"Going to be a patience test"- LIV Golf's Laurie Canter wants to 'take on Rory McIlroy' to claim Irish Open victory

The 2024 Irish Open is underway at the Royal County Down Championship Course, where home favorite Rory McIlroy is positioned near the top of the leaderboard. Halfway through the tournament, Matteo Manassero is leading with a score of -6.

Just one stroke behind Manassero is Laurie Canter, who is currently in second place alongside Todd Clements. McIlroy, on the other hand, is in fourth place with a score of -4 after two days.

LIV Golf's reserve player Canter is eyeing a win at the Irish Open, but the Englishman will need to overcome home hero McIlroy to get to the title. Reflecting on his performance over the last few days, Canter expressed confidence in his ability to claim victory while remaining mindful of the competition.

Here's what he said (via ASAP Sports):

"I think this is really going to be a patience test. You need to know the golf course, know where you're hitting it. Me and my caddie have done a lot of homework the last three days. I think we've got a good plan, but we're going to need a good plan, execute well and need a bit of luck."

Needless to say, McIlroy is one of the favorites to win the tournament, alongside the likes of Shane Lowry. However, Canter is willing to give it a go regardless.

"I think if I get those three things and any type of chance on Sunday, I'll feel more confident than I did before I won, put it that way. There's obviously some pretty good players. Taking Rory on at County Down is going to be a bit of a task. But let's give it a go," he added.

The Irish Open will mark the first tournament in the 2024 Race to Dubai.

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2024 Irish Open day 2 leaderboard ft. Rory McIlroy explored

Following is the leaderboard of the 2024 Irish Open after Day 2:

• 1. Matteo Manassero -6
• T2. Todd Clements -5
• T2. Laurie Canter -5
• T4. Ewen Ferguson -4
• T4. Alejandro Del Rey -4
• T4. Rory McIlroy -4
• T7. Jens Dantorp -3
• T7. Erik van Rooyen -3
• T7. Connor Syme -3
• T7. Rasmus Højgaard -3
• T7. Daniel Brown -3
• T7. Calum Hill -3
• T13. Frederic Lacroix -2
• T13. Jaco Prinsloo -2
• T13. Aaron Cockerill -2
• T13. Shubhankar Sharma -2
• T13. Filippo Celli -2
• T13. Niklas Norgaard -2
• T19. Grant Forrest -1
• T19. Adrien Saddier -1
• T19. James Morrison -1
• T19. Marco Penge -1
• T19. Freddy Schott -1
• T19. Richard Mansell -1
• T19. Thomas Aiken -1
• T19. Jimmy Walker -1
• T19. Jordan Smith -1
• T19. Sami Välimäki -1
• T19. Marcus Armitage -1
• T19. Jannik de Bruyn -1
• T19. Shane Lowry -1
• T19. Robert MacIntyre -1
• T33. Will Enefer PAR
• T33. Ashun Wu PAR
• T33. Julien Guerrier PAR
• T33. Matthew Baldwin PAR
• T33. Oliver Wilson PAR
• T33. Joe Dean PAR
• T33. Maximilian Kieffer PAR
• T33. Alex Fitzpatrick PAR
• T33. Seán Keeling (AM) PAR
• T33. Adrian Otaegui PAR
• T33. Santiago Tarrio PAR
• T33. Bernd Wiesberger PAR
• T33. Antoine Rozner PAR
• T33. Thriston Lawrence PAR
• T47. David Law +1
• T47. Søren Kjeldsen +1
• T47. John Catlin +1
• T47. Seamus Power +1
• T47. Aaron Rai +1
• T47. Rikuya Hoshino +1
• T47. Thorbjørn Olesen +1
• T47. Jason Scrivener +1
• T47. Brandon Stone +1
• T47. Joost Luiten +1
• T47. Darius van Driel +1
• T47. Andrea Pavan +1
• T47. Nacho Elvira +1
• T47. Tom McKibbin +1
• T61. Jeong weon Ko +2
• T61. Sam Jones +2
• T61. Luke Donald +2
• T61. Casey Jarvis +2
• T61. Paul Waring +2
• T61. Gavin Green +2
• T61. Alexander Knappe +2
• T61. Renato Paratore +2