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Poulter: backed by Roe

It was a great article, but there was an agenda in printing that; they wanted publicity for their golf magazine.

Mark Roe
Quotes of the week

Ian Poulter has been at the centre of a storm in the desert this week after controversial quotes were attributed to him in a leading golf magazine.

The March issue of Golf World featured a cover story about Poulter, which made newspaper headlines as the Englishman apparently claimed he is the only man who can mount a realistic challenge to world number one Tiger Woods.

He was quoted as saying: "The trouble is I don't rate anyone else. Don't get me wrong, I respect everyone who is a professional. But the problem is I haven't played to my full potential yet. And when that happens it will just be me and Tiger."

The comments caused outrage among his fellow professionals and after his first round at the Dubai Desert Classic, Poulter was quick to declare that the quotes had been taken out of context.

The story was debated on Golf Night and Mark Roe defended Poulter, insisting that the controversial lines were from a chat he'd had with a Golf World journalist on a putting green two years ago.

He said: "Poulter is the master of self publicity. Appearing naked on the cover of Golf World with a golf bag is great promotion and he likes to be seen in a different way.

"But this quote, from the middle of a 10-page article, is from nearly two years ago at the Bay Hill Classic when he was approached by another Golf World journalist - not the one that did this article.

"The journalist was bothering him while he was on the putting green and Ian's response was 'you can put down what you want because you're going to do that anyway'.

"The 10-page article is great, but then there's this little snippet from a long time ago that everyone is focusing on.

"I can tell you that he's sat in his hotel room in Dubai stewing about this because he doesn't want to upset anyone."

Agenda

Roe insists the comments were out of context with the rest of the article and feels the magazine intentionally included them in order to generate headlines.

He continued: "Golf World have got a 10-page article, they don't need to print a juicy soundbite from two years ago.

"They should leave that alone, but they clearly had an agenda in printing that, even though they pointed out where the quote came from.

"That quote - or supposed quote because Ian has no way of confirming it as it was just a brief conversation on a putting green - has been on hold for a long time.

"Why didn't they use it at the time if they thought it was so controversial? It was a great article, but there was an agenda in printing that; they wanted publicity for their golf magazine.

"I don't think Poults will be speaking to them for a while!"

Roe also defended Poulter's confident outlook and insists his personality is good for the game, particularly in terms of attracting young fans.

He added: "He is colourful and he has brought a lot to the European game. He has taken golf from the back to the front pages on many occasions and he has done it once again, although in a more unfortunate circumstance.

"I spoke to Ian today and he is absolutely gutted about the situation, more because of the reaction of his fellow pros and how they may think about the comments he has made.

"He has huge respect for the golfers around him, but he brims with confidence and sometimes he can overstep the mark a little bit.

"Last year he said he was going to win six tournaments and a major because that's the confidence he has. Deep down he believes if he has a good run he can be another Lee Westwood.

"He is hugely popular and the kids absolutely adore him. When he finishes tournaments there are loads of kids there trying to get a glimpse of him and trying to get him to sign something.

"He has brought something special to the game and we mustn't forget that."