Former PGA of America president reflects on losing his job for a remark on Ian Poulter - “It is the biggest regret of my life”
Former PGA of America president Ted Bishop opened up about the time when he lost his job after making a controversial comment about Ian Poulter. In 2014, the then-president of the PGA of America Bishop lost the position after making a controversial comment about the English golfer.
The incident happened ten years ago, and recently, in a phone interview with Sports Illustrated, Bishop opened up about it and called it the "biggest regret" of his life. He said:
"Trust me, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about it. It’s the biggest regret of my life. I felt like we did a lot of good things in those two years and it didn’t end the way I envisioned."
“I’ve said this many times. I make no excuses. It was a bonehead move. It had been a rough few weeks after the Ryder Cup, and I just kind of got sucked into the moment. It was really unfortunate and unfortunately there is nothing I can do about it," he added.
It all happened in 2014 after Ian Poulter released his book No Limits, in which the Englishman was critical of Ryder Cup captains Sir Nick Faldo and Tom Watson. Faldo, a six-time Major winner, was the captain of the European Ryder Cup team in 2008 when they lost against the USA, while Tom Watson was the American team captain in 2014 when the team lost at Gleneagles.
Poulter shared his opinion on the captains and was critical of their methods used at the biennial tournament. However, this did not sit well with Ted Bishop, and he slammed the Englishman and called him a "little girl." He tweeted, via USA Today:
"Faldo's record stands by itself. Six majors and all-time RC points. Yours vs. His? Lil girl."
Bishop made another post on his Facebook, writing:
"Really? Sounds like a little school girl squealing during recess. C'MON MAN!"
Although Bishop quickly realized his mistake and deleted the post, it had already spread like wildfire on the internet. Soon afterward, the PGA of America voted against him, and he was removed from his position.
Over the years, things changed. While Bishop reportedly received calls from the PGA for reinstatement, he joined The Legends Golf Club in Franklin. Poulter, on the other hand, joined LIV Golf and also gave up his DP World Tour membership.
When Ian Poulter expressed his desire to be the Ryder Cup captain
Poulter left the DP World Tour to compete on LIV Golf, which ultimately diminished his chances for the Ryder Cup. However, the PGA Tour and PIF, the financial backbone for LIV Golf, have been in talks for a merger deal.
Amidst this, earlier this year, in an interview with Al Arabiya English, Poulter expressed his desire to be the Ryder Cup captain. He said:
“It’s been a huge part of my golfing life, some of the proudest moments of my career. I’m hopeful one day there’s a sense of coming together that would enable the likes of myself… the opportunity to be able to become captain. Let’s see what happens, there’s going to need to be some compromise. I’m hopeful one day we’ll see it.”
Notably, Ian Poulter is one of the most successful golfers in Ryder Cup history. He has an impressive record of 15-8-2 at the event.