The 150th Open: Ian Poulter booed on first hole at St Andrews

Ian Poulter is making his 20th Open Championship appearance this week – but it’s unlikely he has ever experienced a ‘welcome’ quite like the one he got on the first tee at St Andrews this morning.

The 46-year-old Englishman was booed by a section of the crowd as he got his title tilt under way a little after 7am, no doubt in response to his involvement with the controversial LIV Golf Series.

Poulter, a runner-up in the championship at Royal Birkdale in 2008, was visibly rattled by the incident and proceeded to almost hook his tee shot out of bounds. 

The Ryder Cup star’s ball finished only a couple of yards inside the white stakes down the left hand side of the widest fairway in golf. He did, though, manage to save par.

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There was a mixed reaction other LIV Golf ‘rebels’ who started their campaigns early on Thursday morning. 

Like Poulter, Patrick Reed was also subjected to some jeers from the crowd, whilst 2013 champion Phil Mickelson and 2020 US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau were not. 

WATCH: IAN POULTER HOOKS TEE SHOT AFTER BOOS AT 150TH OPEN

The spectre of LIV Golf has loomed large over The 150th Open for most of this week. 

Yesterday, R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers issued a withering rejection of the Saudi-funded start-up circuit, dismissing it as being “driven entirely by money”. 

He added: “We believe it undermines the merit-based culture and the spirit of open competition that makes golf so special.

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“I would also like to say that, in my opinion, the continued commentary that this is about ‘growing the game’ is just not credible and, if anything, is harming the perception of our sport, which we are working so hard to improve.

“We believe the game needs to focus on increasing participation, achieving greater diversity and making sure that golf is truly open to all rather than this narrow debate involving a small numbers of players.”