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Ian Poulter blasts DP World Tour over media restrictions; DP World Tour responds

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Ian Poulter was once the darling of the European golf world.

Known as ‘The Postman’ for his ability to always deliver the points at the Ryder Cup, his inspiration as a team player far outstripped the 12 European and three PGA titles he won as an individual.

However, since joining the LIV series, some of those fervent supporters have gone by the wayside, some even jeering him at the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews, and things don’t seem to have improved yet.

Initially banned by the DP World Tour from three events, including the Scottish Open, Poulter overturned that decision in the courts, eventually missing the cut at The Renaissance Club before finishing tied-62 at St. Andrews and tied-23 at last weekend’s Czech Masters.

Whilst that was his best finish since Abu Dhabi in January, the 46-year-old couldn’t wait to take to social media to show his annoyance at apparently being treated differently to other members of the tour.

His Twitter post briefly told us what he thought:

However, on his Instagram story, Poulter went to town:

“I thought I was still a member of the DP World Tour but I guess they have other ideas,” he claimed, before continuing.

“Really sorry that I am unable to share any good TV clips of us from the @czechmastersofficial or any @dpworldtour tournament moving forward as @dpworldtour have denied us any footage that was freely available and they’d be happy to share on request in the past. We will do what we can to share content as we can. Sorry friends.”

“I thought I was still a member of the @dpworldtour but I guess they have other ideas. Well actually I am but I’m being treated very differently to a member. Sorry fans I hope we all have a resolve on this as soon as possible.”

This week, the DP World Tour hit back hard.

A spokesman for the ruling body told Bunkered.com that

“Based on the recent ruling by Sport Resolutions UK, Ian Poulter is permitted to play in tournaments on the DP World Tour and is at no competitive disadvantage in those appearances.

“However, his participation is not contingent upon him receiving any off-course benefits from the DP World Tour.”

Poulter seems to be playing on one reason given by Phil Mickelson for joining LIV at the start of the controversy. Back then, Mickelson said he wanted to instigate change in the way the PGA Tour handles media rights and the options offered to players.

The ‘freedom’ to play less golf, spend more time with family and the shotgun 54-hole starts were also offered as valid reasons for jumping ship.

As Mark Fox, of The Plugged Lie podcast, replied though:

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19th Hole

‘F*** around and find out’ – Phil Mickelson fires warning shot over LIV’s access to majors in since-deleted tweet

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On Sunday, the social media account “Flushing It” made a post about the importance of LIV Golf ensuring that their players have major championship eligibility going forward.

“LIV can have the grandest of plans for their future but getting players access to major championships should be their number 1 priority. Especially with the major exemptions running out fast and nearly all player contracts up for renewal this year and next.”

Phil Mickelson then responded to the post, warning the golf world that excluding LIV players from majors will have unintended consequences, saying “FAAFO” which means “f*** around and find out”.

“Maybe some LIV players won’t be missed. But what if NONE of the LIV players played? Would they be missed? What about next year when more great players join? Or the following year? At some point they will care and will have to answer to sponsors and television. FAAFO”

His post has since been deleted, but there are plenty of screenshots out there.

It will be easier said than done, but it does appear that some sort of agreement between LIV and the majors could be coming in the future if the PGA Tour and LIV aren’t able to mend fences.

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Greg Norman reveals plan for LIV to own all their golf courses and each team to have a home venue

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In an interview with Bloomberg, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman discussed the current state of LIV and what it means for the future of professional golf.

In the interview, Norman said he believes that LIV has been welcomed with “open arms.”

“Our product is received with open arms by many, but a few want to try and stop us for all the wrong reasons. They haven’t been able to sustain their position in the game of golf. What we have done brilliantly is injected more capital. Golf is finally looked upon as an asset class.”

Interestingly, Norman also revealed future plans for LIV to own all the courses they play and have home courses for each team.

“Man United owns their stadium. Indian Premier League, they own their stadiums. NFL, they own their stadiums. Think about LIV owning all their own golf courses, each team having a home venue and they host. And now you can build out around that. It’s not just a golf course. You bring in education, you bring in hospitality, you bring in real estate, you bring in merchandise, you bring in management, you bring in all these other different opportunities that the game of golf has to deliver to a community, to a region. We are gonna be doing that.

“The Philippines are very keen to get us there. Golf in the Philippines is doing very well. We are not just sport, we’re sports and entertainment and culture. So no matter where we go in the world, we adjust what we need to deliver from an entertainment standpoint.”

Norman also talked about his time as the number one player in the world when the best players in the world didn’t always play on the same tour.

“That never happened anyway. Right? I was number one player in the world. Very seldom did I go and play in the United States or Europe or Asia or anything. Did I play against the best in the world outside the four majors and maybe the TPC? They’re the five, right? So very, very seldom did that happen. We got all paid appearance money to go play somewhere.”

Norman added that LIV “isn’t going anywhere.”

“My boss told me LIV is not going to go anywhere. It will be well and truly in operation, running well past his death – he’s a young guy.”

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19th Hole

“Is it a Titleist?” – Jerry Seinfeld shares never-before-heard details of iconic scene

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On Thursday, legendary comedian Jerry Seinfeld joined the Rich Eisen Show and shared an awesome story from a “Seinfeld” episode titled “The Marine Biologist.”

In the episode, a golf ball goes into the blow hole of a whale. According to Seinfeld, that was never in the episode’s script.

Seinfeld recalls saying the night before the filming of the episode, “What if what puts the whale in distress is Kramer’s golf ball?”

“He’s hitting golf balls at the beach. George is at the beach with a girl, we haven’t connected them!”

“We write that speech the night before at two o’clock in the morning…The sea was angry that day my friend.”

 

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A post shared by Rich Eisen (@richeisen)


Kramer finishes the iconic scene by asking “Is it a Titleist?” Seinfeld told Eisen the show sought Titleist’s permission to mention its name, saying the ball had to be a Titleist. Fortunately for lovers of the iconic show, the company agreed.

If (somehow) you’re unfamiliar with the scene, check it out below.

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