Ian Poulter told the new Netflix golf series it would be “devastating” if he misses out on the Ryder Cup captaincy as he revealed his soul-searching before joining LIV Golf.
The Team Europe legend will be among LIV stars who will learn if they can keep playing on the DP World Tour at an arbitration panel hearing starting in London today. Poulter, dubbed the Postman for delivering Ryder Cup points, had been lined up to captain Europe in 2025 before joining the Saudi-breakaway league.
He hinted last month he might refuse to play in Rome even if he is allowed to qualify. But Poulter, 47, has taken a starring role in the new eight-part series called Full Swing - golf’s answer to Formula One’s Drive to Survive - giving behind-the-scenes access to the tour.
And speaking before confirming signing for the Saudi-backed breakaway league last year, Poulter admitted: “We just don’t know how it would compromise any possibility of playing or captaining the Ryder Cup side. It is a difficult decision - and a decision with so many uncertainties.”
And the Florida-based star also gave an insight into his motivation for accepting the LIV money - and possibly getting banned - after earning over $28m on the PGA Tour. “Growing up in Stevenage, we as a family never had luxury items,” said the father-of-four. “It gave me the want to succeed at a very early age.
“My whole life is about trying to work hard and provide. The fact of there being guaranteed money at play is obviously an attraction. People ask all the time: ‘Don’t you have enough already?’ But that is all relative. I treat my golf as a job and I want to obviously maximise every bit of my potential over the coming years. I am 46 years old. I am not getting any younger.
"There are so many deciding factors in this. I love the Ryder Cup. And if one day I get the opportunity to be Ryder Cup captain, I would absolutely love it. If you do play for LIV, would it be a factor in not being able to be captain down the road? It would be devastating if it were to be taken away. That would be really disappointing.”
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The episode “Money or Legacy” shows Poulter shouting “f***” and throwing practice equipment in frustration after losing to Matt Fitzpatrick at the World Match Play and missing out on the Masters. Before the US PGA, he admitted: “There is always that question of: ‘Are you losing your touch?’ Because you are not succeeding as much as you were in the first ten years on tour. I don’t want to feel that my time is coming to an end as a competitor.”
And after missing the cut in Tulsa, the now world No.135 admitted: “You are there for five days, packing your bags and leaving without getting a cheque. Working for free doesn’t float my boat.” Poulter is shown at the first LIV event in June refusing to answer my question about whether he would play anywhere - even in Vladimir Putin ’s Russia - if the money were right.
He does not address the human rights issue in the Netfix doc. But he pointed out he has played on the PGA, European, Japanese and Korean Tours and said: “As an independent contractor, I am doing nothing different to what I have always done. The hope in this is that we can all co-exist.”
LIV players were fined £100,000 and suspended for two weeks for teeing up on the Saudi-backed tour last year because they had not been given permission to play in a conflicting event. A temporary injunction last July has allowed LIV players to continue to compete on the DP World Tour, with Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy clashing in Dubai.
Speaking about his opposition to LIV Golf, McIlroy said: “It has been contentious at times and I have maybe leaned into that part a little too much. And made it a little too personal in my mind. But I feel like what some people have done has affected the rest of the profession. I am just trying to defend what I think is right.”
Thirteen players -including Poulter and Lee Westwood - are seeking a judgement on the bans from a behind-closed-doors Sports Resolutions hearing which is scheduled to run until Friday with the verdict expected in the next few weeks.
Full Swing is available on Netflix from February 15.
