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Jim Furyk’s wife, Tabitha Furyk, is not someone you mess with. Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood learned that the hard way during the 2008 Ryder Cup. Sitting in the dressing room at the Valhalla Golf Club, they were sulking over the horrid loss they had just suffered. And Poulter revealed what they were doing to vent out their frustration.

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“So the winning team normally accepts the losing team into their team room for a few drinks and a cheers and ‘well done’ and ‘well played’ and all that good stuff,” Poulter began. “And we’re pretty hammered, right? We’ve just lost. This is Faldo’s. This is 2008, and we’re in their American team room. They’ve got pictures of each other on the walls, and it’s Boo Weekley and Stricker and all that—really childish,” said the Englishman to Mick Warwick on The Rough Cut Golf Podcast.

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“We’re pissed off. Westy started drawing stuff on Steve Stricker’s picture. I have defaced Boo Weekley and wrote, ‘Who ate all the pies?’ Jim Furyk’s wife went ape shit,” he continued. “I mean, proper psychotic, screaming, shouting ape shit, calling for security: ‘You lot get the f— out of here.’ It was properly nasty, and we’re just pissed off. I mean, listen, what are you going to do if you’re 10 pints in and you’ve just lost the Ryder Cup, right?

“So I remember Jim’s wife screaming at Lee, ‘Get out of our team room,’ this and that; it got quite nasty, [and she said,] ‘I’m going to go and tell your wife,’ and [he said,] ‘I’ll take you to her if you want, no problem.’

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Lee escorted Jim’s wife up to the room where Laurae [Westwood’s first wife] was asleep at the time, woke her up, and told her how bad Lee was.

“Anyway, it was a s— joke,” Poulter said.

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Ryder Cup golf tournament Team Europe s Ian Poulter celebrates winning the first hole of the day during the Ryder Cup golf tournament at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, on Saturday, September 29, 2012. Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/MCT Medinah IL USA EDITORIAL USE ONLY Copyright: xx 1129462 BrianxCassellax krtphotoslive576885The American side, led by Paul Azinger, had defeated Nick Faldo’s European squad 16½ to 11½. Poulter mentioned how the winning team had the tradition of inviting the losing team to their dressing room. But he and Westwood were in no mood to be courteous. Before this, the tournament had already seen a lot of controversy.

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The heated argument between Anthony Kim and Sergio Garcia on Sunday had gotten out of hand. During their singles match, the American had questioned the Spaniard for trying to get a free relief. As Garcia was demonstrating the awkward position he was in while driving the ball to the official, Kim popped in.

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“You call that a normal stance?” AK said.

After that altercation, the Europeans must have been frustrated over that already, especially since Garcia lost to Kim that day.

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Jim Furyk is set to captain the 12-man squad for the showdown at the Adare Manor. Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter won’t be on the other side this time, as they play for LIV now, but maybe some other European golfers may have a run-in with Tabitha.

This is not the first time Poulter and Westwood have come together in tense situations. They were the first ones to speak up about a controversial situation in 2026 as well.

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Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter defend LIV Golf’s situation

Over the last few days, rumors have strongly suggested that Bryson DeChambeau might be on his way out of LIV Golf. And after a big media house also made the same claims, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter jumped in to clarify the situation.

It was Westwood who first tweeted, “Must be Monday. New week, new bullshit.”

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He wasn’t the only one to speak up against the reports. Poulter also jumped into the conversation, calling out the news outlet for spreading false rumors.

He wrote, “It’s simply staggering the amount of bullshit that pours out daily. Such a shame and disappointing. I guess it will make for a good book one day.”

Both veterans were furious that such a reputable golf news house was sharing misleading information. Fortunately, DeChambeau himself clarified that nothing as such was happening, and he was committed to LIV Golf.

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Molin Sheth

2,063 Articles

Molin Sheth is a senior Golf writer at EssentiallySports and a key member of the ES Golf Trends Desk. He brings strong editorial judgment and a data-driven approach to uncovering the game’s overlooked angles, delivering insightful play-by-play reporting across golf’s four major championships. As part of the EssentiallySports Journalistic Excellence Program, an in-house initiative that mentors and develops writers through expert guidance and rigorous training, Molin works closely with industry-leading mentors to bring clarity and depth to a sport where precision matters and every shot tells a story.

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Riya Singhal

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