Ian Poulter confirms he is leaving LIV Golf and will not join LIV 2.0
Ian Poulter is quitting LIV Golf. The Englishman confirmed on Friday that he will not be part of LIV 2.0, the next stage of the breakaway league he joined in 2022.
He made the decision public in a statement on his social media channels. In it, he said he wanted to spend more time at home and cut back on long-haul travel. He also said he wanted to focus on senior golf, the tour-style events for players aged 50 and over, and to pursue other interests.
Those other interests are personal. Poulter said he wants to help his sons, Luke and Joshua, build professional careers in the game. He also wants to grow his YouTube channel.
For a man who has been one of golf's most recognisable figures for two decades, the move is a clear break. Poulter was co-captain of LIV's Majesticks team alongside Lee Westwood, and the two had re-signed with Majesticks GC for the 2026 season. Westwood had been set to miss the first two events of that season with a wrist injury.
The week of Poulter's announcement also brought other departures. Louis Oosthuizen announced he was leaving LIV in the same week. Earlier, the week before, Jon Rahm reached a separation agreement with LIV, meaning the two sides agreed to end his contract.
Poulter's path to this point has been visible for some time. In August, he said he hoped LIV would stay afloat into the following year but was unsure about his own future with the league. In May, he said he had torn a meniscus, the cartilage in the knee, after hopping up two steps at LIV Golf Virginia, and that he would need surgery, which was set for September.
His exit also closes a longer chapter with the Ryder Cup, the team contest between Europe and the United States. In March 2024, Poulter said he no longer saw himself playing in it, citing his age and the uproar that followed his switch to LIV.
Nothing in his statement suggests a return to the tours he left. What it does show is a player in his fiftieth year choosing a quieter life, with his family close and his golf on his own terms.
