LIV Golf pro blasts his performances since joining rival league: “I’m not happy”
Ian Poulter says he wants his LIV Golf team to own their own course but needs the Majesticks to up their game in order for that to happen.
Ian Poulter says he has been frustrated with his performances since joining the breakaway LIV Golf League.
Poulter was among the first wave of golfers to join the lucrative series in 2022.
The Englishman reportedly penned a $22m deal to join the Saudi-backed tour.
It could be argued that most of the results in LIV’s ‘beta-test’ 2022 campaign were largely overlooked given the controversy off the course.
That controversy saw Poulter put his Ryder Cup future at risk and become persona non grata with his home tour.
He locked horns with the DP World Tour and was ultimately on the losing end of a protracted legal battle about whether he could be fined for competing in LIV events.
Poulter failed to crack the top-10 from seven starts in 2022 and since then results haven’t been much better.
Finishing 11th at Centurion Club last year represented Poulter’s best finish in 2023
This year, Poulter posted his first ever top-10 finish at LIV Golf Hong Kong.
And it’s been a similar of tale of frustration since.
His results read: 29th, 52nd, 35th, 46th, 25th, 27th.
“I don’t think I’ve delivered the performance in the LIV events that I think I should have done,” Poulter told reporters on Wednesday ahead of LIV Golf United Kingdom at JCB Golf & Country Club.
“I’m not happy with my play over the last couple of seasons. I think I’m very close.”
Poulter said it would ‘mean an awful lot’ if he were to win again.
His last victory was at the 2018 Houston Open on the PGA Tour.
“For me, it’s about having the right adrenaline, the right attitude, the right mindset to go out there this week, have fun on the golf course with the fans, enjoy myself,” he added.
“If we are successful this week, this will rank pretty highly, being 48 and a bit.”
Other LIV players, such as Bubba Watson, have made no secret they have grand plans for the future.
Watson wants his RangeGoats to own a golf course and host LIV events.
Poulter, who is a co-captain of the Majesticks with Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson, would like to do the same.
But results on the course need to change quickly in order for that to happen.
“We’ve spoke about it, but it comes down to finance at the end of the day,” Poulter said.
“If we deliver on the golf course and win five tournaments next year, we can push this forward a bit quicker.”
He added: “I think every team has been tasked with a go-forward plan; what does three, five, ten years look like, and it’s definitely in that window of don’t think small, think big.
“So we’re sitting here trying to think big and how big we can take this Majesticks GC franchise, and home venue would be amazing.
“We need a location, we need some funding, and obviously if we play really well, then it will be that.”
Westwood concurred.
“There’s infinite possibilities,” he said.