LIV Golf rebel Ian Poulter has continued his ongoing feud with the DP World Tour, after the Englishman made his controversial return to the Wentworth-based circuit. Poulter has been at battle with the tour in recent months following his controversial switch to LIV.
Despite this, the Englishman was back in DP World Tour action this week as he competed at the Czech Masters. In spite of making his return his continued battle raged on, after accusing the circuit of denying him from using footage of himself from his week in Prague.
Poulter took to Instagram to make the claims, adding that he felt he was ‘treated very differently’ to the rest of the playing quota in the field.
Posting on his Instagram story, he wrote: “Really sorry that I am unable to share any good TV clips of us from the @czechmastersofficial or any @dpworldtour tournament moving forward as @dpworldtour have denied us any footage that was freely available and they’d be happy to share on request in the past. We will do what we can to share content as we can. Sorry friends.
“I thought I was still a member of the @dpworldtour but I guess they have other ideas. Well actually I am but I’m being treated very differently to a member. Sorry fans I hope we all have a resolve on this as soon as possible.”
One piece of footage in particular that Poulter was keen to share was a near hole-in-one miss at the par three 16th on Sunday, which he went on to birdie. Commenting on his Instagram he added: “Not that I can show you but you’ll have to take my word for it.
“We nearly made a hole in one on the 16th hole today which would have been some good content…” His two at 16 was one of six birdies Poulter carded on day four of the event, as he shot a bogey-free six-under-par 66 to finish nine-under for the tournament in a tie for 23rd.
His comments on Sunday continue his feud with the DP World Tour, with whom he was locked in a legal battle over his switch. Following his LIV Golf move, the tour banned Poulter and a number of other defectors from competing at the Scottish Open in July.
The 46-year-old - alongside Justin Harding and Adrian Otaegui - went on to overturn the decision though, after winning an appeal against the suspension. Speaking to the Guardian last month, Poulter insisted he will continue to compete on the tour despite the sport’s continuing civil war.
He said: “I feel comfortable in the position that I have always committed to the European Tour. This has always been my home tour for 24 years. Why should that change?
"When you have been with a tour for 24 years and never given your card up, played 389 events and been as committed to this tour as anyone – quite a few have given their card up through the years. You don’t want to feel like you have been completely pushed out.”
