Ponte Vedra, FL – It was a delicious and troublesome moment.
Just as the annual tradition of the day before the Player Championship begins with TPC Sawgrass, the PGA Tour brings together first-time players at the event on the grass outside the clubhouse for an interview, with tour commissioner Jay Monaghan visiting each player and handing him a small blue box with a link on a cuff of Tiffany.
On Wednesday morning, one of the 25 first-time players delivered Monaghan specially was Laurie Canter, a 35-year-old Britt who will become the first player for Liv Golf at an event approved solely by the PGA Tour.
“I wouldn't have imagined anything going on before,” Kanter said with a smile after Monaghan gave him the gift.
Canter, who no longer plays in LIV, has qualified as a player through his position in the top 50 in the official golf world rankings he plays on the DP World Tour.
His journey is fascinating. Because when he agreed to join Liv Golf in 2022, Keisperry, then chief executive of the DP World Tour, said he was selling out his dream of playing on the PGA Tour by going on a rival tour in Saudi Arabia.
“He said in his office in Wentworth, I would never play on the PGA Tour,” Kanter recalled.
However, Canter, who joined this week's player, ranks 43rd in the world, and not only competes with players, but also has a strong chance to play in the first masters of next month if he can stay in the top 50 by the week before Augusta. All players in the top 50 are eligible to participate in Player Championships and Masters.
After bouncing off nearly a decade between the Challenge Tour and the DP World Tour, Canter joined Liv Golf ahead of its first event in his home country in 2022.
“The first year I played LIV, I lost my position in Europe, so I was homeless,” Kanter said. “So it was just a case of playing where I had the opportunity to play. I was very much looking at the options I had. I was lucky.”
Canter appeared in seven LIV events in 2022, winning over $3.5 million. In '23 he didn't play like that, but won $2.15 million in 10 starts.
He was at the bottom of the LIV rankings in '23, so Canter was forced to compete in a promotional event, losing to the playoffs to determine the final spot on the team's roster for the 2024 season.
With Liv Golf no longer an option, Canter had to return to the DP World Tour full time and pay a fine to regain his membership.
He won his first career victory at the European Open last July. And just a month ago, he won the Bahrain Championship and finished runner-up at the South African Open. As a result, he became number 42 in the world and secured his place this week at TPC Sawgrass.
The PGA Tour has a rule that states that anyone who has attended a LIV golf event is prohibited from competing on the tour for a year after their last LIV appearance. His ban no longer applies as Canter last pioneered it on LIV in Las Vegas in February 2024.
Recalling the controversial liv as a golf bad guy, Kanter joked: But I think it has evolved since then. ”
Kanter said that liv “a path that opened up for me, and what I wanted to pursue.
“I am lucky and grateful to have had the opportunity I have and have been able to find a way back to playing events like this. It wasn't an orthodox path, but not by design. That's exactly how it worked for me and the opportunity that was put in front of me.
“Obviously, it appealed to me because of the money and status I was in the world rankings. I can be honest about it. As a financial opportunity, it was unparalleled. Just looking at the bottom line, it was an opportunity I had to take.
“I was able to play with a lot of my heroes, truly world-class players, and that has really been very beneficial to my golf.”
