European Ryder Cup hopeful: Here's why I had no issue accepting LIV Golf cash

European Ryder Cup hopeful Laurie Canter has revealed why he had absolutely no problem being one of the first players to accept cash from LIV Golf. 

Canter was in the field for the inaugural LIV event at Centurion Club just outside of London three years ago and has since made a number of starts on the breakaway tour. 

He has filled in as a reserve for two teams (Majesticks and the Cleeks) and had things panned out differently could have been playing on the league full-time. 

Canter came agonisingly close to securing a full berth on the PIF-backed circuit in December 2023 at their Q-School event but found the water in a playoff. 

Canter is now back to playing full-time on the DP World Tour and is chasing his first PGA Tour card.

And he's also eyeing up a spot in Luke Donald's European Ryder Cup team after starting the campaign strongly. 

He finished third at the Dubai Desert Classic in January and recently won the Bahrain Championship. 

The Englishman recently joined the Sliced podcast where he discussed the thorny topic LIV Golf and his Ryder Cup aspirations. 

"It's a tricky question," he said when asked if he had an issue with the fact LIV money comes from Saudi Arabia's vast sovereign wealth fund. 

"I have a family member who works in foreign international development, works within women's rights and a lot of these sort of things. 

"I like to think I'm a thoughtful person around this sort of stuff. Ultimately, I'd always come down on the job we do."

Canter's good friend and fellow Tour pro Eddie Pepperell previously revealed their friendship was strained over his decision to play LIV tournaments.  

They have since buried the hatchet, even though Pepperell is still a harsh critic of LIV. 

Canter said: "If you sign up to be a golfer, certainly on the DP World Tour, you go all over the world, to lots of different regions, lots of different laws, cultures, religions.

"Fundamentally, if you're going to play professional golf you have to separate those two things for your own sense of being able to do the job.

"And if you really dug down into it there are so many places we go that I would be uncomfortable around some of the laws."

Canter told the podcast there were plenty of jokes on the range at Centurion Club in 2022 that they simply couldn't believe the winner was going to be paid $4m. 

He added: "The week before the first LIV event in London, we were in America and in a state that just banned abortions. 

"The Supreme Court was repealing Roe vs Wade. Would I align myself with that? Probably not. 

"That's the most developed country in the world and the biggest market for golf in the world.

"Where you choose to draw that line is difficult.

"And so to answer your question in a straight way, no, I didn't have a problem with it because I really see that as kind of part of the territory in our job.

"I think sport is overwhelmingly positive and does shine a light on a lot of stuff. I didn't really give it a second thought to be honest. 

"I always look at something in terms of, selfishly, will it be good for my career and having an opportunity to play for that amount of money with those sort of players?

"And that's where I landed."

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