Open Diary: Laurie Canter

Today’s Golfer has enlisted the insight of amateur qualifier Laurie Canter for this year’s Open Championship diary, giving you a behind the scenes angle from the greatest golf tournament in the world!

Who is this Laurie chap?

Well, if ever you needed proof that TG Elite coaches are the best in the business, Laurie is it. He’s been coached by TG Elite Coach Adrian Bishop for a number of years now and currently plays to a handicap of +4! All this at the tender age of 20, here’s the interview…

Tuesday, July 13th. TG Instruction Ed Joel Tadman grabs Laurie for a chat on the driving range after his practice round…

How did you decide who you played with in practice?

I literally just signed up on a start sheet, it was a nice surprise to see I was playing with Luke Donald and Ross McGowan.

What was it like and did you learn anything?

Ross is a very funny man and Luke’s great too. He hits the ball as well as anyone I’ve ever seen. I got some advice from both of them about turning pro, when to do it and also about the Walker Cup, is it worth waiting for, that kind of thing. It was helpful to speak to both of them about it because Luke waited until after the Walker Cup to turn pro whereas Ross turned pro straight away. To hear both sides of it really helped. I think i’m leaning towards waiting until after the Walker Cup but nothing’s confirmed yet.

Have you seen or spoken to Tiger?

Funnily enough I was hitting balls on the range on Monday and he came and set up in the spot right next to me! I don’t think I hit a good shot for the next 20 minutes because I was so nervous! Just to see him hit some shots was an incredible experience, I’ve always admired him as a player. I didn’t speak to him though no.

Is the course set-up as you expected? Any surprises? Have you played it before?

I played the course last month in the St Andrews trophy and it wasn’t too dissimilar to how it’s set-up this week. The tee on 17 wasn’t as far back then and I’m sure the pins weren’t as severe as where they’ll be this week but all in all it was pretty much as expected. I’ve played a lot of golf here as an amateur over the years so I know the course.

Who have you got with you this week?

I don’t have my coach Adrian here this week because I want to treat it as just another event. Hopefully this will take the pressure off and I can just focus on playing my best golf.

Where are you staying?

I’m staying at the St Andrews hotel which is just amazing. To walk down to the hotel bar and see Arnold Palmer, it doesn’t get any better than that really. I’ve had a lot of support from the EGU and the Somerset Golf Union both financially and from a coaching stand point.

Who’s your caddy?

I’ve got a friend Adam caddying this week. He’s more excited than me!

What do you do in the evenings?

I try and keep my evenings low key, just go to the hotel restaurant. I haven’t ventured in to the town much. It’s a great place but i’ve seen it all before and I want to be prepared as best as I can for Thursday.

Do you sleep at night?

I’ve actually slept pretty well over the last few days! I am surprised actually, I thought I’d be a nervous wreck but so far I’ve slept fine. It will probably all change come Wednesday night.

How are you going to fill your time before your 3.15pm tee time on Thursday?

I don’t mind having a late tee time actually. It gives me the chance to have an extra hour or so in bed and then I can prepare how I want to without rushing. The wind normally gets up here at around midday so hopefully when I tee off it will have died down and scoring conditions will be slightly easier.

Find out how Laurie’s feeling about the opening round in tomorrow’s diary entry!

Laurie tees off at 3.15pm on Thursday with American Jason Bohn and Aussie Kurt Barnes.