LIV Golf rebel Ian Poulter was booed on the first tee and Justin Rose pulled out with a back injury as the 150th Open Championship got underway on Thursday.
The 46-year-old Poulter was the first of the 24 players in the field who have signed up to the controversial Saudi-backed breakaway series to start at St Andrews and he was greeted with jeers.
He, at least, made the first tee. Rose pulled out just before his scheduled 8.14am tee time.
The 41-year-old had ended Wednesday’s practice round prematurely, leading to speculation he may have sustained a problem, and when he did not arrive for his scheduled slot, Rikuya Hoshino took his place alongside the Ryder Cup dream-team pairing of Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari, the 2018 Open champion.
Rose tweeted: “On the 4th hole yesterday during my practice round, I made a swing with my driver and started to feel pain in my lower back. I’ve been getting around the clock treatment but it just doesn’t feel ready to compete in this prestigious championship.”
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Source : yahoo
