Tag: Ian Poulter

Ian Poulter’s gave the most smug look to camera in Netflix’s golf documentary when asked about LIV golf

Ian Poulter’s look to camera said it all.

Full Swing — Netflix’s golf version of Drive to Survive that will do a fun, deep behind-the-scenes look at golf, the PGA Tour and players joining the LIV Tour — is dropping later this month.

And the latest trailer we saw this week proves it’s must-see. There’s Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and so many more faces who will be giving one-on-one interviews and saying all kinds of stuff to camera.

And then there’s Ian Poulter, who was asked straight up if he was joining LIV (spoiler alert: He did). His answer? A look to camera as if he was on The Office, a smug expression to indicate what his decision was (around the 1:20 mark):

Yep, he’s going to be a star.

New trailer for Netflix show ‘Full Swing’ gives fans peek behind the curtain ahead of next week’s release

Is it Feb. 15 yet?

The hype for Full Swing continues to build.

The highly anticipated Netflix series documenting professional golf in 2022 will release in its entirety on Feb. 15 and take fans behind-the-scenes to see what life is really like for some of the best in the game.

A teaser was released last month and included a surprise appearance from Rory McIlroy, as well as confirmation that the following PGA Tour and LIV Golf stars would be involved: Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Ian Poulter, Joel Dahmen, Matt Fitzpatrick, Dustin Johnson, Tony Finau, Sahith Theegala, Mito Pereira and Joaquin Niemann.

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On Monday, just nine days ahead of the release, the official two-minute trailer dropped that gave fans another peek behind the curtain.

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Two LIV members tied for lead in Dubai, Rory McIlroy went nuts to finish first round and play will now conclude Monday due to weather delays

Playing his final three holes at 4 under? Just Rory McIlroy things.

Weather has wreaked havoc on the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour this week. On Thursday, play was delayed due to dangerous weather while Friday’s action couldn’t start on time due to course flooding.

The second round will conclude Saturday, while the third round will be played Sunday with the final round slated for Monday.

Richard Bland and Ian Poulter, both members of LIV Golf, are tied atop the leaderboard at 8 under. Bland was 3 under through four holes of his second round when the horn blew while Poulter was 1 under through three.

World No. 1 Rory McIlroy was on the course early Friday to finish up his first round and he made the most of it.

He began by making a short-range birdie putt at the par-3 seventh, his 16th hole. Then he holed out an approach shot on the par-4 eighth for eagle. McIlroy finished his day by sticking a 159-yard shot to four feet on the ninth to play his final three holes 4 under.

Not bad.

With McIlroy at 6 under is Patrick Reed, who made headlines earlier this week after throwing a tee at the Northern Irishman. The two players have exchanged verbal blows for the past several days.

If there is a golf god, he’ll pair the two for a weekend dual.

Victor Perez, Lucas Herbert and Thomas Peters are 5 under, Tommy Fleetwood is 4 under and Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry and Ryan Fox are 3 under.

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Twitter reacts to Ian Poulter’s outburst toward the European Ryder Cup account

Twitter didn’t hold back.

On Tuesday, Ian Poulter left quite the comment on a post made by the European Ryder Cup team’s Twitter account.

Jan. 10 was Poulter’s 47th birthday, an occasion missed by the organization. The seven-time Ryder Cupper took offense to this, claiming his extensive history with the program warranted some sort of recognization.

Now a member of LIV Golf, Poulter is no longer eligible for the Ryder Cup so it’s easy to see why the European side would want to create some distance.

As you could probably guess, the questionable comment quickly made its way through golf Twitter. We thought we’d put together some of the best responses.

Ian Poulter leaves dark comment on Twitter after European Ryder Cup team fails to wish him a happy birthday

Birthdays are a very serious thing when you turn 47.

Ian Poulter’s recent reply to the European Ryder Cup Twitter account wasn’t intended to be funny, but his complaint about a non-existing birthday post from the organization will likely make you chuckle.

On Jan. 10, Poulter turned 47. During his professional golf career, he represented Europe on seven occasions at the biannual duel against the Americans, including the most recent match in 2021 at Whistling Straits.

However, since his move to the LIV Golf Series funded by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, some in golf have cut ties with the star.

And although he knew a cold shoulder from European Ryder Cup organizers was likely coming for him and fellow LIV members once they made the transition, Poulter’s still upset he didn’t get a birthday shout-out.

Keep in mind, Poulter is nearly 50 years old.

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An angry Ian Poulter had the saddest (and most hilarious!) tweet about birthdays

Let’s all point and laugh.

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Ian Poulter is one of the professional golfers who ditched the PGA Tour for LIV Golf so that he could make lots of money playing in meaningless events while also helping the Saudi government in its attempt to use sports to divert attention from all the horrible things they to their own people.

That move came with repercussions from the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour (European Tour), including the ruling that LIV golfers are not allowed to play on Ryder Cup teams going forward.

Poulter, of course, has had some very big moments in the Ryder Cup and will always be thought of when the event is mentioned. He just won’t be a part of it anymore.

All of this is to tell you that Poulter had one of the saddest, and most hilarious, tweets directed at the European Ryder Cup Team twitter account on Tuesday. You see, they tweeted an old video of Francesco Molinari hitting a nice show that required a lot of touch. The tweet simply read: Incredible touch @F_Molinari.

Nothing too crazy about that, right?

Well, that set off Poulter, who then provided one of the lamest replies you’ll ever see:

What makes this even better is that Poulter’s birthday was Tuesday so he was basically upset that he didn’t get a birthday shoutout from a twitter account.

On his 47th birthday.

I’m going to pause right now so we can all have the good laugh that is building in our bellies.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Man, that felt good.

Ok, let’s get back to it.

Poulter tried to play that tweet off with some jokes with his golfing pals who made fun of him but it’s clear that he was upset about the European Ryder Cup Team twitter account not wishing him a happy birthday, which is just incredible.

Imagine – in your adult life – ever becoming annoyed that some brand account didn’t take the time to first, find out that it was your birthday and then take the time to write a few thoughtless words to wish you a good one… on any of your birthdays.

Poulter is obviously upset that he and the other LIV golfers have been pushed aside by the Ryder Cup teams and that they won’t be even coming remotely close to acknowledging those golfers moving forward. But, buddy, when you make decisions for yourself you need understand their will blow back and you will miss out on things that have actual meaning.

LIV Golf did its best to make him feel better – 16 minutes after he tweeted his sad tweet the LIV account apparently found out it was his birthday and wished him a happy one.

And yeah, that tweet felt just as empty as that league.

Quick hits: Watt gets emotional over tribute video… AFC title game jokes… McVay on his way out?… And more. 

– Take a minute and watch this video of J.J. Watt getting emotional on Hard Knocks while watching a tribute video about his career.

– NFL fans had lots of jokes about where a potential Bills-Chiefs AFC title game should be played.

– It sure feels like Sean McVay is getting ready to leave the Rams.

– Christian D’Andrea looks at 5 teams that could trade up with the Bears for the No. 1 pick.

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Luke Poulter, Ian Poulter’s son, wins first collegiate title at Willow Cup in Alabama

Luke Poulter went 4 under on his final six holes.

It seems as if the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

Luke Poulter, the 18-year-old son of Ian Poulter, captured his first collegiate victory in the 2022 Willow Cup at Willow Point Golf and Country Club in Alabama. Even more impressive is how the freshman at Florida finished.

He went 4 under in his final six holes, carding a 4-under 68 in the second round of the 36-hole event. He was 5 under on the back nine en route to his one-shot victory over Auburn’s Ryan Eshleman. Fellow Gator Parker Bell and Alabama’s Jones Free tied for third at 7 under.

Ian took to Twitter to share his excitement for Luke.

Earlier this year, Luke made the quarterfinals of the English Amateur Championship and made match play in the R&A Boys Amateur. Luke also caddied for pops at the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews.

Luke hasn’t appeared in the Gators’ lineup this season, but he could make his way in come this spring.

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Phil Mickelson among LIV golfers reacting to Rory McIlroy’s comments on the PGA Tour, Ryder Cup ahead of finale in Miami

“It’s pretty remarkable how far LIV Golf has come in the last six, seven months.”

DORAL, Fla. — Phil Mickelson didn’t want to “detract from what’s happening this week” at LIV Golf’s Team Championship in Miami at Trump National Doral, but a recent Rory McIlroy interview with the Guardian was too juicy to avoid.

At a press conference ahead of the upstart circuit’s season finale, Mickelson was complimentary of McIlroy, who said the “us versus them” dynamic between LIV Golf and players on the PGA and DP World tours has gotten out of control.

“You know, I think a lot of Rory. I really have the utmost respect for him, and I look at what he’s done in the game and how he’s played this year and his win last week and No. 1 in the world now, and I have a ton of respect for him,” said Mickelson. “We’ll have three months off after this event to talk about things like that and so forth, but this week something is happening that I don’t want to deflect focus on, which is we’ve never had a team event like this in professional golf.”

McIlroy also took exception to Mickelson’s recent comment that LIV Golf is trending upwards and the PGA Tour is trending downwards, calling that statement “propaganda.”

“But just — maybe I shouldn’t have said stuff like that, I don’t know,” responded Mickelson, “but if I’m just looking at LIV Golf and where we are today to where we were six, seven months ago and people are saying this is dead in the water, and we’re past that, and here we are today, a force in the game that’s not going away, that has players of this caliber that are moving professional golf throughout the world and the excitement level in the countries around the world of having some of the best players in the game of golf coming to their country and competing. It’s pretty remarkable how far LIV Golf has come in the last six, seven months. I don’t think anybody can disagree with that.”

The Greg Norman-led operation receives its financial backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, where no expense has been spared. Building a new golf series certainly isn’t easy, and LIV has done well to attract a few of golf’s biggest names like Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith. But the problems that come with building a startup become less challenging when you’ve got hundreds of millions of dollars to throw around. According to Sports Illustrated, LIV Golf’s first-year expenditure totaled upwards of $784 million, with another $1 billion committed for next year, when the series becomes a 14-event league.

As for excitement levels across the world, so far LIV has held seven events: Four in the United States, one in England, one in Thailand and one in Saudi Arabia.

McIlroy also said he felt “betrayal” in regards to LIV players putting their Ryder Cup futures in jeopardy, noting how Graeme McDowell had a chance to captain the Europeans in 2027 and the legacies of Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood are mainly based around the biennial bash against the Americans.

“A betrayal? We can still qualify for the team as far as I’m aware. Unless we’ve been told we can’t qualify, then I’m still ready to play as much as I possibly can and try and make that team,” said Poulter. “I mean, look, my commitment to the Ryder Cup I think goes before me. I don’t think that should ever come in question. I’ve always wanted to play Ryder Cups and have played with as much passion as anyone else that I’ve ever seen play a Ryder Cup.

“You know, I don’t know where that comment really has come from, to be honest.”

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After Phil Mickelson, three other LIV golfers drop out of lawsuit against PGA Tour, there are only three plaintiffs remaining

Of the original 11 plaintiffs, only three now remain: Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Jones and Peter Uihlein.

Phil Mickelson was one of 11 golfers who sued the PGA Tour for antitrust violations back in August. Before the most recent LIV Golf event at Rich Harvest Farms outside of Chicago, however, the 45-time PGA Tour winner hinted that he might be leaving the suit.

“Now that LIV (Golf) is involved, it’s not necessary for me to be involved,’’ Mickelson said on September 16. “The only reason for me to stay in is (monetary) damages, which I don’t really want or need anything. I do think it’s important that the players have the right to play when and where they want, when and where they qualify for. And now that LIV (Golf) is a part of it, that will be accomplished if and when they win.’’

On Tuesday in a federal court in California, Mickelson filed a voluntary dismissal dropping him from the suit. He wasn’t alone. Ian Poulter, Talor Gooch and Hudson Swafford also filed similar dismissals on Tuesday.

Of the original 11 plaintiffs, only three now remain: Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Jones and Peter Uihlein.

“Nothing has changed. The merits of the lawsuit — the PGA Tour’s anti-competitive conduct — still stand and will be fully tested in court, and we look forward to it,” LIV officials said in a released statement. “We stand by the players who the PGA Tour has treated so poorly, but we also recognize to be successful we no longer need a wide variety of players to be on the suit.”

Although Mickelson’s name is no longer part of the suit, he may still be part of the proceedings moving forward.

There has been much posturing in advance of the antitrust suit that’s scheduled to take place in early 2024.

For example, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman was in Washington, D.C., lobbying on behalf of his Saudi Arabia-backed breakaway golf league last week while PGA Tour players were playing in the Presidents Cup. This after a June report from Wall Street Journal that suggested the Department of Justice is investigating whether the PGA Tour engaged in anticompetitive behavior against LIV Golf.

During Norman’s recent visit to the Capitol for a meeting with the Republican Study Committee — which is considered the largest conservative caucus in the House — Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) called Norman’s appearance “propaganda” before walking out of the meeting.

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour sent the U.S. District Court of Northern California a 32-page response to the initial lawsuit back in August, plus a separate seven-page example of what it calls mischaracterizations and mistruths presented by the LIV players.

LIV Golf has long been criticized as a way for the Kingdom to sportswash its human rights record with guaranteed money and multi-million dollar deals. Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.

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LIV Golf: How each player finished at the DP World Tour’s 2022 BMW PGA Championship

Two players finished inside the top five while one withdrew and wound up at a college football game.

While the talk of the 2022 BMW PGA Championship is now about Shane Lowry’s win despite a late charge from the likes of Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy, the discussion leading up to the event at Wentworth Club in Surrey, England, was focused on the presence of more than a dozen players from the LIV Golf Invitational Series.

Verbal blows from McIlroy, defending champion Billy Horschel and Ian Poulter were traded early on during the tournament week before the passing of Queen Elizabeth II forced play to be suspended on Thursday and Friday. As a result, the DP World Tour shortened the event to 54 holes, a main selling point for LIV Golf, the Greg Norman-led and Saudi Arabia-funded series that has long been criticized as a way for the Kingdom to sportswash its human rights record.

So if you haven’t already, make your joke about 54 holes now.

Before the event, LIV Golf wished good luck to 15 of its players in the field, leaving off Justin Harding, who competed in the first three LIV events, and Pablo Larrazabal, who participated in LIV’s first event in London. Two players finished inside the top five, six inside the top 20, three missed the cut and one player withdrew (then wound up at the Alabama-Texas game on Saturday).

Here’s how each LIV player finished at the 2022 BMW PGA Championship.