At 49, Ian Poulter is living a grand life, making big bucks, and having a ball at LIV Golf. Former CEO Greg Norman was able to loop in the veteran golfer during his hiring drive back in 2022. Since then, the Englishman has led Majesticks GC for the past three years. However, that doesn’t take anything away from his legacy in the PGA Tour. Five years after turning pro in 1995, Poulter started playing on the Tour. He made 321 appearances to make an impressive 77.88% cuts at 250. In those 22 years, the 49-year-old also managed to win three PGA Tour titles, two of which were World Golf Championships. You would think his legacy would warrant him a spot in the majors consistently. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

The last time the Stevenage local made a major appearance was in the 2021 Open Championship. For a couple of years, the Poulter name disappeared from the biggest golf tournaments until it made a big return in 2024. While Ian Poulter himself hasn’t won his ticket back into majors, it’s his bloodline that has been in the headlines recently. The Englishman’s son, Luke Poulter, has been fighting to win a place in the U.S. Open through his amateur adventures. Brentley Romine’s tweet confirmed the reports of his comeback after being sidelined for seven months.

The Golf Channel writer posted, “He (Luke Poulter) returned for @GatorsGolf in January and has posted a pair of top-6 finishes along with his first college win in six starts.” Poulter finished at T6 in the Gators Invitational in February 2025. He followed that up with a solo 6th-place finish in the Calusa Cup in April. Interestingly, the reporter missed the fact that the second-generation star also had a win at the Schenkel Invitational back in March. It was the first collegiate title of his career.

Speaking about his importance for the Florida Gators, the tweet also mentioned, “Said Florida coach J.C. Deacon: ‘I kept calling him our secret weapon. We underachieved a little bit in the fall, but I knew we had this secret weapon waiting and getting stronger. And we’ve unleashed him now.” Looks like Poulter is a highly valuable player for the Gators. The tweet mentions, “On Thursday, Poulter shot 66 at Hawkstone CC in Gainesville, Florida, to advance through U.S. Open locals and onto final qualifying.”

The Englishman, who is a mirror image of his father, finished fourth on the leaderboard. He was two strokes behind the co-winners, Mason Howell and Jake Hall. Joshua Bai from New Zealand finished in third place, and Luke Schniederjans’ 5th place finish also booked his ticket for the final qualifiers.

Speaking of the qualifiers for the U.S. Open, Luke Poulter faces a tough challenge ahead as he moves to the next stage of the tournament.

Poulter family sees second-generation star nearing U.S. Open appearance

Days after Ian Poulter’s son turns 21 on May 23, 2025 (based on the veteran golfer’s tweet), he will be up against a tough challenge. The 2025 U.S. Open Final Qualifiers will be played on June 2, 2025. Luke Poulter will be heading to West Palm Beach to play in the Emerald Dunes Club. If he finishes at the top of the leaderboard, then he will be heading to the Oakmont Country Club to play in the 2025 U.S. Open.

Interestingly, the 20-year-old could have already joined the field for Bryson DeChambeau’s win in 2024. However, as Romine’s tweet confirmed, “A year ago, Luke Poulter was four holes into his U.S. Open local qualifier when his lower back gave out, forcing him to withdraw. He was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right L4 vertebrae and a stress reaction on the left side, and he went seven months without playing golf.” The 20-year-old, who is fondly known as Smiley, had been out of action since April 2024. He only returned to the course in an amateur capacity in January 2025. To come back and get some big wins for the Gators and himself, he is surely heading in the right direction.

While Ian Poulter might not get another shot at the 2025 U.S. Open, he wouldn’t mind being in the stands to watch his son make his debut in the major on June 12, 2025.