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Tournaments

Ian Poulter to USGA: ‘Why are mistakes still being made at this level?’

By Kiley Bense
June 17, 2018
SOUTHAMPTON, NY - JUNE 16: Ian Poulter of England plays his second shot on the 15th hole during the third round of the 2018 US Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 16, 2018 in Southampton, New York. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

After finishing with a 76 on Saturday at Shinnecock Hills, Ian Poulter took to Twitter to voice his displeasure with the USGA, blaming them for the uneven course setup and the hecklers who dogged him throughout the day.

Poulter, who teed off in the afternoon group at 2:37 p.m., was responding to a statement from USGA executive director Mike Davis, who said on Saturday that the third round was a “tale of two different golf courses.”

“It got too tough today in some areas,” he said. “If we got a mulligan, we would have slowed the greens down this afternoon. Confident we can slow the golf course down going into tomorrow.” Davis said that the conditions were caused by unexpectedly high winds. “What happened is we simply got higher winds than we anticipated,” he said. “The grass really began to dry out. In fact, if you looked at it at the end, it was almost wilting around there, and it just didn’t have enough grass to hold the ball up.” Davis also promised that the course would be watered overnight to create more forgiving conditions on Sunday. 

Ultimately, Poulter was not appeased by Davis’s words. “You don’t get mulligans in business at this level,” he wrote. “How can this team keep doing this without consequences?” 

Poulter also complained about the fans at Shinnecock Hills, who he said had “verbally abused” him on every hole. “Ryder Cup in 2024 COULD become a little silly, just like today was,” Poulter wrote, alluding to the 2024 event, which will be held at Bethpage Black, also in New York. 

Read the full tweetstorm below.