Ian Poulter‘s LIV Golf career is hanging in the balance with the Englishman currently in the Drop Zone heading into the final individual event of the season this week in Indianapolis.
The Ryder Cup legend joined the Saudi-backed breakaway tour in 2022 as a co-captain of the Majesticks GC franchise alongside fellow Ryder Cup stalwarts Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson.
If Poulter does not finish at least inside the top 24 this week his fate will be sealed for now, with LIV Golf reporting that he has just a 6.4% chance of avoiding relegation.
If he does indeed end in the Drop Zone, the question will turn to what’s next? He would still remain as an owner of the Majesticks team but without a LIV card.
Relegation does not automatically mean the end of what has been an illustrious 30-year playing career, though.
Here are some potential scenarios if he loses his LIV card this week…
Return to LIV Golf?
Last year, Bubba Watson and Branden Grace were both relegated but were brought back onto their teams due to a rule that allowed players to keep their places if there was a ‘business case’ for their returns.
That, it seems, does not apply this year with new CEO Scott O’Neil at the helm and another application in with the Official World Golf Ranking to be sanctioned for points – which is believed to require LIV to have an official relegation policy with no gray areas.
That doesn’t spell the end of the road for Poulter in LIV Golf, though, as he would still have two remaining avenues.
The first of those is via the International Series ranking, where the top player earns a full LIV Golf card for next season.
The Asian Tour series is backed by LIV Golf and features 10 elevated tournaments around the world.
There have been four events so far this year, with six more to come between October and November. Poulter would likely play in the majority of those if he were to get relegated and was set on earning his status back.
International Series remaining tournaments:
- Indonesian Masters, Oct 2-5
- International Series Cambodia, Oct 9-12
- International Series Philipines, Oct 23-26
- Hong Kong Open, Oct 30-Nov 2
- Singapore Open, Nov 6-9
- Saudi International, Nov 19-22
Poulter’s other route back to LIV Golf would be via the Promotions Event in December, where the winner earns a card for next…
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