Poulter Accuses DP World Tour Of Withholding Footage

Ian Poulter made a controversial return to the DP World Tour at the D+D Real Czech Masters in Prague. He did so while he awaits the final outcome of a legal battle to suspend him from the DP World Tour after his decision to play in the LIV Golf Invitational Series.

Poulter finished tied for 23rd in the tournament, and had hoped to share some of the highlights of his performance on social media. However, according to a tweet from NUCLR GOLF, Poulter is claiming he has been denied access to the footage – something that in previous tournaments he’s had no issue with.

In a statement, Poulter said: “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.”

The message finishes with Poulter saying: “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.”

The news is the latest twist in a long-running saga between the Englishman and the Tour that first saw Poulter and several other LIV Golf players fined $100,000 for playing in the opening event in the Series. They were also suspended from the Genesis Scottish Open, Barbasol Championship and Barracuda Championship which are all joint-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour. Poulter was eventually allowed to play in the Genesis Scottish Open after overturning the ban following legal action that saw the judge grant a temporary stay of suspension ahead of a final ruling.

The 46-year-old has always maintained his desire to continue playing on the DP World Tour, and told The Guardian in July: “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.”

Poulter has vowed to play in next month’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, and time will tell if he’ll be able to share footage of his performance. If the events of this week are anything to go by, though, that could be wishful thinking.