They say that good things come to those who wait and that may well be the case for Laurie Canter at the 2020 Italian Open.
The Englishman looked every inch the European Tour veteran as he carded a wonderful 60 in round one at Chervò Golf Club but it has been a long road to getting established for the 30-year-old.
Canter won the South African Amateur Championship in 2010, the same year he came through qualifying to make his European Tour debut at The Open Championship.
After turning professional the following season, he made a handful of appearances on the European Tour over the next few years while playing on the European Challenge Tour and EuroPro Tour before finishing in a tie for 19th at the 2015 Qualifying School.
Further successful trips to the Q School followed in 2016 and 2017 and after losing his playing privileges for 2018, he gained his card through Qualifying School for the fourth time in five years in 2019.
The 2020 Race to Dubai is the ninth season in which Canter has played a European Tour event and he achieved a first top ten at the 78th time of asking at the Hero Open.
That lit the spark and three weeks later he was in the top five at the ISPS HANDA Wales Open before finishing second at the Portugal Masters for three top tens in six events.
Everything is now moving in the right direction but Canter is refusing to get ahead of himself.
"Winning, you need a lot of things to go your way," he said.
"Portugal, I felt like I did about as well as I could that week and came second. I’ve had other weeks where I’ve felt the same and come tenth, so the standard is good.
In August, Laurie Canter recorded his first top 10 on the European Tour after 4 visits to @ETQSchool, 9 seasons, and 78 starts.
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) October 22, 2020
He's now had 3 in his last 8 starts and today shot an opening-round 60 to lead by four.#ItalianOpen pic.twitter.com/2bs3Ly7KMg
"So for me to win, and for me to say I feel ready to win, I feel like I’m jumping the gun.
"You play as well as you can for four days and hopefully it’s your week. You do need things to go your way, I feel, to win."
Things certainly went Canter's way in Brescia as he made an eagle and ten birdies to card the lowest round of the 2020 Race to Dubai.
Placing on the fairways meant that he could not set a course record but Canter's stunning effort was still the lowest of his professional career and the lowest in event history since 1972.
It also matched the lowest score to par in European Tour history and was the lowest score to par since Oliver Fisher's historic 59 at the Portugal Masters in 2018.
"It feels great," he said. "The score, days like that, the back nine there, everything’s gone in. I gave myself some chances and it was just one of those days where you’ve just got to enjoy the ride.
"I did say to Jamie in the practice round that I thought this was somewhere I could do well. I think it’s playing quite long and it definitely helps being able to hit it straight and that’s something I’ve been able to do most of this year so far.
"I like the golf course but I think obviously a lot of things have gone right today to help me shoot that."
Over the course of the last decade, Canter has put in the hard yards to earn everything that goes right for him and, whether he lifts the trophy on Sunday or not, he is now very much a part of the European Tour.
