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Ian Poulter called out the Ryder Cup for not wishing him a happy birthday yesterday (January 10) on his 47th birthday. He was integral in the building of the Ryder Cup, which is more closely associated with the PGA Tour and features European golfers vs. Americans.
Poulter tweeted in response to a highlight video shared by the official Ryder Cup Twitter:
"What’s really an 'incredible touch' is the Players that helped build the [Ryder Cup] Brand with other players as well. You just can’t bring yourself to say a simple Happy Birthday. [Sergio Garcia's] B’day Yesterday. Unfortunately this says so much."
What Poulter may not have realized at the time was that his new golf league hadn't wished him a happy birthday yet, either. PGA TUOR on Twitter caught this ironic happening.
Poulter has been a big member of LIV Golf and is a huge proponent of its success. They, along with the Ryder Cup, did not wish him a happy birthday. It seems that they saw his response online and immediately put together a graphic and sent out the tweet not even half an hour later.
The Ryder Cup is associated with the PGA Tour. As a result, they typically stay away from anything pertaining to LIV Golf. That includes members, even if they were once very important to the Ryder Cup.
The divide continues to grow between LIV Golf and the rest of the sport. The lack of a happy birthday tweet isn't the end of the world, but Poulter is right- it is a bit telling.
How high was Ian Poulter ranked?
Before LIV Golf was created, pretty much every professional golfer was on the PGA Tour. That includes Ian Poulter, who may just be the loudest LIV golfer there is right now. He's become staunchly anti-PGA Tour as they've turned cold towards him and his counterparts.
When he was on the PGA Tour, he was a very good golfer. He had three wins on it, 12 on the European Tour and a number on other tours.
In the OWGR, he ranked as high as five in 2010. Unfortunately, he cannot reach that height ever again.
OWGR doesn't count LIV Golf events in their rankings. As Poulter is currently not even ranked, he can't possibly perform well enough to make it back to the heights he once knew.
This is yet another example of the growing divide Ian Poulter referenced on Twitter.
