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Whether Ian Poulter wants to admit it—and on Tuesday at Scioto Country Club he cared not to—the fiery Englishman might be embarking this week on the next phase of his career.
Poulter, who turned 50 in January, makes his debut in senior golf at the 46th edition of the U.S. Senior Open, and he readily admits he has no idea what to expect. He has a bum knee and an abiding disdain for U.S. Open setups, and he has spent more time shaking hands and getting reacquainted with old friends he hasn’t seen for a number of years than he has hitting golf balls.
“Just catching up with old friends means quite a lot,” he said. “Just like old friends, school friends you haven’t seen for a long time, it’s pretty amazing.”
Well, he might be seeing more of his longtime pals in the not-too-distant future. The PGA Tour Champions might be his only reasonable avenue to competition in the coming years.
With the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia pulling its funding of the LIV Golf League, where Poulter has competed since 2022, the prospects for continuation of the upstart tour appear shaky at best. It is believed that Poulter’s contract with LIV expires at year’s end, and whether or not he re-signs probably hinges on whether the league will survive.
Poulter appeared nonplussed by the uncertainty of LIV’s existence beyond 2026.
“So look, I’m confident in what [CEO] Scott O’Neil and LIV are trying to do,” Poulter told Golf Digest after his pre-tournament press conference. “We can chat for days on ’what ifs,’ right? If they do and if they don’t, and if who, you know, it’s one of these, like, moving goalposts. We just don’t know. So, speculating on what I would do, I mean, I don’t know. The amazing thing I think for me is like, I’m 50, I have an option.”
Currently suspended by the PGA Tour after he joined LIV, Poulter said he is prepared to sit out a year, as Henrik Stenson and Pat Perez have done, before trying to play on the PGA Tour Champions. He added that he is “paid up” on his DP World Tour fines, so his access in Europe is secured. “I’m glad they have changed their position from five years ago and just have players play,” said Poulter, who has 12 DP World Tour wins. “I think things would have been extremely different to what golf looks like now.”
Poulter added that a third option is on the table for him. His sons. His oldest, Luke, is a highly ranked amateur who plays for the University of Florida, while his younger boy, Joshua, is improving steadily.
“Like I said, I’m in a fortunate position to have some options,” Poulter said. “If nothing else works out, I want to help Luke be the best player he can be, and I want to help Joshua become the best player he can be. This game has been amazing to me through 20-some years, and I want to enjoy it with them.”
As for his prospects this week at Scioto, which hosts its third U.S. Senior Open, Poulter is mildly optimistic only because he has begun to play better in his last few LIV events—despite suffering a freak knee injury at the Virginia event in early May. He tore the meniscus in his left knee walking up the clubhouse stairs at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C. He went on to post what at the time was his best finish of the year, a tie for 18th. He improved on that in his next start with a T-16 in Korea.
“Pretty much since [the injury] I’ve played some really nice golf, which makes no sense at all, whether that’s made me swing it a little smoother, I don’t really know,” he said. “The ball speed hasn’t changed, and I’ve kind of managed that situation with that knee. It’s fine to play on. I can walk comfortably. But my game has trended pretty well this season. I’ve probably played the best I have than any of the previous seasons, even though I’m now 50.”
The only competition in which he is hesitant to engage is with his son Luke, who is seventh in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Poulter might want to help his son become a better player, but to play alongside him is humbling. In November, Poulter and his sons had a chance to play Augusta National Golf Club, and father admitted that his oldest son, “gave me a pretty good hiding.
“I probably haven’t played with him 10 times in the last 12 months because his schedule and my schedule are different. I try to play with him, but I also try not to play with him, if that makes sense, because he hits it 40 yards past me. It’s a bit demoralising, to be honest.”
This week at Scioto is different, if only because he is one of the youngest players in the field. Good to be one of the youngsters again.
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Main Image: Josh Hedges
