REBEL VICTORY
Poulter wins battle to play in Scottish Open as LIV trio beat ban
IAN POULTER will be allowed to play in the Genesis Scottish open after all this week as an appeal against his ban was upheld by a Sports resolution tribunal last night.
the englishman, Spaniard adrian otaegui and Justin Harding from South africa will be reluctantly added to the field by the DP World tour, who expressed themselves ‘disappointed’ with the decision.
the bans were imposed after the trio played in the inaugural Saudi-backed lIV series event, with each rebel also hit with individual fines of £100,000.
However, following a hearing late last night, the suspensions imposed on the three players were temporarily stayed, pending determination of their substantive appeals.
the event, which gets under way at the renaissance Club in east lothian
on thursday, serves as the final warm-up for the open Championship, which will this year celebrate its 150th anniversary at St andrews the following
week. DP World tour chief Keith
Pelley said he was ‘disappointed by the outcome’ but would ‘abide by the decision’. In a statement, Pelley added: ‘It is important to remember, however, this is only a stay of the sanctions imposed, pending the hearing of the players’ appeal as to whether those sanctions were appropriate. ‘The make-up of the field for the Genesis Scottish Open will be advised in due course, but based on this decision the field size will increase beyond 156. ‘We will make further comment on this in due course, but not during our time at Adare Manor,’ added Pelley, who is at the venue that will host the 2027 Ryder Cup for a charity Pro-Am event. Speaking before the decision was announced, Poulter said: ‘My commitment to the European Tour has been there since day one. And it’s still there today. I’m proud of playing so often, when it was to the detriment of world ranking points and FedEx Cup points I could have earned playing more in America.’ Poulter was commenting after competing in the star-studded pro-am event in Ireland that brought together players on both sides of the controversy currently dividing the sport. Thousands thronged the fairways at Adare Manor as the likes of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm competed with marquee LIV signings such as Poulter, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Lee Westwood at the charity fundraising JP McManus Pro-Am. Another participant was former Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington, who insisted there is room for the LIV tour to coexist with the traditional circuits. Harrington also played down suggestions of a serious rift between the LIV rebels and the players who have chosen to remain affiliated with the PGA and DP World tours. ‘On an individual basis, this is not a difficult situation here this week,’ he said. ‘We’re all friends.’