The PGA Tour and LIV Golf continue to go their separate ways, with a resolution yet to be found between the rival tours.
LIV Golf took aim at the PGA Tour in Riyadh, with the latter currently undergoing its own issues such as slow play.
The PGA Tour continues this week with the 2025 Genesis Invitational, while the Saudi-backed breakaway tour is set for LIV Golf Adelaide.
World number one Scottie Scheffler headlines the former, with the likes of Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm headlining the latter.
It is event number two for LIV Golf in 2025, which is the same number of events Laurie Canter played in 2024 before departing the tour.
Players had to ‘pick a side’ when Phil Mickelson left PGA Tour for LIV Golf
Canter was among the early movers to LIV Golf, joining in 2022 and retaining his spot for the following season.
The Englishman has now shared insight into the emergence of LIV Golf at that time, with Phil Mickelson having been one of the first and more importantly most prominent players to make the switch, also in 2022.
“It was quite a strange scenario because if it had all gone how I feel it was certainly trending, I think LIV had a lot of the top 50 guys ready to commit to play, certainly some events,” Canter said on the Sliced Golf Podcast.
“Then the Phil Mickelson stuff happened and I think that changed things. Because I think all of a sudden the PGA Tour had to change their stance a little bit and the players then had to pick a side and the players who were on one camp had to semi-commit or fully commit to one side before the tour had even hit a shot.
“I think from LIV’s perspective they wanted to continue with the tour and the vision they had for it. So they said we are going to put eight events on, the first event is going to be in London.
“If you are top 250 in the world you can apply to play and if you are in the cut off you can come and have a game in London for $25million which as a pro golfer, certainly within the DP World Tour ranks at the time, was an amazing opportunity.
“That was kind of the extent of the range chat, they couldn’t believe someone was going to be paid $4million to play three rounds of golf at Centurion.”
Phil Mickelson booed at US Open after joining LIV Golf from the PGA Tour
Mickelson’s defection to LIV Golf sent shockwaves through the PGA Tour at the time, with the American having won six major championships.
It was quite simply a massively divisive career move due to the history of the two tours, and one that some fans took exception too, with Mickelson booed at the 2022 and 2023 US Open events given his LIV Golf loyalties.
READ MORE: What Dustin Johnson texted Phil Mickelson straight after he won The Masters back in 2020
The divisive nature of moving from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf hasn’t died down somewhat but it certainly hasn’t stopped, with Tom McKibbin the latest to make the controversial switch.
Neither he nor Canter are as high profile as the likes of Mickelson, Rahm or DeChambeau, but it should be a worry that the breakaway tour is still able to poach talented players from the more traditional tour.
Canter did, however, decide to depart LIV after featuring as a reserve at Mayakoba and Las Vegas in 2024, having lost his status after finishing 44th in 2023.
He has since featured heavily on the DP World Tour, which unlike the PGA Tour allows LIV Golf players to play as long as their outstanding fines are paid.
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