Pro makes history as first former LIV Golfer to be eligible for Players Championship

Laurie Canter made himself the answer to a golf trivia question this week in South Africa.

While the 35-year-old Englishman lost in a sudden-death playoff to South Africa’s Dylan Naidoo at the DP World Tour’s Investec South African Open, he still managed to move inside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings. With that move, Canter is in position to be eligible for The Players Championship in two weeks. The PGA Tour invites the top 50 players from the OWGR.

If Canter tees it up at TPC Sawgrass, he will become the first former LIV Golf member to play in a PGA Tour event that is not a major or a co-sanctioned event like the Genesis Scottish Open.

Canter was a member of the Cleeks during LIV Golf’s inaugural season in 2022. He played as a reserve in 2023 but has not played on LIV since last February at LIV Las Vegas.

News

Canter won the 2025 Bahrain Championship last month and currently sits third in the Race to Dubai standings. He finished third at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, which Tyrrell Hatton won in January.

Last season on the DP World Tour, Canter carded six top-25 finishes, including a win at the European Open in June.

Canter entered Sunday tied with Naidoo for the 54-hole lead, but the DP World Tour canceled the final round due to flooding. Canter and Naidoo faced off in a sudden-death playoff that Naidoo won with a birdie. It was Naidoo’s first win on the DP World Tour.

With the runner-up finish, Canter is now the first former LIV player to be eligible for the PGA Tour’s flagship event. The PGA Tour restricts non-members from competing on the PGA Tour until one year after their final LIV appearance.

Canter’s clock has run out, and his standings in the OWGR will earn him a ticket to TPC Sawgrass and a spot in golf history.