Ian Poulter has spectator removed at WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational

Ian Poulter confronted a fan before having him removed at the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis on Thursday.

26 Jul 2019

Ian Poulter has spectator removed at WGC St. Jude Invitational

Ian Poulter made a great start to the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis on Thursday, shooting a four-under-par score of 66, leaving him just four shots behind the leader Jon Rahm. Unfortunately, Poulter's first round will be remembered for something completely different, confrontation with a fan...

Poulter was on the 18th hole, hitting his second shot just off of the fairway. After striking the ball, an American spectator shouted "Get in the bunker!" and Poulter immediately responded, saying "Really, you deserve to be here do you?"

The 43-year-old Englishman then pointed out the spectator to security and had the fan removed from the TPC Southwind.

“It is a shame, I hope we can control it more going forward and it gets stamped out, because it is not needed in the game of golf," said Poulter.

“It is disappointing to be honest. I get it, I’m an Englishman, I play on the Ryder Cup team, I’m sure I’ve upset a few of these guys from time-to-time when they’re watching TV,” Poulter told Sky Sports. “But when we’re playing a world-class event like we do week in, week out, and you’ve got guys like that, in a small group and want to feel big in front of their friends and they scream silly things out, it is disappointing.

“I hate to do that [kick someone out], but we shouldn’t be getting abused in this day and age. Unfortunately it happens quite often. Most of the time we just ignore it and let it go."

Poulter kept his cool after the altercation and got up-and-down for par, hitting his third from just off of the green.

“It is a real shame, we’re here at a WGC tournament, it is a great field, has a great purse and has got everything we want to come here and compete [for], apart from one idiot who decides to be silly," Poulter added.