THE 154TH OPEN

July 17, 2026

Laurie Canter

Mixed Zone

Q. Laurie, that was a great fight back towards the end of the round. Tell us your thoughts on that.

LAURIE CANTER: Just rubbish all day to be honest. Had to rally with birdies and managed on 14 -- what was it, 14, 16, and 17. So, yeah, like absolutely delighted in the end to kind of get my way through to the weekend.

Q. Can you put your finger on what happened early on?

LAURIE CANTER: No, I was sort of caught between two minds a little bit on -- the front nine was playing so easy, to be honest. So, so easy, as easy as we'll ever see it, and I kind of got into two minds a little bit on the 5th tee, ended up hitting it in the cross there, cross-bunker, making a silly bogey there. I just hit a couple of poor shots, not like a mile off, but slightly the wrong yardage into 6, a little bit long and dead there.

Really poor shot off of 7, just left it out right.

I actually made a good par up 8 but kind of had to hold it together. Just fighting myself all day really.

Then it was only into the par-5 I had a good up-and-down from left.

Then 16 hit a lovely shot in there, stayed close.

17, two great shots up to the left side of the green.

Yeah, I don't really know where it's gone wrong on the front nine. I'll have to hit some balls. I didn't play it particularly well yesterday. Hopefully I'll find something on the range and get it here tomorrow morning.

Q. If you're an English player at The Open here, are you finding the crowd supporting you whether it's going well or whether it's going badly?

LAURIE CANTER: The crowd is amazing. They're always amazing at The Open. I think in this area, just because of the volume of fans they get in -- we're going to get over 300,000 this week, which is incredible. You feel it in the practice round.

Yeah, having played a few Open Sundays as well, I know how special that is. I think that was probably in the back of my mind to try and give myself a chance to play the weekend there and hang in.

Q. What was the last tournament you played in where perhaps the strategy is or you might be so split on strategy? You've got some players hitting the fairways and using irons, but some like to take on dogleg with driver? Is there ever a tournament where you've been so sort of maybe divided in strategy?

LAURIE CANTER: I was just looking at the scoring with the leader at 6-under, and obviously there's six shots between him and probably -- there's probably 55 guys, I guess, in and around level par.

I think what's interesting about the course is you can take it on. But I think the likelihood of being gung ho all day and then coming off all day is extremely low. I think, if you don't use the ground on a links course in 72 holes, you're going to be found out.

What makes it challenging is not so much this morning to be honest, it was playing softer and we didn't have the cross-winds. Yesterday afternoon when you've got crosswinds and if the ball's bouncing that much, you have to work ball into the crosswinds to soften it to land on the fairway. So you really don't have any shot the same, like everything's different. Whether it's slightly more flighted down one or flighting out lots of the time, most of the shots coming off the tee are high and soft, which is nuts on a links course.

That's kind of what the course is demanding. To injury strategy point, the tough part is picking the right type of shot. In my opinion, roll doesn't count on the fairway because the fairways are pretty flat here, they're just really firm. You can get it landing on the fairway softly, you're going to be in play all the time.

Q. You say about the front nine, because Herbert is literally leading because he played the front nine in 28 shots. Could you give insight into why the front nine is playing a little bit easier today.

LAURIE CANTER: As weird as it sounds, it's as soft as it ever will be in these kinds of conditions. Going out, if you're in the fairway a lot, it's a one bounce type of deal. Really you've got a lot of holes -- like I sort of had 50 yards into the 2nd. If you take on the 1st, you could have 80, 90 yards in there.

Probably him going out at level-par, he can be a little gung ho and take a few things on. Yeah, he's pretty long off the tee as well. So he can drive it a lot, probably close to these holes, hole a couple of putts. I mean, 28 is pretty special.

As mad as it sounds like, I can see a 30 or less on the front nine this morning, definitely.

Q. On the 18th hole, Matt Wallace, who was in just before you, said it's one of the best -- I think he said it's the best 18th hole at The Open. Yesterday I think Bob MacIntyre had a few choice words about it. It's like two ends of the spectrum there. It's par-5 for the members. Again, it's a whole different strategy with bunkers and things. What do you make of the 18th hole?

LAURIE CANTER: It's a great hole. Yeah, it's a great hole. This is The Open. You cannot bail out on any shot there. So even -- like my mindset being finishing up a par was I can't make a 6. If I make a 6, I'm going home. Even making a 5, I still have to take the bunker on. That's true if you hit a 4-iron off the tee or perhaps a driver. It's fantastic golf.

The second shot, I think, gives you a little bit. It's not particularly hard for you to get up-and-down too. You just have to be in the right spot. Yes, length-wise I can understand why people wouldn't want that. I think it's a masterpiece, and I don't mind it being, as this year, playing off that further back tee, it's actually straighter than being where we used to be over by the tee on the right. I want to say by the port-a-lets. So personally, I really like -- I think the 18th hole is a fantastic hole.

Q. In terms of a week like this where it's so dry on the ground, dry mostly on the ground and the conditions are quite baked, do you ever get an extra appreciation for how much effort the greens staff has to go through in weeks like this?

LAURIE CANTER: Links courses are funny because we as pros, like we go everywhere and see pristine, genetically modified grass with fertilizer, and this isn't that. So what they have to do is keep a range of grasses in great condition.

Yeah, specifically what they're doing, like keeping the fescue long and then the sort of looks they get off the tee, and then yeah, they've done an unbelievable number on the greens. The greens are so pure, and they're a great speed. They're slopey.

This is, I think, my seventh Open and my second here, and of all the venues I've played in golf courses, I honestly think it's the best. I think it's got one of the best par-3s we play on the 12th hole. It's amazing.

I think you can make birdies if they keep it like this, but there's disasters waiting everywhere. And I think from a fan perspective it's a good viewing experience.

This is all around, Royal Birkdale nails it.