"It’s alright Billy” - Ian Poulter teases Billy Horschel about the American's alleged unsuccessful bid to join LIV Golf
LIV golfer Ian Poulter issued a robust reply to his colleague Billy Horschel on social media on Saturday, 23 December. The English professional golfer claimed that Horschel expressed a keen interest in joining the Saudi-backed league in the past.
Taking to X (previously Twitter), Poulter replied to the seven-time PGA Tour Champion, indicating that the latter demanded a huge sum to join the LIV league. Ian Poulter stated:
“It’s alright Billy…. I’m normally ok with numbers.. So I got it wrong by about $9 Million per MPH difference that you asked for to come join LIV. What’s a few numbers between friends.’’
Check out the tweet below:
The friendly banter between the two began when Ian Poulter reacted to a tweet by @GolfloverUK that presented a comparison of golf balls and their distance. The three-time PGA Tour Champion, however, replied that his swing speed was 115 miles per hour and claimed that the facts mentioned in the tweet were incorrect as they did not specify the 'launch conditions'.
In response, the 37-year-old golfer proceeded to share some old data (specifically of 2020-2021 and 2021-2022) on his X handle, stating that Poulter's club head speed was 110.04 mph in 2020-21 and 110.53 in 2021-22 (as shown in the first tweet mentioned above).
Poulter was one of the first big-name golfers to join the Saudi-backed league, doing so in June 2022. Horschel, meanwhile, is playing on the PGA Tour and has criticized LIV Golf and golfers in the past.
Ian Poulter and Billy Horschel had a chat on the putting green in 2022
In the lead-up to last year's BMW Championship event, Ian Poulter and Billy Horschel found themselves on opposite sides. Horschel, a seasoned PGA Tour player, was seemingly upset about why LIV golfers, which included Poulter, were allowed to play at the Wilmington Country Club.
Billy Horschel said back in September 2022 (via The Sun):
“I honestly feel it’s a slap in the face to the rest of the members of this Tour. That they’re coming to play, I believe the biggest purse on the DP World Tour with a full field. They are going to be taking money out of guy’s pockets this week.”
A day before the event, the two golfers were observed engaging in a chat on the golf course. While the exact details of the chat were unclear, viral footage captured by George Cooper of National Club Golfer provided a glimpse of the incident.
Poulter later refuted reports of a dispute and even went on to spoof the video on his social media account, emphasizing that everything was amicable between the two (h/t Golf.com).
Horschel also acknowledged that there was no serious rift between them. He admitted to being happy for the LIV league golfers who secured contracts with significant financial benefits.