As Charlie Woods’s Rival Gets Teased Into Liv Golf, Are Amateurs Allowed to Compete in Greg Norman’s League?

Every father dreams of his son representing the same team as his! LIV Golfer Ian Poulter is no different! Nicknamed ‘The Postman’ by his Ryder Cup teammates for always delivering undefeated records, he holds a record of 15-8-2 in the same. After winning 17 tournaments on several tours, he started playing for the LIV Golf in 2022.

Before joining LIV Golf, he won two World Golf Championships, one at the 2010 WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, and the other at the 2012 WGC-HSBC Champions. Given his accolades, there is no doubt that the 48-year-old Ryder Cup legend would want his legacy to carry on. And it might be so already. Luke Poulter, his eldest son, was named the SEC Freshman of the Week in October 2023. He has also been a staunch rival of the legend Tiger Woods’ son Charlie Woods. Nevertheless, the gushing father reiterated his desire to see his son play for his team.

Ian Poulter shares dreams of seeing his son play for LIV

Ian Poulter is the co-captain of the Majesticks GC team, along with Henrik Stenson. His eldest son Luke Poulter currently studies at the University of Florida and Poulter wants to see him play for the same team. “Hopefully, one day [Luke] can take over the reigns from me as a Majesticks GC player. We’ll see how his next three years at college goes, but I’d love nothing more than for Luke to wear the Majesticks shirt.” said Poulter. But are amateurs allowed to play in the breakaway league?

Well, the answer is a big yes! The Saudi-Arabia League had its promotions event last year from December 8 to December 10. Hosted at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club with 72 holes played over three days, Major championship winners, Ryder Cup participants, and top amateurs are among those whom LIV has invited to play at the event. The event had a purse of $1.5 million and the players were to earn a membership to the breakaway league.

The top three winners were rewarded with $200,000, $150,000 and $100,000. All the pros were promised prize money of at least $5000. There was $1000 promised to every amateur who would be participating. It was 36 YO Kalle Samooja who won the event. But anyhow, the invitation in itself promises the fact that amateurs can be a part of the league. Hence, if his son plays well, Ian Poulter’s dream does not look very far-fetched. Even history states the same.

David Puig joined LIV Golf as an amateur

David Puig became the first amateur to become a part of LIV Golf on September 23, last year at the LIV Golf Chicago. Although he did not have a very impressive score and finished at a T37 with an over-par score, it will remain a significant event in his life. It was the first professional championship that he had ever played.

He was then the ninth-ranked amateur in the golfing world. Although he was part of the golf programs at Arizona State, he was not a renowned name for golfing fans. Nevertheless, he became the first major amateur to go from college and directly into the league. While it might not be a big deal for LIV, as it bagged players like Phil Mickelson and Cameron Smith, for Puig, it was a career-changing moment!

So, in all probabilities, if things go as planned, we might soon see Luke Poulter become a part of the breakaway league in the coming years!