Ian Poulter has made it clear that he won’t be settling any fines with the DP World Tour to make a comeback, unlike his LIV Golf colleague Sergio Garcia.

Last year, both Garcia and Poulter were among a group of players who left the DP World Tour after being fined and suspended for participating in LIV events, with Garcia’s fines reportedly exceeding $1.2million due to his move to the Saudi-backed series.

Recently, Bunkered disclosed that Garcia has now paid off these fines to rejoin the DP World Tour in 2025, aiming to secure a spot on the European Ryder Cup team. Poulter, on the other hand, insists he will not be paying the fines, even though it could affect his chances of a Ryder Cup return.

“I personally wouldn’t pay because I felt it was unjust at the time to be fined $125,000 a week,” declared the Majesticks co-captain to Sports Illustrated. “It makes no comprehension sense to me at all. My stance has never changed. I’ve played golf all over the world. I was never playing fines by Europe for when I played outside of Europe on other tours around the world. My stance still today is the exact same stance I had three years.

“I haven’t backtracked. I haven’t changed my opinion. I still stand with the first words. It’s not right. It’s very unjustifiable. If I personally wouldn’t pay the fines myself, why would I put my business partner in that position to pay $2.4million towards a Ryder Cup that I’m actually not going to play in?

“As it stands today, I’m currently not a member of the European Tour. I am not eligible to become Ryder Cup captain or vice-captain. Until that position changes you can only really play the hypothetical game.”

Ian Poulter had his say on the DP World Tour

Ian Poulter had his say on the DP World Tour ( 

Image:

David Cannon/Getty Images)

“It is difficult to put into words how things have unfolded in the last eight months towards a group of individuals that are putting themselves in position to be eligible for playing or future captaincy. I am just not in that position to take up membership again.”

Poulter had been a shoo-in to become a future leader for the European team, but this opportunity has since been dented on the back of his move to the LIV setup.

When it comes to Garcia however that door has now re-opened, but according to current captain, Luke Donald, the Spaniard has every intention of returning to the team as a player.

Donald spilled the beans to the press back in September, saying, “He thinks he can play,” “He wants to play. He’s talked to me about being an assistant captain, but he has to rejoin the tour before any of those conversations progress.”