Latest news with #IanPoulter
Newsweek
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
LIV Exit System To Be Tested Once Again With Three Legends On Verge Of Relegation
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The penultimate event of the 2025 LIV Golf season ended with a victory for Dean Burmester, but what's happening in the season's individual standings is just as interesting, if not more so. With just one individual event left, LIV Golf's relegation rules are heading for a new test, with three legendary players on the verge of being relegated for the next season. Adding to the tension, the three players are co-captains of the same team: Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, and Henrik Stenson, three-quarters of the Majesticks GC team. Poulter is in the worst position, ranking 52nd in the standings. Westwood and Stenson are still outside the so-called Drop Zone, although their situation is very difficult. Both are ranked 47th and 48th, respectively, closing out the so-called Open Zone, and less than three points ahead of the two best-placed players currently in the relegation zone. Team Captain Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter of Majesticks GC are seen in the locker room during day three of the LIV Golf Invitational - Bedminster at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster on... Team Captain Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter of Majesticks GC are seen in the locker room during day three of the LIV Golf Invitational - Bedminster at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster on July 31, 2022 in Bedminster, New Jersey. More Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images At the end of the individual season, players ranked 49th and below will be relegated from LIV Golf. Westwood and Stenson will have to look for a result in Indianapolis that will allow them to consolidate or improve their current status, while for Poulter, everything seems to be already decided, based on his results this season. However, it remains to be seen how the league will react to the eventual loss of such prominent names, especially considering that relegation hasn't been a particularly strict process in the past. All 3 Majesticks GC co-captains are in danger of getting relegated next week as the LIV Golf League start to take relegation seriously. ALL players finishing 49th and below are demoted, which currently includes Ian Poulter in 52nd, Henrik Stenson in 49th and Lee Westwood just… — Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) August 8, 2025 In 2023, Martin Kaymer finished the season in the relegation zone, but dodged the bullet by being a captain. In 2024, the rule that captains couldn't be relegated was scrapped, but it didn't have much practical effect. Bubba Watson was relegated, but re-signed himself, exercising his powers as captain of the RangeGoats GC team. Watson's wasn't the only case. Branden Grace was also relegated and was later re-signed by his team, Stinger GC. Poulter, Stenson, and Westwood were among the first players to sign with LIV Golf in 2022. Between them, they have 83 professional wins, including a major championship, and marked the first two decades of the 21st century on the European Ryder Cup team, a period in which Europe won the event seven times in nine editions. More Golf: Max Homa Cheers Wife as Newborn Son, Austin, Adds Joy to Family
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
British LIV Golf star who's pocketed £7.7m since PGA exit now faces rule change nightmare
Ian Poulter's career could be a crossroads as he fights to hold on to his LIV Golf status following the decision to cut the safety net previously afforded to team captains Ian Poulter is in real danger of losing his spot in LIV Golf following a significant rule change by the rebel circuit. The Ryder Cup legend was lured away from the PGA Tour with an estimated £20million signing fee and has since bagged around £7.7m in prize money. However, his switch meant hefty fines if he chose to participate in DP World Tour events and maintain eligibility for Ryder Cup qualification. Although LIV has been covering players' fines – a practice set to cease in 2026 – Poulter has resisted paying on principle. Last year, the 49-year-old told Sports Illustrated:"I personally wouldn't pay because I felt it was unjust at the time to be fined $100,000 a week because it makes no sense to me at all. My stance has never changed. "I've played golf all over the world. I was never paying fines when I played outside of Europe on other tours around the world, so my stance is exactly the same as I had three years ago." However, Poulter might need to rethink his approach as he risks demotion from LIV, which has scrapped the exemption previously afforded to team captains. Under the new regulations, any golfer finishing the season below the top 48 will forfeit their card for 2026. Presently, Poulter, who co-captains Majesticks GC, sits at 51st with only two tournaments left to play. In a bid to bolster the tour's reputation and secure a spot in the Official World Golf Rankings, LIV Golf has introduced a new rule that prevents captains from lobbying to retain their position. This comes after Scott O'Neil took over as LIV chief executive from Greg Norman. Poulter, along with his co-captains and Ryder Cup icons Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson, is in danger of relegation following a poor season for the Majesticks team. The trio faces a potential battle to stay afloat during the upcoming tournaments in Chicago and Indianapolis. Westwood, unlike Poulter, seems more amenable to the idea of returning to the DP World Tour if he is relegated. Speaking to The Telegraph last month, Westwood said: "I can go back to the DP World Tour, you know. "LIV would pay my fines, which are ridiculously about £900,000, and I still have several exemptions to play on that circuit. "LIV would already have paid my fines if I'd asked, but I didn't do it out of principle. It's a daft amount anyway." While the return of any of the trio to the European Tour would be controversial, it would also add some star power to the circuit, which some believe has been lacking in recent years.
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Ian Poulter facing LIV Golf relegation
Ian Poulter is in danger of imminent relegation from LIV Golf, after the league issued a stark warning that, this time, there will be no safety net for those who finish in the bottom places – regardless if they are a team captain or not. The rebel circuit's individual campaign ends on August 17 and anyone coming outside the top 48 in the points standings will lose their card for 2026. Poulter therefore has this week's event in Chicago and next week in Indianapolis to save his position. This is a departure from last year, when Bubba Watson, despite finishing 53rd, was allowed to return for this year. This was after making 'a business case' to be retained on the Range Goats, the team of which he is skipper. Branden Grace was also given a stay of execution. That scenario was widely criticised and held up as one of the reasons why the Saudi-funded league should not be awarded official status with the Official World Golf Rankings. However, since Scott O'Neil replaced Greg Norman as chief executive in January, LIV has resubmitted its application to join OWGR and thus give its golfers greater access to the majors at the same time as affording the four-year-old project more credibility. This stricter stance can surely be viewed as LIV creating the jeopardy and player churn to show the OGWR that it meets its competitive criteria. Any hopes among those languishing in the standings that LIV would be as lax in applying its relegation rules were left disappointed by a recent missive from the executive that spelt out the urgency of the situation. Relegation means relegation this year and there will be no leeway. Poulter is 51st and should he fail to escape the drop-zone, the 49-year-old will need either to top the International Series – although he is not even in the top 100 in the rankings of that Asian Tour mini-circuit – or come through the LIV Golf promotions tournament in December, where only the winner from a shoot-out featuring over 100 golfers will win a LIV place. What next for Poulter? It is believed that Poulter's contract is up as soon as the LIV season concludes on August 24 in Michigan with the Grand Team Finals and the question would then be where next for the veteran? As a co-captain of the Majesticks team, he could clearly move into a mentoring or administrative role for the struggling outfit. It has been a terrible season for both Poulter and the Majesticks as a whole. Points are only awarded for those coming in the top 24 of each of the 54-man tournaments and after 11 events, the former world No 5 has only troubled the scorers on one occasion, with a tie for 13th in South Korea in May. The Majesticks are one off the bottom in the 13-team league table and Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood are also in peril of falling out. Stenson is 47th and Westwood is 46th and it is entirely feasible that when it comes to next week, the Majesticks team-mates are battling against each either for their own LIV survival. If circumstances demand, an intriguing return to the DP World Tour is possible for the trio. They resigned their membership two years ago as part of a group of the rebel players who lost an appeal against the Tour – with a London hearing adjudicating that Wentworth headquarters was within its rights to issue fines and suspension – but they are only required to pay the outstanding fines to reclaim playing privileges on the circuit where they established themselves. 'I can go back to the DP World Tour, you know,' Westwood told Telegraph Sport last month. 'LIV would pay my fines, which are ridiculously about £900,000 and I still have several exemptions to play on that circuit. LIV would already have paid my fines if I'd asked, but I didn't do it out of principle. It's a daft amount anyway.' Poulter and Stenson would also have status to appear on the Tour and a comeback for any of them would cause a huge splash in the locker room. They were some of the highest profile departures when LIV was formed in 2022 and they were paid in the region of £20m each to jump ship. Sympathy might be in short supply as Stenson who was Ryder Cup captain when he defected – has since earned a further £10.8m, Westwood £8m and Poulter £7.6m. However, with the Tour conspicuously lacking big names at the moment, the sponsors would no doubt welcome any reconciliations.
BBC News
14-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Two-time champion Harrington to hit opening tee shot
Two-time Open champion Padraig Harrington will hit the opening tee shot at this year's tournament at Royal Portrush. The 53-year-old Irishman, who clinched back-to-back Claret Jugs in 2007 and 2008, will open play at 06:30 BST on Thursday. Harrington won his first Open title at Carnoustie in 2007, beating Sergio Garcia in a dramatic play-off after starting the final round six shots back. He successfully defended in horrendous conditions at Royal Birkdale 12 months later, carding an impressive closing 69 to finish four shots clear of England's Ian who also held off Garcia to win the 2008 US PGA Championship, missed the cut at the 2019 Open at Royal Portrush.
BreakingNews.ie
02-07-2025
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Lee Westwood books Open return but Ian Poulter and son Luke miss out
Lee Westwood made light of jet lag to book his return to The Open following a two-year absence after winning his qualifier in Scotland. However, his former Ryder Cup and current LIV Golf team-mate Ian Poulter and his son Luke – and Portrush-born ex-US Open champion Graeme McDowell – all came up short in their bids to make the final major of the year. Advertisement Westwood, 52, who has played in golf's oldest championship 27 times previously, finished top at Dundonald Links after posting seven under for 36 holes. Lee Westwood booked his return to The Open by winning the qualifier at Dundonald Links. Photo: Joe Giddens/PA. Westwood had flown in from Dallas where he had been competing in Sunday's LIV Golf event. 'I've been up since half-past one this morning with jet lag so I was starting to feel it,' said Westwood, whose move to the Saudi Arabia breakaway series removed his chances of qualifying for majors through regular tour events. 'I haven't tried to qualify for the last couple of years for one reason or another. Advertisement 'Royal Portrush is a fantastic golf course and I played well there last time, finished fourth in 2019, so that was another reason to come and play. Ian Poulter and son Luke both failed to qualify for The Open. Photo: George Tewkesbury/PA. 'The Open Championship is the greatest tournament on the golfing calendar. I'm not getting any younger, I'm 52 now.' Poulter at least finished the day with some pride intact as, having trailed Luke all day in the scoring, finished level with his 21-year-old son on one under. Luke followed an opening 67 with a 76 at Royal Cinque Ports in Kent, with his dad shooting 72-71, as they and McDowell finished just short. 'I played good on the first 18, the last 18 not great,' said Luke. Advertisement LIV golfer Dean Burmester topped the leaderboard at Royal Cinque Ports after a brilliant eight-under second-round 64 lifted him to 10 under. That was three better than Nathan Kimsey – whose professional golfer girlfriend Lauren Taylor won the 2011 Women's Amateur at Portrush – and Curtis Knipes, who qualified for the 2019 Open. Derbyshire amateur Sebastian Cave and Dane John Axelsen completed the five qualifiers. A brilliant second round saw Dean Burmester top qualifying at Royal Cinque Ports. Photo: Richard Sellers/PA. At Dundonald, amateur Connor Graham won a play-off to join fellow Scot Daniel Young, Spain's Angel Hidalgo, Swede Jesper Sandborg and Westwood in qualifying. Advertisement Another LIV golfer, Lucas Herbert, finished top at West Lancashire, near Liverpool, with an eight-under total after rounds of 69 and 67. That was one better than China's Sampson Zheng, with England's George Bloor third and amateur Richard Teder – who holed out from the fairway for eagle at the third extra hole to become the first Estonian to play at The Open – and Finland's Oliver Lindell coming through a four-man play-off. England's Jacob McGoldrick endured a roller-coaster end to his qualifying as a hole-in-one at the 15th put him in line to progress, only to card two late bogeys to miss the play-off by one. At Burnham & Berrow in Somerset, Cornwall-born PGA Tour winner Harry Hall qualified alongside winner Justin Walters, who finished nine under, Dane Jakob Skov Olesen, amateur Frazer Jones and fellow Englishman OJ Farrell. Advertisement
