ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Ian Poulter nearly did the unthinkable with his opening tee shot at The Old Course at St. Andrews.
He nearly toe-pulled an iron off the tee at the huge double fairway, which is considered the widest fairway in golf, out of bounds, a feat only performed by Ian-Baker Finch at the 1995 British Open, which effectively sent him into retirement as he battled the driver yips.
“When I walked off that 1st tee, (I thought) is it Ian James Finch or what could this be? It was 5 feet from out of bounds,” Poulter said. “The barrier was in the way, took a drop, and got off to a decent start after that really.”
Poulter, 46, made par at the first and by the end of the round signed for 3-under 69, a solid performance after an inauspicious start.
Afterward, he was asked if the boos he received from spectators near the first tee had anything to do with his dreadful tee shot.
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“Didn’t hear one,” Poulter said. “I actually thought I had a great reception on the first tee, to be honest. All I heard was clapping.”
When it was suggested that the boos were the result of Poulter joining LIV Golf, Poulter continued to downplay that he was heckled. (The heckling isn’t audible in the video of the shot posted on YouTube, but several tweets by those around the tee noted that Poulter didn’t get a warm welcome.)
“Oh, my gosh, I have heard not one heckle. In three weeks, I’ve heard nothing,” he said.
Poulter has been the most vocal player to oppose having his membership suspended by the PGA Tour, and was among the players who challenged the DP World Tour’s ban of LIV Defectors at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, a co-sanctioned event between the two tours. Eventually, he received a stay of his suspension and was allowed to compete. Poulter noted that he has ignored reading any of the stories being written about the upstart league’s challenge to the current golf world order, and claimed not to have heard R&A Secretary Martin Slumbers’ comments that took a hard stance against LIV Golf.
“Purposely haven’t looked at all. So I don’t want to know. You can tell me, I’m not going to listen. I’m here to play golf,” he said. “This could probably be my last Open Championship at St Andrews. So I’m trying to enjoy it despite the questioning.
“I’m staying out of the way. I’m not reading social media. I just want to play golf, right? I can only do my job. If I listen to…
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