LIV Golf recall Laurie Canter – The wildcard star with key DP World Tour loophole.

Laurie Canter’ LIV Golf chances looked over after missing out at Q-School last December, but the Englishman was handed a two-event wildcard for 2024, and has taken advantage

Laurie Canter was a one putt away from a full-season spot on the LIV Golf roster and a £1.5 million bonus, but sadly the golfing gods were not on the Englishman’s side.

After LIV Golf Promotions ended, less than an hour later, Canter was back in the clubhouse without a 2024 spot after missing his putt and losing in a two-from-three man playoff. Any golfer knows how painful it is to fall short at the last hurdle of Q-School, but this one had even more at stake.

With players vying for a £20 million ($25 million) prize pot at each event, with no cut and the assurance of a sizable payout regardless of their finish, a full-time spot on the LIV setup is a life-changing opportunity. Canter already knew this, having participated in seven LIV Golf events in 2022 before being injured and competing in an additional eleven a year later.

His goal for 2024 was to return to the breakaway league, however his promotion heartbreak scuppered those plans. Fortunately for Canter there was some reward for his impressive Q-School performance, as it earned him one of two wildcard spots in LIV’s first two events of the season in Mexico and Las Vegas this month. And as he had done previously, the 34-year-old made the most of his recall, finishing in a tie for 15th at Mayakoba, before tying for 21st a week later in Vegas.

This came with financial reward, earning just short of £400,000 ($500k) in prize money, a healthy return for six rounds of golf. For Canter though he is already looking forward, with the hope his two wildcard showings will lead to further opportunities down the line.

Speaking to Mirror Sport fresh off the back of his week in Las Vegas, Canter said: “Everything that comes with playing in that league is awesome, so you can’t really take it for granted… To have those two opportunities early season, to go in and play and pick up some Order of Merit points was important.

“Certainly last week in Vegas I feel that if a couple of things had gone my way and I putted a little better I could have competed for the tournament. The standard of the field is so good now, it is as good a field as I have ever played in. If Dustin [Johnson] is not winning it, it is [Joaquin] Niemann or now Jon Rahm they are a crop of some of the best players in the world.

“Last week was good from a personal perspective as I felt I was in the tournament for a lot of it.” On the back of his impressive start to 2024, Canter did reminisce about what could have been following his efforts at Q-School in December, but amid the near-miss revealed there was a warming silver lining in some of his fellow players being able to benefit from a league that had served him so well in the two previous seasons.

“Looking back on a demanding week in Abu Dhabi, he laughed and said, “Obviously it would have been nice to two-putt the first playoff hole.” The more games I’ve played, the more I believe that disappointment comes in different forms and at different times. The opportunity that comes with that event is unmatched outside of a major golf tournament.

“It hurt, it was tough, but in a way I was proud of my performance and I mean this genuinely, because I played on LIV in 2022 and 2023 and realised how good it was, I did have a sense of happiness for the guys that had got it. I knew what it meant to me to have the experiences and earn the money and how it has helped with my life, so I had that sense as well for the guys who got those cards.”

The emergence of LIV Golf has not been a quiet one, the league’s motto reads ‘Golf, but louder’ and that has certainly been the case over the past two years. The breakaway circuit has been at battle with both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, but amid all the drama Canter has emerged as somewhat of an anomaly.

The same then happened last year, I think I had seven or eight starts and played pretty well in them so finished about 130th again. So it is the same deal. This year I’ll have to play some of the lower ranking events, but I was fortunate to get off to a really good start in Australia and Mauritius which hopefully can help me build my way into some of the bigger events later in the year.”

For the time being, Canter’s attention to the LIV setup will have to wait as opportunities on the DP World Tour present themselves once more. “My current focus will be on the DP World Tour. Being able to legally perform on both tours puts me in an odd situation. He continued, saying, “I have had nothing but positive interactions from all of my rivals and the staff at the DP World Tour.”

“I believe that most people are aware of my situation and what transpired. Not everything has gone as planned; after ten years of hard work, I lost my Tour card. I believe I’ve demonstrated in my performance history how important the Tour has been to me.