Laurie Canter became the first former LIV Golf player to earn his PGA Tour card, but Lee Westwood was quick to point out that it wouldn’t have happened a year ago.
Lee Westwood has taken to social media to talk golf rules regarding two stars(Image: Getty Images)
As the DP World Tour wraps up its season, several players have shared their perspectives on the golf regulations that enable the top 10 performers on the European circuit to secure their PGA Tour card, with Lee Westwood among those weighing in.
Laurie Canter made history as the first former LIV golfer to claim his Tour card, despite previously being prohibited from all PGA Tour competitions. Canter secured the achievement with a T-2 result in Korea, climbing into one of the 10 coveted DP World Tour positions and maintaining his standing through the remainder of the season.
“We play such a frustrating game and I feel like at the beginning of the year I felt like I had a lot of momentum and had it on a piece of string and since then it has been hard work,” said Canter after the finish.
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“I have felt like I am paddling upstream for six to eight months. I fell out of the PGA Tour card race this week so that was on my mind.
“I wanted to go to the Play-Offs and feel like I am not playing with a gun to my head totally, I can go out and embrace the chance to go and get one of those cards.”, reports the Mirror US.
Canter competed in 20 LIV golf events between 2022 and 2024, participating in all seven tournaments during the league’s debut season before serving as a reserve for 11 competitions in 2023.
He featured in the opening two tournaments of 2024 before returning exclusively to the DP World Tour.
Westwood has since turned to social media to congratulate Canter while pointing out that this outcome would have been impossible a year earlier due to frequently modified PGA Tour regulations.
Jon Rahm plays a shot
The game has shifted dramatically, with Tyrrell Hatton and Jon Rahm among those facing financial penalties from the DP World Tour for participating in ‘conflicting’ LIV events.
Rahm and Hatton have chosen to challenge these sanctions in an effort to maintain their Tour status. If successful, it will pose further questions for the DP World Tour and those who forfeited their membership to dodge such penalties, including Westwood.
“It’ll be interesting to see how the @DPWorldTour handle @JonRahmOfficial and @TyrrellHatton,” Westwood posted on Twitter.
“Their appeal must me due anytime now and it’ll be interesting to see if their bans, fines, suspensions and consistent with previous one. Tricky time and decisions coming up for the DPWT. Caught between a rock and a hard place.”
Lee Westwood takes to social media to talk golf rules regarding two stars(Image: Getty Images)