Ian Poulter is a man who plays his finest golf when he has fire in his veins. Being booed on the first tee at St Andrews on Thursday morning for participating in the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series might just have been what he needed.
Not that you’d have been able to tell at the time. Usually a crowd favourite, Poulter responded shakily and with the widest fairway in all golf to aim at, he pulled his mid-iron tee shot horribly to the left and nearly dumped it out of bounds.
The 46-year-old is one of 24 players in the field who have signed up to the controversial Saudi-backed breakaway series and was the first of those to go out in the morning.
His ball finished just a couple of yards short of the out of bounds line which borders The Links road on the fringe of the course.
Poulter produced a good recovery, however, and made par at the 355-yard first.
Then, as he reached the turn at the ninth, Poulter produced the magic that had once made him so loved. Driving onto the green but 160 yards from the flag, Poulter drained the putt for eagle to move into a tie for the lead.
Ian Poulter, usually a fan favourite, was booed on the first tee of The Open at St Andrews
Poulter responded shakily and nearly pulled his tee shot out of bounds on golf’s widest fairway
But on the ninth, Poulter (left) drained a stunning 160 foot putt to take a share of the lead
Whether his celebration was aimed at the crowd or about his putt, only Poulter knows
Any jitters from his reception on the first had clearly gone. He celebrated by holding his hand up to his visor – which is promoting a cryptocurrency – and appeared to look out over the green.
Whether he was responding to the earlier boos or gesturing over how far away the flag was, only he knows.
Then, on the 10th, a putt from around 12 feet for birdie and an outright share of the lead burned the side of the cup.
It’s possible this is the last time Poulter is seen at an Open Championship. On the eve of the tournament R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers insisted banning LIV Golf rebels from next year’s Open is ‘not on the agenda’, but has not ruled out changing the championship’s entry criteria.
Poulter is one of 24 players in the field who have signed up to the controversial LIV golf series
Poulter responded well and rescued par on the first hole after his wayward tee shot
In a surprisingly strongly-worded statement before taking questions in his traditional pre-tournament press conference, Slumbers said the Saudi-funded breakaway was ‘entirely driven by money’ and not in the ‘best long-term interests of the game’.
The PGA Tour has suspended members who have competed in the breakaway without permission, while the DP World Tour fined players £100,000 and banned them from last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, but saw that temporarily stayed on appeal.
The R&A announced last month LIV players who were exempt for the Open would be allowed to compete at St Andrews, following the stance taken by the USGA in relation to the US Open.
But USGA chief executive Mike Whan did admit he could foresee it becoming harder for LIV players to qualify in the future, a view echoed by Slumbers.
Scottish home favourite Paul Lawrie earlier got the tournament underway in cool conditions
All eyes will be on Rory McIlroy when he gets going just before 10am local time
Former champion Paul Lawrie had earlier got the action under way in cool conditions.
The 53-year-old Scot, winner in 1999 at Carnoustie and originally given the honour of teeing off first on the Old Course 12 years ago, was first off at 6.35am.
A prevailing wind from the west meant most of the outward nine was into the breeze but it was not strong enough to cause any issues for the early starters, although it was forecast to pick up later in the day.
Lawrie and his playing partners Webb Simpson, the 2012 US Open champion, and Min-Woo Lee all made par at the 355-yard first but Lawrie three-putted the next for a bogey.
Rory McIlroy, the 2014 champion and one of the favourites this week, was due off at 9.58am with defending champion Collin Morikawa and last week’s Scottish Open winner Xander Schauffele. was expecting St Andrews to play tough and get tougher.
‘I think with the condition of the golf course, with a little bit of breeze, you can bomb it around here and hit driver and get it close to the greens, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to make birdies from those positions,’ was the Northern Irishman’s assessment.
‘I just think with the way the golf course is playing and how firm and fast it is, it’s just going to get super tricky by the end of the week.’
Tiger Woods, a two-time Open winner at St Andrews, was an afternoon starter alongside newly-crowned US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, and Max Homa.
