd in the world rankings. The deadline for the entry is at the end of this weekend’s Cognitive Classic, which puts the British in the seat among the officials of the event.
His last game with Liv Golf ended on February 10, 2024, so a year of PGA Tour's non-qualification rules have been established and are not applicable to Canter's case. However, there is no formal confirmation that the British have committed to the match at TPC Sawgrass.
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Laurie Canter competed in 21 Liv golf games between 2022 and 2024, 20 of which (he withdrew from the 2023 Adelaide due to injury). His best results were twice in the 2023 competition in Orlando and the 2024 competition in Mayakoba.
He played the 2023 season as a reserve but had to replace first Martin Kaymer and then Sam Horsfield. As a result, he played almost the entire season (11 of 13 games). He then took part in the promotion and approached winning a spot in the league's official roster, but eventually lost in the playoffs.
In 2024, he participated in the first two LIV competitions due to the newly launched wildcard. He was replaced by Anthony Kim after the event in Las Vegas.
The next step in his career was to impose a fine on him through the DP World Tour and regain his membership.
That same year, he won his first career match on the European Tour and won the European Open, which gave him his first major improvement in the world rankings.
The 2025 season has begun to start seriously for Canter, who finished three top five in four games after winning the Team Cup with the British side. He finished third in the competitive hero Dubai Desert Classic, won the Bahrain championship in the playoffs and just finished second in the playoffs at the South African Open.
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