Ian Poulter admitted he put his family before the fairway after he turned down the chance to contest the Open Championship at Royal Troon his month’s time.
Sergio Garcia had a chance to win his first Open title in qualifying last week but was held back by crowds and slow play.
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And now his fellow Europe Ryder Cup hero has revealed the reasons why he won’t be playing in Ayrshire either.
Ryder Cup legend Poulter now plays his golf on the LIV Tour rather than the European Tour or DP World Tour as it is known.
And the former world No.5 has now fallen out of the top 600 players in the world, meaning he is no longer eligible for an automatic invitation to the Open.
He could have attempted to pre-qualify along with players such as Garcia and Justin Rose, but instead opted to spend a week’s holiday with his family in Switzerland.
He is back in the UK now but is making more time for his family – plus he has planned a trip to Germany, where he will support England at Euro 2024, and then to Silverstone for Formula One.
They told talkSPORT“You’ve got the Scottish Open, but unfortunately I won’t be able to go there as I’m no longer a member of the European Tour/DP World Tour.
“And I won’t be at the Open either.
“Look, my world ranking isn’t high enough to get into The Open Championship.
Rangers praise ‘one of our own’ as gers-daft golfer secures coveted Open spot“I had the ability to go and qualify, but I couldn’t do it.
“I was holidaying in Switzerland with my family.
“That’s what LIV has given me, the chance to spend a bit more time with the family.
“I still have a busy schedule with LIV, in which I have to play 14 tournaments.
“Who knows, if at some stage they give us the opportunity to come back and support the Ryder Cup team, we’ll see how that works out.”
After LIV star Bryson DeChambeau beat Rory McIlroy to win the US Open, Poulter is confident LIV is growing in popularity ahead of the LIV Golf UK event in Staffordshire at the end of the month.
He said: “LIV has certainly made huge progress over the last 12 months.
“With Bryson winning, and a lot of guys doing some great things on the golf course, the mood has changed.
“But I think everybody who watches golf felt sorry for Rory when he missed that putt.
“It wasn’t an easy hole, he left himself on the wrong side of the putt
“A four-foot left-to-right putt is one you don’t want to make under that much pressure.
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“It’s a shame to see someone go through this pain, because in the end, someone always loses in sports.”
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