Not all of the LIV Golf and PGA Tour tensions involving players have gone away.
As cooler heads have started to prevail — 19 months after the first batch of big names defected from the PGA and DP World Tour (European Tour) to LIV Golf — English golfer Ian Poulter posted a message that indicated he isn’t over some of the vitriol directed his way since the move.
“Being two faced is a terrible trait,” Poulter, who plays for LIV, wrote on his Instagram Story. “I’d be embarrassed having to change my story now and come out and try and look smart.
“I’m happy to sit down and have it out. I will happily say it as it is. Enough of the bulls–t.”
At first glance, the assumption could be that this message was directed at Rory McIlroy.
The Northern Irishman was the most outspoken of the PGA players in villainizing the players who left for LIV Golf.
And recently, McIlroy has softened his stance and admitted he was “too judgmental” of those players.
However, Poulter quickly posted a second message that noted McIlroy was not his intended target.
“Just for clarity, I applaud Rory McIlroy for his comments a few weeks ago,” Poulter wrote. “It takes a lot to say the things he said. Nothing that can’t be fixed over a good cup of coffee.
“It’s the others who blatantly choose to try and NOW become heroes all of a sudden. You have to be kidding me. That will NOT be fixed over a coffee.”
It remains unclear exactly who the 48-year-old Poulter is talking about.
However, Poulter’s comments come shortly after departing DP World Tour chief Keith Pelley slammed American players for not being more accepting of a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund — the same group that financially backs LIV — after a framework agreement was announced in March.
“PIF certainly understands the importance of being global,” Pelley said last week, according to Sky Sports. “This is a global game. Every business now that is growing wants to be global. I think the PGA Tour is coming to the realization that globality is the key for growth. They have heard me say it once or twice.
“I think some of the top players in the U.S. are starting to realize that that’s exactly what the purpose of the Framework Agreement was. It was to unify the game.
“Unfortunately, some of the top players in the U.S. didn’t support it, which we needed them to. I think they are realizing now that the best way forward is to unify the game.”
That comes after Pelley opposed players being able to play on both the DP World Tour and LIV Golf and fought off a lawsuit from a group of international LIV defectors.
Poulter was one of three players to file an appeal of the decision that briefly allowed competitors to play on both tours.
