The PGA Tour and LIV Golf are reportedly on the brink of an historic peace deal, and it seems the development can’t come soon enough for Laurie Canter. The former rebel player has told the status quo “your policy is absurd” after learning he would be banned from a number of their events in 2025.
Canter was one of the initial group of players to join the Saudi-backed venture when it launched in 2022, and then remained on their books as a reserve the following season.
He came close to qualifying for LIV this year, but after missing out in a play-off returned to playing DP World Tour events.
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However, due to his past affiliation with LIV, Canter would need to serve a 12-month ban if he was to finish in the top 10 of the DP World Tour standings and earn a PGA Tour card for next season. The sanction is made all the more frustrating for him given he’s never previously been a member.
"I got sent a letter in the middle of the year," Canter told the bunkered podcast. "The PGA Tour clarified the position I was in, which was that I was unable to play for a year from the last LIV event I played in which was Vegas.
"I replied saying, 'Thank you for clarifying that. I think your policy is absurd.' And I do think it's absurd. I've never been a member of that tour. How can you ban someone who has never played on your tour?”
Indeed, Canter, who won the European Open in June, claimed he would accept the regulation had he been attached to the PGA Tour when he signed with the Saudi-backed circuit. And he believes the punishment that could be imposed on him makes little sense.
"I would understand it if I was a member of their tour but in my context I don’t understand it,” he added. “I am a golfer so I'm pro opportunity but it's a bizarre way of sanctioning someone."
The issues could soon be solved for the likes of Canter though, with LIV Golf set to pay £1billion to be part of the PGA Tour. It has not yet been confirmed whether that will see all pending sanctions lifted on rebel players, but it’s a development Canter would seemingly welcome.
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Asked on whether he thought a merger would be the most viable solution to the problems, he answered: “I would be in the camp that all the tours need to work together.
“The hard cold facts are that if you want to watch the best players in the world play golf outside America you basically have one chance - The Open. The other three majors are in America. It’s actually incredible it’s been (golf's civil war) allowed to happen for so long."
