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Ian Poulter threatened to have a heckler removed from a recent LIV Golf tournament while pitching a profanity laced fit. The Englishman had apparently heard enough, and he made it known with an on-course explosion
A video of the argument has now gone viral, showing the golfer shouting obscenities in the direction of a fan in Houston on Sunday. He was NOT happy.
Ian Poulter has a history of incidents with fans dating back to his time before LIV.
In 2016, he took to Twitter to get an online heckler in trouble with his employer. A few years later, he had a fan kicked off the course at the 2019 WGC-St. Jude Invitational.
He’s gone as far as to call for heckling to be removed from tournaments altogether, saying that “idiots that can’t handle a couple of beers,” don’t deserve to be in attendance.
“It’s a shame. I hope going forward, we can control it more and get it stamped out because it’s not needed in the game of golf.”
Ian Poulter found himself involved with another heckler on Sunday.
The golfer had a rough week in Houston, which began with his bags being left off his flight into the States.
Houston, we have a (suitcase) problem🤣🤦🏼 #Houston #Texas #LostBags pic.twitter.com/hWy1ysyOzC
— Majesticks GC (@MajesticksGC) June 4, 2024
His performance over the weekend wouldn’t do much to ease frustrations.
While he combined to go five-under on Friday and Saturday, a miserable +7 on Sunday removed him from individual contention. Those struggles were magnified by the heckler following him around the course, and he eventually exploded.
“Why don’t you f— off?” he shouted in his obscene outburst. “I suggest you shut the f— up. Next time, he’s out.”
Social media immediately responded.
“Golf, but louder!” one follower wrote, sarcastically referencing LIV’s slogan.
“Growing the game of golf one fan interaction at a time,” another person commented.
“He’s kicking out one of the only fans that’s actually there,” this reply read.
The original poster of the video said that the heckler had twice targeted Ian Poulter prior to this incident. This was the final tipping point.
Unfortunately, it provided a frustrating finish to the tournament for the golfer, both on and off the course.