Race to Dubai: PGA Tour card qualifying heats up at DP World Tour Finals

More exciting is the battle for the 10 PGA Tour cards offered to those not already exempt from the US circuit. And Canter is in the mix.

That in itself is remarkable considering that just under a year ago the 35-year-old Englishman was aggrieved by a five-foot putt that called into question the future of his playing career.

He needed that putt at the LIV Golf Promotions event in Abu Dhabi to retain a spot on the lucrative breakaway tour.

Canter had played 19 of their events, but participating in those tournaments put his status on the DP World Tour in jeopardy. His failure in the Promotions contest piled on the pressure to make the most of the starts he could subsequently get.

So when the chance came, he jumped at the last minute opportunity to play the Mauritius Open last December. Canter finished second to Louis Oosthuizen and his career was back on track.

Within six months, he became a DP World Tour winner for the first time and is now a good week away from securing a card on the PGA Tour for next year.

“If I had got my LIV card I wouldn’t have played the following week on the DP World Tour,” Canter told BBC Sport. “And that week in Mauritius set up my whole year.

“It gave me points which enabled me to play more and more throughout the spring and summer and ultimately the event I won at the European Open.

“It’s one of those moments in life when one door closes and another one opens, and I’m really thankful that it did.”

When Canter booked that second place at the end of last year, he was ranked a lowly 253 in the world. By winning in Hamburg in June, he had already done enough to secure his DP World Tour card for next year.

“I played with everything on the line (in Mauritius),” he added. “It would have been a really quiet year in terms of where I was eligible to play.

“When you make your schedule at the beginning of the year with a full card, you choose the 20, 22 or 24 weeks you want to play.

“It’s a completely different feeling if you get an email from the immigration department saying we’ve had three people pull out, you’re in the field and we need you to come to Mauritius in morning, which is kind of where I was.”

Now he is 25th in the Race to Dubai, just 324 points behind fellow Bath pro Jordan Smith, who in 17th holds the last of the 10 spots available for PGA Tour cards next year.

Canter accepts he needs “a really good week” to secure a place on the US elite circuit, but it is within his reach.

If he did, he would have to wait until February to be eligible to play because of rules that prohibit golfers from competing in PGA Tour events within a year of playing non-sanctioned tournaments.

“It seems like a strange policy (but) it’s their rules,” admitted Canter, who was not a member of the PGA Tour when he played his last LIV event.

Having played on both sides of what has been a divisive fence, he said “everyone understands the need for some level of cooperation for golf to thrive for fans” with “three out of four tournaments dividing the best players in the world up”.

However, he believes it has “done fantastic things for major championship golf”.

“The majors have become even more important, which I would argue is a good thing,” he added.

Canter says he feels fortunate for the way his career has developed since he missed the opportunity to cement his future at LIV.

“I use the word lucky because I think when you play well in your career can be important,” he said.

“It doesn’t always work when you’re at your best and hitting the ball the best.

“At the end of the day you need elements of luck and it was lucky for me to be playing so well at that stage of the season.

“In the course of a golfer’s career, there are so many highs and lows, and I succeeded this year.”

The peak came in Germany with his three-shot victory.

“It’s really hard to put into words,” Canter mused. “It’s still a level of satisfaction that I feel is still sinking in because it’s something that I coveted and wanted to do forever.”

“I still feel good about it and obviously you just want to go and do it again because that’s who we are.”

“But I’m proud to win that tournament and will be forever, and it’s a special feeling.”

Canter heads into the final round of the DP World Tour season this week with plenty of optimism. In 2020, he almost broke through when he played in the final group here with eventual champion Matt Fitzpatrick.

“Since my win, I’ve been playing some solid golf,” Canter said. “I love this golf course, it suits my eye so I feel like I could have a good week and have a good run. I would love that.”