The flying start of Laurie Canter
Laurie Canter is the highest-ranked player at the KLM Open on the world ranking. The 35-year-old Englishman can be called a late bloomer, but this season he wasted no time. January had barely passed when he already lifted a trophy.
In Bahrain, he won his second DP World Tour title. Before that (Dubai) and shortly after (South Africa), he stood on the podium as second and third. In short, a flying start for the golfer from Bath, who also won the International Swing, the series of opening tournaments of the year.
Canter openly admits that his selection for the Great Britain & Ireland team in the Team Cup against continental Europe gave him a boost. “I didn’t know what to expect from team golf and was a bit skeptical about all the praise, but none of it was untrue. I loved it. It unleashed a new kind of enthusiasm for golf in me. People around me said afterward they could see it in me.”
Springboard
Not long after, a series of successful tournaments followed. “I dare say it was a huge springboard for the weeks after. It encouraged me to think positively about my game and, of course, to play well.”
On the DP World Tour Order of Merit, his name sits between Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton—not a bad business card at all.“It’s been a bumpy ride the last two years of my career,” Canter admitted after his first success this season. He referred to his choice for LIV Golf, where he was one of the first to realize that step didn’t make him happy.
Laurie Canter at the KLM Open 2024
Respect
Canter didn’t return to the DP World Tour without a fight and won the European Open in Hamburg in June 2024. That victory brought his career back on a steady course, allowing him to plan a longer-term route on the DP World Tour.
He doesn’t feel sidelined. “One of the great things about golf is the respect and camaraderie that has always existed between players. Of course, things have been said back and forth, but I think that period is over and hostility has decreased.”
Grateful
The Englishman has climbed into the top 50 of the world this season but is currently just outside that elite group. A good result at The International could change that again.
“It opened many doors for me again. To put it simply, I’ve started the second part of my career. Getting that chance and being able to play tournaments like The Players and the Masters in America this year makes me grateful and very happy.”
He feels like the young twenty-something who fearlessly embraced life as a tour professional. As an amateur, he played with Tommy Fleetwood and Eddie Pepperell, who became one of his best friends, together on the English team that became European champions in 2010.
Relaxed
It still took ten years before he secured a permanent place on the DP World Tour.
“I’m probably one of the players who benefited most from Covid. I had just earned my tour card and had a rough start, but then Covid allowed me to extend my first season by a year and a half of free golf on the Tour. I was allowed to enter almost every tournament and could relax a bit more. Before that, I felt enormous pressure to perform and even got a bit desperate.”
Ryder Cup
Now everything is different. “I’ve reached a point in my life where I can do what I want. I’m no longer a young rookie, but hopefully, I can still learn and improve,” he says, glancing at the Ryder Cup rankings, which are being finalized this season.
“I think captain Luke Donald wants twelve players on the team who have good experience playing in America or have played Ryder Cups in America. And players who are in form. September is still far off, but I hope by then I fit into one of those categories.”
