Ian Poulter exclusive interview: Why LIV Golf is here to stay - and how its appeal to a wider audience could enhance his own Ryder Cup dreams
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Published 04/02/2026 at 22:59 GMT
Ahead of the new LIV Golf season, TNT Sports presenter Craig Doyle caught up with Ian Poulter at Riyadh Golf Club as the pair discussed what fans can expect from the 14 events across 10 countries and five continents. Poulter addresses the "noise" surrounding the tour, his positivity for its future as well as his Ryder Cup dreams. Watch the 2026 LIV Golf season live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Highlights: Debutants shine on opening day at LIV Golf Riyadh
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Ian Poulter has set his sights on involvement at future Ryder Cups, believing his exposure to strong competition during the 2026 LIV Golf season - live on TNT Sports and discovery+ - is the perfect environment for him to stay at the sharp end of the sport.
LIV Golf has introduced significant changes to its competitive structure. The three-day, 54-hole format has been scrapped in favour of a traditional 72-hole event played over four days, aligning the tour more closely with established global circuits.
That move has seen the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) announce on Tuesday that it will reward the top 10 finishers. Shotgun starts will remain a defining feature.
Speaking exclusively to TNT Sports, Poulter believes the inclusion of LIV Golf reigning champion Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton for Team Europe at last year's Ryder Cup has provided the perfect recognition for the tour and will serve as his own personal motivation.
"Life's good," a relaxed Poulter, who turned 50 in January, said. "This product's great. Fourteen international tournaments and I'm still playing competitive golf, which is great.
"Obviously, I'd love to have some involvement at the Ryder Cup, so from the perspective of wanting to have a helping hand in something I've been a big part of over the last two decades, it would be a dream come true if we could be in that position.
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So close! Ballester almost nails incredible hole in one on Day 1
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"It's worked that way for Jon [Rahm] and Tyrrell [Hatton]. They've still accepted those guys in the Ryder Cup so hopefully, that relationship can continue to improve. That would be awesome, if that's possible."
Poulter will compete in the team championship for Majesticks GC alongside Laurie Canter, Sam Horsfield and Lee Westwood, who is missing the first two events because of a wrist injury.
The off-season also brought significant movement within the circuit, with 10 professionals - including Henrik Stenson and five-time major champion Brooks Koepka - departing ahead of the 2026 campaign.
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Poulter is targeting future Ryder Cup involvement
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Koepka cited a desire to spend more time at home with his family as the driving factor behind his decision, while Stenson was relegated from the LIV Golf League following a dramatic downturn in form which resulted in relegation.
Poulter acknowledges that a degree of churn was always inevitable during the winter months, but believes the league is primed for growth, pointing to expanded coverage during what promises to be the busiest period in LIV Golf's short history.
"It's great," Poulter added. "Obviously, it's been a difficult month and a couple of guys have moved on.
"That's totally OK. In terms of the big talking point of what that means for LIV Golf, speaking to His Excellency today, there's a structure and a plan in place to drive this thing all the way through 2032 which is amazing.
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‘What a way to finish’ – An ends first round in style with sublime putt
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"To have all of that vision [is great]. Scott O'Neil [LIV Golf CEO] did a brilliant job over the past 12 months, Katie O'Reilly [LIV Golf Executive Vice President], Chris Heck [LIV Golf President of Business Operations] and all of his team from an organisational standpoint to streamline this and make it the best possible product that we can take all over the globe. They've done an amazing job.
"In the last 12 months, little bits, of course, happen here and there. But when you look at 13 franchises - we've got more money being driven into the prize pool this year for all of the teams, every single event is going to earn money, so therefore every single team come the end of this year should be cash-flow positive.
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"So that's good news for the business. It's good that we can actually have a turnover, teams are going to get rewarded, players are going to get rewarded for that, we've got new sponsors coming on board, so we've got an amazing amount of interest."
The DP World Tour-bound Patrick Reed is another big name to be missing ahead of LIV's 2026 debut, which commenced on Wednesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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‘I’ve got to work on my putting’ – Dechambeau reflects on 2026 opening round
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But Bryson DeChambeau and Cam Smith - the only other LIV players to qualify for the PGA Tour’s programme - are remaining within the circuit.
Poulter has challenged the perception around the tour and highlighted the wider initiatives that are helping to grow the sport.
"There's always noise and this has been the tricky thing in the media the last few years. The tours that don't want to accept that LIV is here to stay have been driving the narrative," he said.
"As we know from the inside looking out, that's not the picture. LIV was always supposed to be additive to golf and additive to the global game to drive a younger audience and really give a different product to the golfing world which has been a little stale.
"Since Covid, golf has skyrocketed, so it's good for the fans. We've got more families coming to events and more women.
"We've got good stuff happening away from the course, such as our Little Sticks initiative which is bringing in 40,000 kids in the UK into the game of golf.
"There is so much going which is sometimes hard to push out to the media all the time and it hasn't been written, but that's OK, it's totally fine.
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Poulter highlighted the wider initiatives of LIV Golf that are attracting the next generation
Image credit: Getty Images
"We know what we're doing, where we're heading and we know that the business is going to succeed. Long LIV Golf."
So with the tour set to be shown live across TNT Sports, what can fans expect?
"The coverage up until this season for some has been a little bit confusing," Poulter admitted. "But this year, there's been a transition and they're keeping the coloured system different in the coverage, so you know what colour the team scores are and then also from an individual perspective.
"Having two tournaments within one is pretty cool. For us, as a team, to celebrate that with your team-mates... we've only done it once and it was quite fun. Hopefully, we can continue to do that, but from a TV perspective, it's a compressed window of time.
"We've got a shotgun start, we're over 72 holes this year but the coverage is great. To now give it to a wider audience and to people who may not have seen it, I think they'll really enjoy it."
LIV Golf 2026 schedule
The LIV Golf 2026 season will see 14 events played between February and August, with the confirmed dates and schedule below. Another event in the United States is yet to be confirmed.
- February 4-7 – ROSHN Group LIV Golf Riyadh, Riyadh Golf Club, Saudi Arabia
- February 12-15 – LIV Golf Adelaide, The Grange Golf Club, Australia
- March 5-8 – HSBC LIV Golf Hong Kong, Hong Kong Golf Club at Fanling, Hong Kong
- March 12-15 – LIV Golf Singapore, Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore
- March 19-22 – LIV Golf South Africa, Steyn City, South Africa
- April 16-19 – LIV Golf Mexico City, Club de Golf Chapultepec, Mexico
- May 7-10 – LIV Golf Virginia presented by Maaden, Trump National DC, USA
- June 4-7 – LIV Golf Andalucia, Real Club Valderrama, Spain
- June 25-28 – LIV Golf Louisiana, Bayou Oaks at City Park, USA
- July 23-26 – LIV Golf UK by JCB, JCB Golf and Country Club, Great Britain
- August 6-9 – LIV Golf New York, Trump National Bedminster, USA
- August 20-23 – LIV Golf Indianapolis, The Club at Chatham Hills, USA
- August 27-30 – Aramco LIV Golf Michigan, The Cardinal at Saint John’s, US
How to watch the LIV Golf 2026 season
TNT Sports and its streaming platform discovery+ will broadcast all 14 global events from the 2026 LIV Golf season.
TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.
You can subscribe to TNT Sports through discovery+, BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.
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