Laurence Richard Canter (born 3 November 1989) is an English professional golfer who has been ranked inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking. He has been a member of the European Tour, and also played on LIV Golf, the Asian Tour, and several lower level tours. He is a former amateur champion in both South Africa and Spain.
Amateur career Canter had a successful year in 2010, winning the South African Amateur Championship and playing in the St Andrews Trophy and Eisenhower Trophy. He was also part of the England team that won the European Amateur Team Championship that year and he also qualified for the 2010 Open Championship. He won the 2011 Spanish Amateur Open Championship.
Professional career Canter turned professional in 2011, after winning the Spanish Amateur Open Championship. He played on the Challenge Tour from 2011 to 2013 before dropping down to the Pro Golf Tour in 2014 and 2015.
Canter has an unusual records of qualifying for the European Tour through Q-school, four separate times. He qualified in 2015, 2016 and 2017 but failed to regain his place on the tour on each occasion. After a season returning to the Challenge Tour, he finished tied for 5th in the 2019 European Tour Qualifying School to gain a place on the European Tour for 2020. 2020 proved to be more successful than his previous attempts on the tour. He had his first top-10 finish in the Hero Open and followed this with a tie for 5th place in the ISPS Handa Wales Open and runner-up finishes in the Portugal Masters and the Italian Open.
He finished tied-second at the 2021 BMW PGA Championship; one shot behind Billy Horschel.
In 2022, Canter joined LIV Golf. As a result he was suspended and fined by the DP World Tour, and ultimately did not retain his exemption status at the end of the season. In 2023, he was retained as a reserve by LIV Golf. He substituted for Cleeks team captain Martin Kaymer in the first three events of the season, and subsequently for Sam Horsfield, on the Majesticks team, for several events after he withdrew injured during the fourth event in Adelaide. At the promotions event, he lost in a playoff for the final spot on a team roster for 2024. He played in the opening two events of the season as a wild card before being replaced by Anthony Kim.
In June 2024, Canter won for the first time on the European Tour, at the European Open in Germany. In February 2025, he claimed his second title, winning the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship in a playoff with Pablo Larrazábal and Dan Brown.
In March 2025, Canter competed in The Players Championship, despite having been a LIV Golf member in the past, he became the first former LIV golfer to play in a strictly PGA Tour event.
Canter earned a PGA Tour card for 2026 by finishing 7th in the 2025 European Tour rankings. He opted not to take up PGA Tour membership and instead signed a contract to join LIV Golf in December 2025. He replaced Henrik Stenson, who had been relegated from LIV Golf.
Amateur wins 2010 South African Amateur Championship, Hampshire Hog, West of England Amateur Stroke Play Championship 2011 Spanish International Amateur Championship
Professional wins (3) European Tour wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunners-up12 Jun 2024European Open−13 (68-66-73-72=279)2 strokes Thriston Lawrence, Bernd Wiesberger22 Feb 2025Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship−14 (68-69-68-69=274)Playoff Dan Brown, Pablo Larrazábal
European Tour playoff record (1–1) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result12025Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship Dan Brown, Pablo LarrazábalWon with birdie on first extra hole22025Investec South African Open Championship Dylan NaidooLost to birdie on first extra hole
Jamega Pro Golf Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunners-up115 Sep 2015The Players Club−12 (67-65=132)Playoff Jack Heasman, Bradley Moore (a)
Playoff record Challenge Tour playoff record (0–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12019KPMG Trophy Dale WhitnellLost to birdie on second extra hole
Results in major championships Results not in chronological order in 2020. Tournament201020112012201320142015201620172018Masters TournamentU.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipCUTT37PGA Championship Tournament20192020202120222023202420252026Masters TournamentCUTPGA ChampionshipT48CUTU.S. OpenT55T43The Open ChampionshipNTT79T17T25CUTT71
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" = tied NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 5Totals 0 0 0 0 0 2 12 8 Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (2017 Open Championship – 2024 Open Championship)
Results in The Players Championship Tournament2025The Players ChampionshipCUT
CUT = missed the half-way cut
Results in World Golf Championships Tournament2021ChampionshipT64Match PlayInvitationalChampionsNT1 1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
"T" = Tied NT = No tournament
Team appearances Amateur St Andrews Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2010 European Amateur Team Championship (representing England): 2010 (winners) Eisenhower Trophy (representing England): 2010
Professional Team Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 2025 (winners)
See also 2015 European Tour Qualifying School graduates 2016 European Tour Qualifying School graduates 2017 European Tour Qualifying School graduates 2019 European Tour Qualifying School graduates 2025 Race to Dubai dual card winners
References
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