Laurie Canter could soon become the first former LIV Golf player to feature at a PGA Tour-sanctioned event. The Englishman is on the verge of qualifying for The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
After winning on the DP World Tour last month and finishing runner-up at the South Africa Open, Canter could jump into the world’s top 50. Those inside the OWGR top 50 automatically qualify for The Players.
With Canter’s 12-month ban from PGA Tour events now served, he could be in line to make a unique piece of history.
Five more golfers could soon be eligible for PGA Tour-sanctioned events after exiting the PIF-backed league.
Kalle Samooja, Kieran Vincent, Scott Vincent, Hudson Swafford and Eugenio Chacarra all left LIV in 2024. In September 2025, all will be able to return to the PGA Tour.
Here, The Golfing Gazette takes a look at how all five players have got on since leaving LIV.
Kalle Samooja
Since leaving the league last year, Samooja has played in just one event, the International Series in India.
He posted rounds of 80 and 88 to miss the cut. The Finnish golfer is 751st in the world and faces a huge task to turn his career around and get back competing on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour.
Kieran Vincent
It’s a similar story for Kieran Vincent after he left Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII last year. Tom McKibbin was named as his replacement before the start of the 2025 season.
Vincent also featured in India and made the cut after posting rounds of 82-70-77-77. Currently ranked 382 in the world, the Zimbabwean faces a battle to resurrect his career post-LIV.
Scott Vincent
Kieran’s brother, Scott, is also competing on the Asian Tour after leaving LIV. He finished tenth in India and eighth at the Philippine Open.
Vincent is arguably performing best among those who left the league in 2024. The 32-year-old previously played for Kevin Na’s Iron Heads.
“I mean, right now, it’s the Asian Tour that I have status on, and you know, I’m very happy to be out here and compete. And all these new elevated International Series events attract a lot of outside stars, so that’s great,” he said during the International Series India event.
Hudson Swafford
Swafford hasn’t played an event since he left LIV last year. However, that hasn’t stopped the American from outlining his desire to return to the PGA Tour one day.
“I don’t know, the Tour has a hard stance on a [one-] year suspension [for players who joined LIV Golf]; there’s some really grey stuff going on with LIV, and I didn’t know if I’d be back with LIV,” Swafford told Golf Channel.
“I tried to go back [to the PGA Tour] last year, talked to [Jason Gore, the Tour’s senior vice president, player advisor to the commissioner] and [Monahan] and thought I did everything pretty cordially, just told them how I felt. They could never give me an answer.”
Eugenio Chacarra
Chacarra returned to DP World Tour action at the Magical Kenya Open and finished the week tied for 20th.
The Spaniard carded 69-69-69-70 to earn $25,000 in prize money. Chacarra is 293rd in the OWGR and will be looking to improve his standing this season on the European circuit.
Chacarra hit the headlines after taking aim at LIV Golf following his exit.
“On LIV, nothing changes; there is only money. It doesn’t matter if you finish 30th or first, only money. I’m not a guy who wants more money. What will change my life is playing in Hawaii and qualifying for the majors, qualifying for the Masters, the Ryder Cup,” he told the Flushing It Podcast.
“When I joined LIV, they promised OWGR and majors. But it didn’t happen. I trusted them. I was the first young guy; then the others came after I made the decision. But OWGR and majors still hasn’t happened.”
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