English golfer kicked out of LIV Golf after missing £1.5m putt in tense playoff
Laurie Carter missed his putt to make it into LIV Golf
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LIV Golf has been back in the headlines this month after agreeing a staggering £450million deal to sign Jon Rahm from the PGA Tour in a switch that appears to have moved the needle massively.
But while Rahm has pocketed one of golf's most lucrative deals in history, Canter has been left thinking what if after his disastrous two holes in Abu Dhabi this past weekend.
There were three LIV cards available at the qualifying event with Kalle Samooja finishing top of the leaderboard.
Canter ended up in a three-way playoff alongside Kieran Vincent and Jinichiro Kozuma for the final two spots.
Laurie Carter first joined LIV Golf in 2022
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And the Englishman looked in prime position to get himself back on the LIV Golf Tour after finding the green for an eagle opportunity on the first play-off hole.
Meanwhile, his opponents were in all sorts of trouble with Kozuma finding the water and Vincent unable to get to the green in two.
Canter was in good spirits as he walked towards the green and he even high-fived LIV chief executive Greg Norman.
But that happy attitude soon turned sour as the Englishman three-putted for par while his opponents were also able to save par themselves.
That forced a second playoff hole back at the first tee with Canter compounding his error by driving to the edge of the lake and then topping his second shot into the water.
That all but ended his chances of securing one of the two available spots with Vincent and Kozuma taking advantage of Canter's mistakes with a birdie and a par respectively.
Zimbabwe's Vincent expressed his sympathy for Canter after his playoff heartbreak.
“Credit to him, credit to Laurie,” said Vincent.
“It’s obviously just a painful game, and obviously we’re lucky to be on this side of it, but obviously it’s heartbreak for Laurie.”
But Canter showed his class on social media by applauding his playoff opponents for their achievement.
He wrote on X: "Tough finish today! Congratulations Kalle, Kozuma and Kieran. Great ride you guys have coming up for you.
With no DP World Tour card to fall back on, Canter is now relying on a LIV Golf team calling him up in the next few months.
But he spent 2023 as a reserve in the LIV Golf League and played in just a handful of events earlier in the year.
If no team calls to snap up Canter, he'll likely feature in the LIV-funded events on the Asian Tour.
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Laurie Carter will likely play in some Asian Tour events
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His fourth-placed finish earned him exemption into the 2024 International Series.
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