Ian Poulter furious as Bryson DeChambeau drive almost lands on his head – but LIV star defends rival

Bryson DeChambeau left Ian Poulter furious after a wayward drive almost landed on his head at LIV Golf UK on Thursday.

During the first round of play, Poulter came mightily close to being struck after no ‘fore’ shout came from DeChambeau.

The English veteran was preparing to take a shot on the fairway, making a step forward before having to duck down.

He suddenly reacted after seeing an errant ball come cannoning off the turf just a metre or so away from him, with any contact on his head sure to have led to a very nasty injury.

The crowd could be heard reacting and Poulter instantly looked over to the tee box behind him, responding angrily.

“Fore!” he shouted back loudly before walking away in disbelief.

Golfers traditionally shout fore and the direction their wayward shot is going to warn those in the area that a ball is coming.

But DeChambeau did not make that shout, which is what left Poulter raging at the JCB Golf and Country Club.

However, DeChambeau was not completely at fault for the incident that was caused by his tee shot.

As cameras cut back to the American, he reacted with a shocked, disappointed expression, slapping his hands off his thighs.

Commentators on TNT Sports said: “He didn’t know, no one told him.

“You could tell Bryson was very sorry. No one told him. This is no one’s fault here.”

‘It wasn’t his fault at all’

And that sentiment was something that Poulter then echoed in his own assessment of the shocking moment.

“It wasn’t his fault at all,” he told TNT Sports. “It just grazed the ear, I think on the way past, it was very close. It wouldn’t have been good, it would have hurt… a lot!

“That was a shock to the system, the heart rate went up quite a bit. When you can hear that ball cutting through the air as it passes your ear.”

Poulter then explained that his group were looking for Jon Rahm‘s ball, which took three minutes, delaying the play.

He then added: “Those guys would have been waiting a long time…. that new tee box has gone back a bit and you can’t see that portion of the fairway where you’re going to take it on.

“It’s not his fault at all, it’s one of those things. He thought he could probably see people further up once we found Jon’s ball and he sent one down there.”

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Always in the headlines

DeChambeau will be pleased that his LIV Golf rival hasn’t blamed him for the incident, as he likely needs a breather.

The 32-year-old has been in the headlines over the last week after a controversial ruling during The Open.

He was handed a two-shot penalty for improving his lie, but he didn’t agree with the punishment at all, which led to a heated argument with officials and a threat not to play the following day.

After the drama at Royal Birkdale, DeChambeau continued playing the major event, but he did allegedly try to call on US President Donald Trump to intervene following his penalty.

Although The Open chief executive, Mark Darbon, went on to confirm that he had not received a call from Trump, laughing it off.

That issue had just blown over… but now Bryson is back in the news.