Ian Poulter jokingly roasts Europeans’ opening rounds at Players: ‘What a bunch of muppets’

It’s been quite a day in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., where the pace of play at the Players Championship was so slow that darkness fell before many groups could finish — and some players have as many as four holes left to complete on Friday morning. Thus far, 35 balls have been drowned on the famous 17th hole, two major champions fired rounds in the 80s (Henrik Stenson, 85, and Jimmy Walker, 83), and tournament favorites like Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele found themselves deep into the bottom third of the leaderboard after posting opening rounds of 79 and 76, respectively.

The carnage was such that all some players could do was shake their heads and laugh — which is exactly what Ian Poulter did, posting a hilarious self-deprecating video from the players lounge on social media, where he skewered both his performance and that of his European comrades Tyrrell Hatton, Henrik Stenson and Rory McIlroy.

In the confessional-style video, Poulter introduces his lunch tablemates, who sheepishly acknowledge Poulter as he pans around the table.

“We’ve got a hell of a lunch table here, players lounge,” Poulter begins. “[Referring to Hatton] Just decided to sit down and join Rory and I. So, collectively, four people sitting at this table, myself, Rory, Tyrrell and Henrik, who’s just left: 29-over.”

As laughter is heard in the background, Poulter chuckles ruefully himself and shakes his head. “Oh, what a bunch of muppets.”

In case you’re wondering about just how that 29-over breaks down: McIlroy accounted for seven, Stenson for 13, Hatton for four and Poulter for five.

Luckily for this group, there’s still one round left for redemption — and a run at the cut line. As we know, in golf, anything can happen.

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Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.

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