England's Laurie Canter was yesterday crowned champion of the 2025 Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship at The Royal Golf Club – the kingdom’s biggest golf tournament on the DP World Tour.
Canter secured the title in thrilling fashion, beating countryman Daniel Brown and Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal in a three-way playoff with a birdie putt.
The 35-year-old saved his best for last to claim his second DP World Tour title with the result.
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, presented the championship trophy to the winner.
Also on hand were His Majesty King Hamad’s humanitarian work and youth affairs representative and Supreme Council for Youth and Sports (SCYS) chairman Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa; SCYS first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman, and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa; Isa Bin Salman Education Charitable Trust board of trustees chairman and Labour Fund (Tamkeen) chairman Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa; and other high-ranking officials.
They joined HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister for the official awarding ceremony on the 18th green right after the completion of play.
“It feels great,” said Canter of his victory. “I really had to hang in the first couple of rounds this week – I was scoring nicely, not great tee to green, just putting well.”
Canter had looked like he was to come up just short of the crown after carding an eagle and a birdie in a flawless 69, which gave him a share of the clubhouse lead on 14 under. But he was given a lifeline when late leader Larrazabal bogeyed the last hole – slightly missing a potential title-winning putt for par – to set up the playoff.
There, Canter took full advantage, producing a shot-of-the-day contender at the first extra hole to give himself a close-range birdie putt. Canter nervelessly sunk the decisive shot to enter the DP World Tour winner’s circle for the second time in his career.
“Last night I had a chat with my coach Mike Walker, and he gave me a couple of ideas to improve my iron play,” Canter said. “I hit the ball great today and putted terribly – it’s just kind of how it goes.
“I’m so chuffed to have stuck in there. It’s unfortunate what happened to Pablo, but I’m absolutely delighted to have stuck in and got another win.”
Larrazabal and Brown shared second place on 14 under, one shot ahead of Martin Couvra of France, Ivan Cantero of Spain, Richie Ramsay of Scotland, and David Puig, also of Spain.
Canter started the day two shots off the lead and parred the opening five holes before his round sprang into life at the par-four sixth as he secured a stunning hole-out eagle.
After seven more pars, Canter nearly repeated the trick at the 14th but instead had to settle for a tap-in birdie to move to 14 under.
He was unable to make any more birdies coming in, but when Larrazabal missed his six-foot par putt on the 18th, Canter seized his opportunity in the play-off, producing a delightful tee-shot before spinning his approach to tap-in range to win the trophy.
“A lot of the stuff I’ve kind of stumbled on at the beginning of this year, being part of the Team Cup and listening to a few of the speakers and people, how they deal with pressure,” said Canter.
“So, I just said, ‘We’ve got a job to do here and let’s really knuckle into what we’re trying to do, hit some quality shots under pressure’, which is what we’re practising doing.
“And I did that great. The two swings I made in the play-off were super and then sort of limped the putt in so it was nice to win with a three.”
Canter highlighted that he now hopes to build on his success in Bahrain and continue to rise in both the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai Rankings and the Official World Golf Ranking.
“Delighted (with how I’m playing),” he said. “I now have my head fully into trying to climb the world rankings. This is going to get me some points and I’ve not got many to defend, so I’ll do everything I can to get myself in that top 50 and open up the opportunities that brings.
“I’m not that far off it now, and it’s great to have a target like that. We’ve got a lot to play for out here.
“The PGA Tour carrot at the end of the year, but actually there are so many things during the season that you can play your way into.
“Personally, I’m very motivated to do that at the moment. I feel like I’ve got a nice run of it in front of me. Me and (caddie) Max (Smith) are doing a really good job, so just looking forward to building on that.”
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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