Ryder Cup legend Ian Poulter never likes getting beaten, but he wasn’t too disappointed to see a certain someone get the better of him in a recent one-on-one.
Speaking ahead of the International Series England at Close House, Poulter, who famously never got beaten in a Ryder Cup singles match, revealed that his son, Luke, recently claimed victory over him for the very first time.
“So we actually played Queenwood, three weeks ago, and it was a cool match,” he said. “We were going up the last, and I basically had a five foot putt to tie him, and I missed it.”
It means the charismatic Englishman, who now plies his trade on LIV Golf, is now in danger of losing the title of best golfer in the Poulter family, although he’d be only too happy to see his son go on and enjoy a successful professional career.
“It took 19 years for him to finally beat me. But, you know, the day was always coming when he would have that opportunity and it's just it's pretty special,” joked Poulter Senior, who will be joined in the field this week by his son, as well as the Westwoods, 25-time DP World Tour winner, Lee, and his son, Sam.
I know this has felt a very long time coming… But Luke we couldn’t more proud. Winning isn’t easy and it’s not supposed to be. The hours of hard work and disappointments make this all the sweeter. You will reach your goals and more.. 👍🏼🙏🏼👊🏼💪🏼🐊 @GatorsGolf love ya buddy ❤️ pic.twitter.com/9zOyOKXzTWDecember 13, 2022
“It's pretty cool to be in a position to have your son playing in the same golf tournament as you,” Poulter said. “I mean, it's fairy tale stuff and I think I'm I might be more excited for him than he's excited in himself to play golf this week. So it's just going to be an amazing week.”
Despite the obvious pride for his son, Poulter, a player renowned for his hard work, spoke about the challenges Luke will face if he’s to make a living playing on Tour.
There are thousands of really good golfers nowadays competing on many, many tours and he knows, to be one of those, he's going to have to work exceptionally hard,” Poulter said. “So he's doing that. He's working hard and hopefully he can reap the rewards of that very soon.”
A strong field has gathered for this week’s Asian Tour event, including a number of other LIV players, and Poulter says it will “be a good test” for his son, a Florida freshman who captured his first collegiate victory in the 2022 Willow Cup at Willow Point Golf and Country Club in Alabama.
“He's used to having to play really good golf to compete with the best players,” said Poulter. “This field just happens to be a bit better than the players that he's used to playing with right now.”
The 15-time DP World Tour winner, added: “It's not going to be comfortable for him, but he needs to try and feel as comfortable as you possibly can and just go out and have some fun.
“It's going to be a good test for him. It will put him in a good place leading into college next week, and hopefully he can have a great week.”
