Ian Poulter has commended Rory McIlroy for recent comments made by the Northern Irishman surrounding the future of golf while also accusing an unnamed third party of being "two faced" in a surprising social-media post.
Nicknamed 'The Postman', Poulter shared two separate Instagram stories on Tuesday, January 16 in which he indirectly took aim at people who he believed had changed their mind with regard to LIV Golf and its involvement in the sport moving forward.
Poulter said: "Being two-faced is a terrible trait. 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 b*****it."
In the second post, he said: "Just for clarity, I applaud Rory McIlroy for his comments a few weeks ago. 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."
McIlroy had been one of the fiercest critics of LIV during its early days but has recently softened his stance and admitted that it "is now a part of our sport" while offering up an idea for it be integrated with a genuine world-wide tour. The 34-year-old suggested LIV runs in two blocked-out points in the golfing calendar in order to put team play under the microscope.
He said: “What I would love LIV to turn into is almost like the Indian Premier League of golf. The IPL in cricket, they take two months during the calendar, you have four weeks in May and four weeks in November, and you go and do this team stuff – it’s a bit different, and it’s a different format. If they were to do something like that, I think that sounds like fun – you’re at least working within the ecosystem."
While it is unclear exactly who Poulter has taken issue with, the Englishman's relative praise for McIlroy ruled him out of contention and further clouds the mystery surrounding the guilty party.
Poulter and McIlroy have been paired together at the Ryder Cup on six separate occasions since the latter's debut in 2010 - recording just 2.5 points.
In 2021 at Whistling Straits - as Team USA utterly dominated proceedings from start to finish - Poulter and McIlroy lost 5&3 to Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay on Friday afternoon. The European pair later fell 4&3 on Saturday afternoon against Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa.
At Le Golf National in 2018, the pair took one point from their two matches together after claiming a 4&2 victory over Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson in Friday afternoon's fourballs. They then fell 4&3 against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth on Saturday afternoon.
Poulter and McIlroy managed a half together when facing off against Jimmy Walker and Rickie Fowler in the Saturday afternoon foursomes at Gleneagles in 2014. The former pair had previously secured a point for Team Europe during the early stages of the Miracle at Medinah in 2012 when they beat Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson 1up in the Saturday afternoon fourballs.
