Ian Poulter is relishing the chance to celebrate a ‘remarkable’ first year of LIV Golf when the tour returns to his local course in July.
The Centurion Club in Hertfordshire played host to the inaugural LIV event last year and will once again open its doors to some of the game’s biggest stars in July.
LIV golfers have competed at the business end of the first three majors of the year, with Brooks Koepka lifting May’s PGA Championship, and Poulter has been impressed by the tour’s progress to date.
“It’s been amazing,” he said.
“You go from looking at the vision to tasting it and feeling it and living it and growing with it and the experience has been incredible.
“You look back to Adelaide as a showcase event and what LIV Golf can do for an area. Adelaide is one that hasn’t had its fair share of events but look at what LIV Adelaide did to the region.
“From a perspective of bringing in 75,000 fans, new sponsors, a hole in one, crazy atmosphere, a great concert.
“As a concept for us to participate in, it was exciting and refreshing to see fans enjoying themselves.
“Hopefully, that gives us a sense of what the benchmark is to be able to one up Adelaide. Who is going to take on the product to be able to beat it?”
Charl Schwartzel topped the leaderboard in Hemel Hempstead last year – the first stop on an eight-event tour.
Six legs have been added for the 2023 campaign and Poulter admits it’s hard to believe the progress that has been made in such a short space of time.
“Thinking where we started from to now it’s pretty remarkable,” the 47-year-old said.
“It was diving into the unknown. It was a completely new atmosphere, a completely new product.
“As the product has grown, you can see the vision behind it. We’ve achieved a lot in those 12 months collectively as a group of players and as a group of people behind LIV to create a new product for a younger audience, a slightly different demographic, and an international product.
“It’s exciting, so being nervous in the first one was understandable, but now it’s a very different feeling.”
As captain of Majesticks GC, Poulter is determined to put on a show when his team tees off in what is effectively a home tournament.
“A couple of us live close by so I might take the opportunity to stay at home for the week, sleep in my own bed,” Poulter added.
“We’ll be borrowing tickets off other teams because we’ve got so many people coming.
“We want to see the fans and enjoy the week with them so it’s great to be back at a great venue and close to home.”
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