Former LIV Golf pro shares heartwarming Shane Lowry story at The Open

Shane Lowry smiles during The 152nd Open at Royal Troon. | Photo by Oisin Keniry/R&A via Getty Images

Laurie Canter, who used to tee it up on the LIV Golf circuit, shared a story about Shane Lowry that will make you smile.

The Irish are known for their charm and gracious hospitality, which certainly applies to Shane Lowry and his infectious personality.

So it is no surprise that he performed a heartwarming gesture during Laurie Canter’s rookie season on the European Tour a decade ago.

At that point, Canter, who left LIV Golf earlier this year after the Las Vegas event, struggled to have any success. He had missed cut after cut, as his chances of maintaining DP World Tour membership looked dire.

“I’m playing the Portuguese Masters. I’ve had a terrible year. I played like 15 or 18 events as a rookie, missed a load of cuts, made no money, and I was in there with Gary Hurley, another guy in a similar position,” Canter said after the third round of The Open.

“We were having dinner together at a pizzeria, and at the end of the meal, the bill came, and the lady said, ‘Your bill has been settled by that gentleman over there,’ and it was Shane. So there you go. And I barely knew him, barely had said a word to him at that point. I think he recognized a couple of rookies and thought, throw these lads a bone.”

Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images

Laurie Canter on Day Three at The 152nd Open.

Talk about generosity. Canter will remember Lowry’s heartwarming gesture forever.

But in doing so, Canter applauded Lowry for his major championship pedigree and Open Championship success.

“He’s just got a good temperament for links golf in that I think he’s got a lot of fight about him,” Canter said of Lowry.

“Like if things are going against him, he’ll knuckle down and just get his head down, and I think he’s going to be very, very difficult to beat in these conditions from what we know about him.”

Canter, who won his first DP World Tour event at the Porsche European Open last month, turned in a respectable performance of his own on Saturday. He carded a 1-under 70 and sits in a tie for 16th at 2-over for the championship.

That’s a stark departure from how he played during his tenure on LIV Golf, as his struggles led to his exit from the Saudi-backed circuit.

“I just didn’t play well enough, ultimately,” Canter said.

Photo by Jason Butler/Getty Images

Laurie Canter during the LIV Golf Promotions event in December 2023 in Abu Dhabi.

“I think potentially one of the things with LIV is you’ve got a lot of top-quality players, big names who only would have gone if their futures were somewhat secure for a number of years, and in my situation, I understood that. I’ve always felt quite happy and accepting of that.

“In that respect, there was always a bit more of a target on my back when I played because I knew my place was up for grabs. But I’m at peace with the game we play, and if I had played a little better or closed off a couple of tournaments I was playing well in, then I might still be out there.

“But as you were alluding to earlier, it’s been amazing to come back and play full-time on the DP World Tour, and I’m thankful I can do that. In that respect, I’m one of the lucky ones, and I’ll keep chasing it the rest of the year and hopefully try and finish as high up the list as I can.”

Canter lost out in a playoff during LIV Golf’s Promotions event last fall. As such, no LIV Golf team picked him up, leaving him as a wild card, ultimately leading him to leave the circuit.

But now he ranks 13th on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai standings, thanks to his win in June. Should he finish among the top 10 players who already do not have a PGA Tour membership, he will receive an invite to play in the States during the 2025 season. Perhaps then he will pay it forward, picking up the tab of a younger player, just as Lowry did all those years ago.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.