In this exclusive interview, we sit down with England’s Laurie Canter in the midst of his best ever season where he climbed inside the world’s top 50 for the first time, making his debut at the Players Championship and the Masters. He opens up on playing LIV Golf as a reserve, how it altered the trajectory of his career and what his goals are for the rest of the season and beyond.
Be sure to tune in every month for more big interviews with some of the most high profile names in the sport!
CHAPTERS
Introduction 0:00-1:08
Playing on LIV Golf as a reserve 1:08
Being part of a LIV team 6:21
DP World Tour fines and suspensions 7:21
Return to the tour 8:10
Players Championship debut 11:36
Masters debut 13:33
2025 goals 17:55
Future of professional golf 20:51
FootJoy golf shoe fitting 22:45
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It it feels almost um like a religious experience. It became apparent last year to me that actually having that like structured schedule and structured time away from playing was what um had had kind of helped me become a a good player. I almost missed Magnol Lane when I was driving in first time because it does like anyone who’s been it sort of completely sneaks up on you. Yeah, I think if you ask any golfer honestly like they they you have to play in those events if you can. That’s what we all grew up playing. And no, I think the last time I was fit for shoes before that would have been my schools at my Clark school shoes or something. It would have been like earlier this year, Lorie Caner got down to a career low 42nd in the World Golf Rankings following an unbelievable start to the 2025 DP World Tour season, winning in Bahrain and securing multiple top three finishes. But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Caner. I recently sat down with the Englishman to discuss what it was like joining and playing on the Live Golf Tour in 2022, as well as his experiences playing the Masters and the Players for the first time and what some of his career goals and aspirations are. Lori, thanks for letting me speak to you today part of the day. Um, you obviously had an unbelievable start to 2025 uh getting inside the world’s top 50 playing your first players, first masters, sat as a reserve on the lib tour two years ago. Would you believe that you would then be in this position you are now? I’ve I’ve not really ever thought about it like that. I think at at the time you’re obviously just dealing with what with what the kind of what with where you are in life, I guess. And and at that point I was I’d lost my category on the the European tour the DP World Tour which for like a you know basically had been all I was trying to do in the early part of my career was trying to establish myself out there and I’d that that had kind of gone away from me because I went and played on live and and didn’t play well enough in Europe in the events I played to kind of keep it. Um and then obviously hadn’t established myself on live either so I was in this kind of no man’s land if you like. Um, but I mean at that point I was I actually felt like my golf was in a good spot. It’s a it’s interesting kind of position because the events I was playing I was kind of playing nicely competing. So um yeah I mean to kind of directly answer your question if someone had said two years later you’ll be playing in the masters as a result of a world ranking I would have found that hard to believe. Um, but I guess I’ve always felt like it’s it’s possible with with like the game and the belief I I had in myself. Obviously, you made the decision to move to live in 2022. What were your kind of motivations behind the decision at the time? Where where was your goal at and was that the reason ultimately why you chose to make that move? Yeah, I mean that’s like a that’s like a caught two-part question, I guess, because um my motivations to move to live was the opportunity in terms of the the the money that was that we were playing for um to an extent some of the other players that were playing the field. It got it got better and better, but that was attractive. Like being able to play for for 20 $25 million for that for that first year was just such a a big financial opportunity for someone like for someone like me. um but had a like had a young family all those sort of things. So it was just that was my main consideration being being um honest. It was what second part’s the question. Well just was your golf at the time. Yeah, sorry. The golf. So, at that at at the time I like just got was up into top 100 in the world and was beginning to access these bigger events like I just played the PGA Championship but had played a couple of the the big desert swings was kind of looking to to push into the open and and to the US Open and hopefully the Masters. So, that you know that worked against me. I think you know I didn’t I didn’t know where the world ranking kind of deal would go. Um, and I yeah, I mean ultimately it definitely didn’t didn’t create that access that I was I was after. And yeah, I think if you ask any golfer honestly like they they you have to play in those events if you can. That’s what we all grew up playing. And and so um in that respect, not having the ability and the pathway to kind of progress my career in in that respect was was difficult to deal with. Obviously, I think you um you look at the the events live did and the bottom line and and what you could make and um you know that’s that would have been the the motivation the re and the reason at that point in time for me. Um, but I I think yeah, you I guess you got to try and find that balance as a player and I think have like giving yourself chance to play in the in the biggest events um with the best players is is what we’re really all after doing as as a reserve on lips because I I think there’s a lot of people struggling to kind of understand what that means. Yeah. What did that what does that look like if you’re not kind of cemented on a team and you’re a reserve? What does that look like week to week or it was um you would you would travel to the event much in the way you would any tour event. You’ll always get a first or second reserve on site. It’s just if someone gets injured or if there’s yeah someone might have something away from the golf course which means like you know a family issue or something so they’re not able to play. So as a reserve you’re effectively staying ready to play um but with no kind of fixed um kind of opportunity if you like. I I was lucky in the year that I was a reserve because there was a a cap Martin Kimmer was a captain had had a big operation in the winter. So I I knew he wasn’t playing for the first four and he’d said, “I’d like you to play in my place.” And then on the fifth event back, a player in the Majestics team, Sam Hfield, had an injury that took him out for the pretty much the rest of the year. So, I was really lucky that the two teams, you know, it was unlucky for them, but lucky for me, the two teams were European guys, knew me and and wanted me to play on their teams. Um, so I was kind of very very lucky and grateful I got that opportunity cuz to your point, without having that kind of grounding of golf and getting to play the live events that I got that year, it would have been I wouldn’t have had much golf to play to be honest. What was that like with from an affiliation to a team standpoint? Because obviously theoretically you did stay in Kimberman’s team. Yeah. Four weeks. But did you feel like there was any Did you have an affiliation to a team? Obviously some of the guys were more European based. Yeah. I mean I’d played for his team the year before so I kind and and I liked them like I like I like I really like Martin. He’s a he’s a good guy and I like the guy the Majestics guys who were the captains were uh you know sort of my heroes growing up. So kind of playing on their teams was great like I absolutely loved it. Um and uh so I it wasn’t it wasn’t difficult for me to try and want to go out and play well. Um and I kind of had personal motivation that obviously if I could play well enough you can get yourself into their you know kind of within their system and uh and try and establish you know yourself in that top 24 that retains um playing rights on on live. So, in terms of the process of leaving the tour, um, did you have to serve at bands? CL might know it was a DJ tour, but pretty hot banning rides if they wanted to come back and or just leaving the tour in the first place. Um, did you have to pay any fines for people? Yeah. So the 2022 uh yeah the this the season that I played live and I remained a member of the European tour I um paid fines and serve suspensions for the events that I played opposite a live event. Uh so I think it amounted to about a seven or an 8we um kind of suspension from from playing events and then get a pretty sizable fine. Yeah. and then moving away from LIB, returning back to the DP World Tour, what prompted the return in the first place? I I think I went to the the Liv qualifying event at the end of 2023 and I like narrowly missed out at the at the qualifying event. Um, and like I said kind of before, I felt like that year I was actually playing some pretty good golf, was beginning to like feel like I was swinging the club well. And so I then had an opportunity through a lower category on the European tour to play a couple of events in Australia and and Maitius at the end of the year. Um and I I think I finished fourth in Australia and second in Maitius and that really kind of changed the structure of of my year. I was able to then have a category again on the DP World Tour. Um, and it became kind of apparent to me as a player how much I’d missed that, like how much I’d missed a schedule and being able to plan. Um, because people might look and say, well, you play 22 or 23 weeks a year. But actually, a lot a lot of what we try and do if you’re trying to improve as a player is what we’re doing in my off weeks, you know, can I can I work a bit on my body or can I work a bit on an aspect of my game? And you need time away from tour to do that. and it needs to be structured and um you know having being a live reserve you know in 2023 and the kind of I’m going to just say disruption to the whole schedule in 2022 of kind of starting to play on live and trying to fit in the DP World Tour. It it became apparent last year to me that actually having that like structured schedule and structured time away from playing was what um had had kind of helped me become a a good player. So I I kind of leaned into that and I thought I need that’s obviously something that’s really important to to me as as a player. Um, and yeah, so once that kind of category opened up and I got a win in May on the European on the DP World Tour, it became it’s been like great for me cuz I’ve been able to say, “Right, I’m playing X, Y, and Zed and um, you know, I can chase that many Order of Merit or I can chase the USPGA spot or whatever it was to try and um, open up doors and and and play the best events I could.” I was going to say, is that what’s allowed you, you know, your game to flourish this year so far? just feeling comfortable and understanding a bit more about how you’re going to kind of space out your scene. Yeah, I think I’ve been lucky. I’ve had some like really good experiences. Um, you know, I like my sort of off the golf course. We’ve had quite a lot going on. I’ve had I my wife gave birth again at the end of last year and so we’ve been like kind of there’s a lot of stuff going on kind of away from golf. But the golf I was able to play like the team cup in January. I was selected for that. That was like an amazing week for me as a player to see um some of the guys, how they operate um kind of get a small taste for what the Rder Cup would look like and that kind of stuff. And I think that’s Yeah, but that’s really really exciting to be to to have kind of been exposed to that. Um, and then yeah, I think that with a solid schedule and getting some of the events we played early in the season in uh the Middle East, they they were great for for my golf and uh being able to compete with some obviously some world class players in those fields and it’s it just does a lot for your kind of belief system and equally um you know holds up a mirror to things you got to keep improving and working hard at. Obviously it marked your debut at the players. What were your kind of initial impressions of the event as a whole? And had you been to TPC saw brass and what did you think of, you know, the whole facility that they’ve got there? It completely blew my mind the the like level of infrastructure that that they have there. Uh like it’s incredible. Um I think the fan experience would be would be amazing at Sorrass. You the whole kind of amphitheater style 1617. Yeah. Me and my caddy went and I think we played it on the Sunday or the Monday just on our own and it was um it was like it was amazing. We were both kind of laughing at how good the setup was. I’d never been I’d never been there. I just watched it on the telly but but I kind of love the layout and love the golf course. Yeah. I I think anytime you get to go and play events like of that kind of stature, you you’re going to sort of you’ve got to try and take it in a little bit because they’re they’re different. They’re pretty special. there any particular moments that week that stood out that you you know you kind of look back in memory and be like wow that was incredible. I think the first time you play 17 in competition is is pretty amazing. On the Friday, uh the Friday I kind of played it early afternoon by the time I got there and it was packed out and they had they had a kind of bit bit of a juicy front pin. So like you know it was you kind of had to take the shot on because it was in terms of that green that’s about as easy as you’ll ever get it. You put it in the back slope and try and rip it back towards the hole. So I think that that was a sort of pinch myself um moment just yeah at that point I was I was working hard to try and play the weekend but it was um it was like a great great kind of great thing to go and experience and play for sure and similarly it was your first time competing at the masters got to go to the national which know every golfer literally dreams of what was that experience like for you obviously going down Mcnolia alone for the first time and actually getting to get out on the I almost missed Magnolia Lane when I was driving in first time because it does like anyone who’s been it sort of completely sneaks up on you. So like we I think we did like a drive by but we actually missed the turning. But I mean it’s kind of everything you expect and then loads loads more. Um, what struck me about Augusta was how they’ve it it feels like its own sort of city like within it you’ve got it’s like vast clubhouse and you kind of go out the back and it feels a little bit kind of innocuous and then you stand at the top of the hill and see all the golf and see all the holes and then the more you play it it unfolds. You know, there’s lots of things you kind of would strike you. you hit your t-shot on 11 and walk to the top of the hill and you you know you you take the view in of like you can see 12, you can see the shot to 11, you could see the guys tearing off on 13 and uh it’s that it’s it feels almost um like a religious experience like it’s probably as close as I’ve ever felt to like playing something like St. Andrews. It’s it’s like cuz you’ve seen it all and then you’re kind of there and playing it and and living it. It’s it’s a it’s it’s Yeah, I can I kind of see the mystique and I would say everything I expected it kind of blew out the water with everything they do there is um is like truly on a different level. Can you kind of share any key takeaways that you took from playing on the golf course? What makes it so special and what makes it so challenging at the same time for people, you know, who are going there for the first time? Well, how they prepare the course is different to how anything I’ve ever seen. So they I mean I don’t know if they do this every year. I think they do. They every shot you hit they’ve cut the grass into you. So that basically means every like the T t-shot there’ll be quite a significant difference if you’re pitching down grain or into grain in terms of the amount of run. Um, and then you’ve also got like because of the way they’ve cut the grass into you, like it it it makes like the striking of shots, especially chipping and pitching around the greens, like it’s you’ve got to be more accurate. It’s more more penal. So that and I’ve never played a golf course where the whole golf course is prepared like that. It’s like they’ll they’ve taken a difficult game and then they’ve tried to make it as challenging as they possibly could. So that that was kind of one thing that I would definitely have to look at going forward from whether that’s an equipment point of view or just even a preparation like when you’re going in making sure that you’re practicing shots into the grain like a lot. Uh just getting to know the place as well. Um they don’t do there’s no sort of tea times or like it’s very much um they know exactly where you are on site at all points. It feels like they’ve got a a large team of people kind of keeping an eye on everyone. So, um, just I guess feeling comfortable and and kind of, um, in that in that environment, I think it would probably be a helpful place to go two or three times, which is probably what we’ve seen over the years with with results and stuff. Would was there anything in particular that fingers crossed you want by next year you would do differently or that take or you would approach it differently to next year? You know, I’d probably spend um I I mean, I spent quite a lot of time on this because I was told it, but I don’t think you could really spend enough time practicing your distance control in your in your short and your mid irons. You have a lot of shots where you’ve got to be pinpoint accurate and and then with that practicing that it’s very unulating golf course, you don’t get many uh flat lies. So, a lot of people have told me you’ll be surprised how undulating the golf course is, but it it it’s unless you’ve been as a fan or you’ve kind of gone and played it, you that’s something you need to to kind of get a grasp for. And and then anytime you’re playing uneven lies um to greens that are as penal as that, it’s just getting as much your caddy and you as well getting comfortable with where the wind is, how that shot will play relative to a flat lie on a on a more exposed golf course. Like there’s there’s a lot of tree cover, so picking the wind is difficult. Um and then you’re adding in lies and trying to manage um your shot pattern um to to how the golf clubs is playing is is definitely uh one of the more challenging things that that I I think I saw there. So looking forward, what are your goals and aspirations the remainder of this season? I’d love to play on the PGA tour. Um, so I think I think giving myself the the best chance to do that, whether that’s I’m I’m going to hopefully play um at least a couple more majors this year. Hopefully I’ll get all of them. It would be great to have like a run in that that secure myself or get myself more opportunities on the BJ tour. Um, failing that one of the top 10 cards would be great. Um, I definitely would like to do that next year. I think the opportunity to play out there is brilliant with kind of how how golf’s evolved certainly through um the kind of middle section of of the year as we see it. Um I think the PJ tour has has most of the strong fields. Um I think the DP World Tour the early season events and from sort of September onwards are amazing. I’d love to love to keep playing those but I think having a chance to go and play on the VJ tour would be kind of kind of my my kind of number one outcome goal if you like. Um, I’ve got I’ve got give myself a good chance with my start at uh to get one of those cards and do that. Outside of that, I think it’ll it’ll just be yeah, continuing to do some of the stuff I’m doing off the course. Um, and yeah, I’d like I like wherever I’m playing, I want opportunities to win tournaments. Like that’s that’s really what I want to do. I want to get to the my career and feel like I’ve had um like I’ like I’ve I’ve won. It took me a long long time to win. and I had a lot of seconds, messed up a lot of tournaments, I feel like I could and should have won. So that would be the thing is it’s almost like in my own in my own head space when I have opportunities to win, I want to be, you know, I really want to be like a a clinical and try and try and get get a number of wins and and feel like I can uh kind of establish myself as as a as a winner on the tour. And do you see the RDER Cup? Is that in your sights this year? Um, well, since I started getting asked about the Ryder Cup, I haven’t played very well. So, that’ll be your body problem. No, I think the um the Ryder Cup’s interesting because it’s it’s going to be in America. So, my my gut feel is they’re going to want guys to have shown form in America or American majors. So, that makes my next two opportunities out there important. I know I got the game where I can go and play well in America. I feel like that’s that is an opportunity that I have. Um so as as as kind of cliche as it sounds for me just trying to get myself um prepared and ready to play those and then I think if that happens and I have an opportunity to to compete in one then that that that gets you the points and that gets your name you know in front of Luke Donald and then it’s a decision he’s he’s got to make. He’s got six picks so um yeah to get a qualifying spot I’ve got to really get my head down and play great through the rest of the summer. How do you see the landscape of professional golf evolving with obviously there’s been so much talk about the merger and it’s Eber on and it’s off and obviously you’ve kind of played um over in Liv and now you’re looking to try and play you know like you said both tours how do you see it coming together? I don’t know. It’s pretty hard because I think there’s been there’s been quite a lot of back and forth and there’s there’s a lot’s happened and I think the tools have changed and evolved to try and respond. So at the moment it doesn’t feel like there’s a although I would love to see something kind of done. I think it would benefit you know a lot of people. Um I think currently it’s it probably um I I find it difficult to see how it would come back together quickly. Um I mean there’s lots of different ideas have been put forward about how the two sides could kind of coexist. And yeah, I I think ultimately I’m probably in the camp where I think it all could be addited to goal. It’s just it’s just how to kind of give each respective tour or place to play its kind of moment in the sun at various points through the year. And I guess that’s you know we’re also adding in the TGL league now which I actually think’s been really good. I’m one I’m someone who thinks TGL stuff’s kind of good. I found it I’ve watched a few and kind of found it interesting and it’s nice that it’s nice that some different stuff is coming into golf and people are being open to it. Um and some of the top players are playing it which I think has been great. So I guess as a golfer that’s why I’d want to see different stuff tried get it in front of different people as much as possible because that’s that is one of the ways the game will grow. Um and I think you know the different tours around the world they do do that. So perhaps it’s just making sure that they can all have their their little windows to to operate. Um and then and and then the governing bodies and the the tours are pulling in the same direction to to try and make that happen. And then lastly about tunes themselves going on bit more about the shoes. Um you said that you played um in loads of different varieties of shoes, spike shoes, spikeless SLX. Wow. Had you ever been fitted for shoes like this before and seen this kind of level of tech and and how Fjoy go into the fitting of their shoes? No. I think the last time I was fit for shoes before that would have been my schools at my Clark school shoes or something. It would have been like So to be honest with you, I think how shoes evolve, people get older and they’re told, “I’ll get a bigger shoe. I’ll get a bigger shoe. I’ll get a bigger shoe.” But eventually our feet kind of stop growing or or your feet change and move. And what it made me realize being fit was how like how important that whole process was. Um and how much I had taken it for granted. Um cuz my feet had changed. The FJ joy um kind of whole accuset team with what they do with kind of their whole brand and fitting system is is they want accuracy and they want data on it and they want loads of feedback from players. So to see the volutal um system work and show me my feet and show me how I stand and show me arches and what what will help then backing what did it feel like um and then kind of seeing how perform how it performed for me and obviously it may it made a like an obvious performance difference which um if you’ told me that before I’d probably struggle to believe that like that a shoe could like actually change dynamics and help me play will help me, you know, do the things I looking to do a bit more at the swing. So, um yeah, I’d be like a huge advocate for for people to for anyone to go and have a look and to to do it because um I’d be surprised if it didn’t make like a decent difference to to kind of all golfers. I ended up in the the SO X here, the Pro SOX. For me, it’s the stability aspect. It’s um it’s got the racetrack design around the outside. Um which I feel like keeps me very centered, enables the stuff up, the chain, my knees, my hips, my body to work better because my feet are basically more in the ground versus the the shoe I was wearing before that was um it was too big for me and I would find like my feet within it are slipping and sliding. So it it to have like a correctly fitting shoe and then the design is able to kind of help me out with the aspects of my swing that that I’m looking to improve. Um it was like it’s like a kind of good match. So obviously you talked about a correct fitting shoe enhancing performance. Yeah. Saw you do some testing with a larger size shoe at 14 which I can’t remember was it three sizes bigger? Yeah. Three and a half I think. Four sizes bigger. What how did you feel when you were using that and what did you see differently from the data? So my foot my foot moved more, slid more, which makes makes it harder for me to get into my right hip in my back swing and makes it harder in my down swing for my left foot to kind of hold the ground, stabilize so that I can kind of power off it. that and that that’s been kind of the key theme for me is is you you you want your feet to be able to like move and work for you, but if you if you create too much movement and instability, the the stuff up the chain in your body can’t work how you want it to work. So, going into a size 14 shoe felt Yeah. I I basically felt like I was playing on on skates. Um and yeah, you feel like some compensatory patterns happen and all that kind of stuff. So yeah, it’s it’s it’s eye opening. Again, something that I guess people could do as long as they could do it safely. I guess I think moving around uh when you’re trying to play golf, the game’s hard enough without your feet moving. So, um, but it would be it was it’s a very eye opening thing when you wear a shoe that’s that that kind of is working against
