19th Hole

Ian Poulter opens up on “tough times” that followed LIV Golf announcement

Published

3 years ago

Feb 27, 2023

Ian Poulter, frequent European Ryder hero, has admitted that he feels the opposition to LIV is hard to understand but “fair,” although he doesn’t understand why “they take it so far.”

The 47-year-old winner of three PGA Tour events and 12 European titles was the star of episode three of the Netflix documentary titled ‘Money or Legacy’

During the episode Poulter discusses his no-loss record at the Ryder Cup singles, family life, getting older, and, of course, the decision surrounding an offer to join the Saudi-led money-rich tour.

After opening 2022 with a tied-sixth in Abu Dhabi, Poulter had a best of 30th over his next 10 outings, including missing the cut in Texas and at the PGA Championship.

Having missed the weekend at Southern Hills, and therefore again missing out on prize-money, Poults says: “Working for free doesn’t float my boat.”

Asked if he would join LIV, he replies, “It’s a business decision. It’s an opportunity, so we’ll see.”

He expanded on that once returning to his UK home, saying, “The fact of there being guaranteed money at play is obviously an attraction. People ask all the time, don’t you have enough already? But that’s all relative. I treat my golf as a job, and I want to obviously maximize every bit of my potential over the coming years.”

Last week, though, Poulter said he simply couldn’t understand the vitriol that has been directed at the players.

The Florida-based player told The Telegraph’s James Corrigan that he took to comfort eating to overcome the abuse and negative comments surrounding his decision to join LIV.

“Those sarnies, covered in HP sauce, on a daily basis, were great, delicious, as was all the chocolate and everything, but I was feeling awful, slovenly, and it was plainly not a pleasant situation.

“I would never admit that I was stress-eating, but who knows the way the mind works? I was getting ridiculous abuse and, in that sense, they were tough times.”

He continued by saying he felt appearing on the series had proved very positive, and that viewers had changed their opinion of him.

“After the first seven or eight months of having the same opinion shouted at me, I was worried how it would be received, but I have been taken aback by the response.

“I mean, scrolling through the messages, since it was released 10 days ago, it’s been one positive thing after another. The opposite of what I’ve become used to.”

Not only was the money a tempter, but that oft-quoted view on the choice to play less clearly weighed heavily on the decision.

“People ask all the time ‘don’t you have enough already?’ but that’s all relative. I treat my golf as a job and I obviously want to maximise every bit of my potential over the coming years. “

Poulter revealed in the episode that, “Over the 20-plus years, I’ve been away for over 50% of their [four children’s] growth, missing birthdays, walking, talking, first steps. It’s hard sometimes when you sit back and you’ve missed all of that, but yet you’ve hopefully secured them a nice path moving forward.”

Poults, who finished an ironic runner-up behind Henrik Stenson – European Ryder Cup captain until his own jump to LIV – at the 2009 Players at Sawgrass, is also more positive about his chances of making this year’s Ryder Cup team, but only if he does it via his own results.

“Look, I just want to be accepted as a normal member of a members’ organisation and as an independent contractor who wants to play golf globally–simple as that. We’ll find out if that’s possible soon enough, although I’ll have to play my way into the team anyway because there’s no chance I’ll get one of the six wildcards, whatever I do.”

The appearance on Netflix has clearly done him the world of good, and Poults appears ready to give it all he has over the next few months.

Now back to what he calls his “fighting weight”, the owner of IJP Design says he is “doing it more seriously than ever, with my training and my diet.”

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

1 month ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”