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Ian Poulter’s furious reaction after Bryson DeChambeau’s drive nearly hits him at LIV Golf UK

Poulter was visibly angry after the ball flew inches from him on the blind par-4 7th, but later admitted DeChambeau “wasn’t at fault at all” after an unfortunate miscommunication.

Poulter admitted Bryson DeChambeau was “not at fault at all” after revealing the American’s tee shot “just grazed” past his ear during a frightening incident in the opening round of LIV Golf UK.




Poulter was immediately furious as the incident unfolded on the par-4 7th at JCB Golf & Country Club in Rocester, England.

The Majesticks star was in the middle of the 7th fairway and focusing on his approach shot when DeChambeau, in the group behind, smashed his tee shot to within feet of Poulter, his caddie and the cameraman.

As DeChambeau’s ball landed and bounded past the Englishman and his caddie, a shocked Poulter unleashed a fiery “FORE!” at the top of his lungs, and a death stare back to the tee box.

But after signing for a steady opening 4-under 68 on home turf, the European Ryder Cup hero composed himself and explained the scare was simply the result of an unfortunate miscommunication on what is a blind hole, rather than any mistake by DeChambeau.

Speaking to TNT Sports, Poulter said: “It wasn’t his fault at all, but I mean it just grazed the ear on the way past…”

“It was very close, it wouldn’t have been good. It would have hurt a lot, that was a shock to the system and the heart rate went up quite a bit.

“You could hear the ball cutting through the air as it passes your ear.”




With a new tee box recently being installed to the 7th at JCB, the hole presents a blind tee shot, meaning players cannot see the landing area with their drives.

Players typically rely on volunteers and officials positioned further down the hole to indicate when the fairway is clear to tee off.

After waiting on the tee while Poulter searched for his playing partner’s ball in thick fescue, DeChambeau was seemingly given the nod to hit by someone up ahead on the 7th hole.

But there was total miscommunication.

DeChambeau teed off and his drive flew into the landing area just as Poulter had walked back and stepped in to his approach shot.

Poulter said the frightening moment came down to unfortunate timing rather than anyone intentionally putting players at risk.

“It wasn’t Bryson’s fault at all, we were 40 yards further up looking for Jon’s ball in the fescue and it took three minutes to find his ball, we found it in time and then walked all the way back to my ball, so those guys were probably on the tee for some time,” he said.

“The new tee box they’ve put in there has gone back a bit, and you can’t see that portion of the fairway where you’re going to take it on, so look, not his fault, he thought he could probably see people moving further up once we found Jon’s ball and he sent one down.”




DeChambeau was visibly concerned when he realized how close his drive had come to striking Poulter and immediately apologized, relieved that neither the Englishman nor his caddie had been injured.

On-course commentator Jerry Foltz, who was standing beside DeChambeau on the tee, later joked: “According to Bryson, it was my fault…”

Golf fans have since taken to social media to joke that DeChambeau can’t catch much of a break right now, especially after his controversial two-shot penalty at The Open.

Thankfully, Poulter avoided a serious injury, and the incident did little to derail either player’s round on day one at LIV Golf UK.

Poulter went on to make a birdie on the par-4 7th before signing for a 68 to finish the opening day tied seventh at his home event.

DeChambeau, meanwhile, produced a stunning 8-under 64 to sit alone in second, three shots behind Lucas Herbert, who fired a spectacular 11-under 61.

Herbert continued his extraordinary run of low scoring just days after equaling the lowest round in men’s major championship history with a second-round 62 at The Open.




The Australian narrowly missed the chance to claim the outright men’s major low record at Birkdale after his birdie attempt on the final hole slid by, denying him a historic 61.

Herbert went on to finish tied sixth at The Open, which was the best result from any LIV Golf player in the field, and he’s carried his momentum in this week.

Home favorite Tyrrell Hatton also made an excellent start in the first round at LIV Golf UK, sharing third place on 6-under par alongside Harold Varner III.

Meanwhile, pre-tournament favorite Jon Rahm faces an uphill battle after opening with a 1-over 73, leaving the Spaniard 12 shots behind Herbert after the opening round.

Before the tournament started, Martin Kaymer claimed the Team Championship in Michigan is likely not going to happen, and a number of players have said they are ready to depart the league regardless of whether LIV secures new investment for 2027.

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Article originally appeared on: Golfmagic.com

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