Poulter leaves the door half open
Ian Poulter joined LIV Golf in 2022, among the first wave of players to walk away from the established tours. Four years on he will not say whether he plans to tee it up again.
Poulter set out his position in an Instagram message after LIV closed its 2026 season in Indianapolis last weekend. He thanked the league, defended his decision to join it, and then declined to commit to anything beyond October.
“Some players will stay, some may go. As for me, I may stay or take some time off. I genuinely haven’t decided yet,” he wrote.
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A league waiting on an investor
The uncertainty runs well past one player. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund confirmed it would cut its funding once the 2026 season ended, and LIV chief executive Scott O’Neil announced this month that the league had reached agreement with a new lead investor whose identity has not been made public. A term sheet has been signed. O’Neil expects a transaction in September.
The Team Championship in Michigan, scheduled for this weekend, was cancelled. Bryson DeChambeau told players and fans there was “something fun coming” and argued the circuit still has room to grow.
Poulter aimed his own concern elsewhere. “This final phase has been tough and none of us knows exactly what comes next,” he wrote. “My thoughts are especially with the businesses and suppliers still owed money. Some are small businesses and I sincerely hope those situations are dealt with properly and quickly.”
Back on the DP World Tour in October
Poulter and Majesticks team-mate Lee Westwood have paid off the fines that kept them out of DP World Tour events and will return in October at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
His LIV record reads oddly against a career of three PGA Tour titles, 12 DP World Tour wins and five Ryder Cups. In five seasons on the breakaway circuit Poulter never won an individual or team event. He points instead at Littlesticks, the Majesticks programme that has pushed golf into the PE curriculum of more than 200 schools and put clubs in the hands of over 40,000 children.
“I’ve never hidden from the financial side,” he wrote. “LIV gave me a significant opportunity late in my career and I took it.”
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