Ryder Cup legend reveals he's heading for surgery after LIV Golf season ends

European Ryder Cup legend Ian Poulter has revealed he'll be heading for surgery after the LIV Golf season ends to repair a torn meniscus. 

Poulter told reporters he sustained the injury "hopping up" some steps two weeks ago before LIV's event in Virginia. 

The Englishman said he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to play an hour before his tee time but battled through the pain for a top 20 finish. 

And after 18 holes of LIV's eighth event of the season in Korea, the 50-year-old is only one shot adrift of early leaders Bryson DeChambeau, Charles Howell III and Scott Vincent. 

"Bizarrely I have no sensation throughout the golf swing that there's anything wrong with it," Poulter told reporters at Asiad Country Club after posting a five-under 66 that included seven birdies and two bogeys.

"I sense it when I'm walking downhill, steep downhills. I'm just edging it a little bit. But look, I'm going to have to strengthen that leg. It's not affecting my golf in any way, shape or form.

"I just have to be reminding to myself that I can't go and play paddle tennis or do anything stupid or hop up steps like I did a couple of weeks ago. Walking in straight lines and being super sensible is not something I'm used to doing.

"Look, I feel good. I feel great. The body feels good. We'll deal with that at some stage."

Poulter said the injury is "such a shame" as he believes he has found a purple patch, particularly with his new McLaren irons. 

Poulter's former Ryder Cup teammate, Justin Rose, has also put them into his bag. 

"We knew when the launch was going to be, so I had a few weeks to dial them in," said Poulter. 

"Having a couple of weeks and really spending some good time with them to fine tune them exactly how I want them, it wasn't an issue putting them straight in the bag.

"I felt they looked better, turf interaction was better, the divots were better, ball flight was better, so it's a pretty easy switch to be able to put them in the bag."

He added: "The engineers and the design team have made a really good-looking golf club.

"When I put it down, it's already pleasing on the eye, so it gives you a good feeling when you stand over the ball. 

"They perform very well. I've had no issues at all with them. I'm enjoying having them in the bag."

Of Ian Poulter's 21 worldwide victories, four have come in Asia - though none have been in Korea.

Poulter is yet to win an individual LIV Golf event since joining the league in 2022 but believes he can stick around at the top of the leaderboard after making a solid start. 

"I actually like this golf course," said Poulter. "It's not long. It's fiddly. It's positional golf off the tee. I drove it exceptionally well today. 

"You know, the green complexes, there's quite a lot of slopes, and they're trying to tuck the pins because obviously the greens took a lot of water on Wednesday. I think they probably took three inches in rain.

"I was relatively surprised the scoring wasn't a bit lower, but obviously playing it the way I played it today, tucked some of those pins away, and it was quite hard to get at

"I love being in Asia. I love being here to play golf. The fans are great. I'm excited for this weekend."