English golf stars Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter were left squirming after they were quizzed by Mirror Sport’s Neil McLeman after the pair linked up with the controversial LIV Golf Invitational Series. Westwood and Poulter are two of the biggest names to commit to the Saudi-backed breakaway circuit.
On Wednesday both appeared in front of the world’s media, and unsurprisingly a number of questions surrounding their contentious appearance in the Series’ inaugural event were thrown at them. McLeman led the way, questioning the morality of the rebel circuit, due to the poor human rights record of the Saudi Arabian Government - who are funding the event.
The newly introduced series has been heavily labelled as an act of ‘sports washing’ from the Saudi state, and this idea was put towards both Westwood and Poulter following their signing up.
Comparing the human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia to Vladimir Putin, and asking whether Westwood and Poulter would compete in an event run by the Russian invader, McLeman asked: “Is there anywhere in the world you wouldn't play? If Vladimir Putin had a tournament, would you play there?”
Looking completely stumped, Poulter was the first to answer, awkwardly responding: “That's just speculation, I'm not even going to comment on speculation.” Reiterating his point the Mirror Sport reporter quickly replied: “Is there anywhere you wouldn't play on a moral basis, if the money was right?”
Taking a long pause, Poulter added: “I don't need to answer that question.” After getting little out of the Ryder Cup stalwart, McLeman then turned his attention to Westwood, quizzing him with a similar question to those posed to his fellow competitor Poulter.
Westwood was asked: “Lee, do you want to answer it? Would you have played in Apartheid South Africa for example?” Looking uncomfortable, the 25-time DP World Tour winner responded: “You are just asking us to answer hypothetical questions now.”
What do you make of Poulter and Westwood's decision? Let us know in the comments section below.
As well as the English duo, six-time major champion Phil Mickelson also faced the music of the press following his late decision to make the Saudi switch. Like Poulter and Westwood, Mickelson was also quizzed on the morality surrounding the controversial competition, referencing the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
He said: “I don’t condone human rights violations at all. I’m certainly aware of what has happened with Jamal Khashoggi and I think it’s terrible. I have also seen the good that the game of golf has done throughout history and I believe LIV Golf is going to do a lot of good for the game as well.”
