Poulter: 'We just play a silly game of golf while others are suffering'

While a number of players have been wearing Ukraine ribbons in their caps at various tournaments this week Ian Poulter added a nice touch in his opening round of the Arnold Palmer.

The Englishman is known for his sense of fashion and he wore a variation of the colours of the Ukrainian flag in a sensitive nod to the terrible events happening there.

"We just play a silly game of golf while others are in the world suffering. When you flick the news on right now and obviously you see the devastation that's going on around the world and you feel for the people in Ukraine, just wearing a similar colour in respect to those suffering over there is the least I can do. Everyone's probably thinking of all those families that are affected right now."

Like everyone else Poulter's thoughts have been dominated by events in Ukraine.  

"It's hard not to think of it, right? You wake up in the morning and you want to read the news, and you go home at night and you want to read the news. I've got quite a few clothes in the closet, so I found a couple of colours that I think would kind of give them a little bit of respect." 

Matt Fitzpatrick also revealed that he had been given a huge sense of persepctive after speaking to a former girlfriend who was born in Ukraine.

"She was telling me about her gran who had a couple of strokes recently and can hardly walk, so she can’t go anywhere. Then she told me about her uncle who had just packed his bags and was off to fight," said Fitzpatrick.

Thoughts and prayers to those in Ukraine, paying my respects from here at Arnie’s place🇺🇦 #API #PrayForUkraine@PGATOUR @APinv pic.twitter.com/D7UpF3lA6X

— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) March 4, 2022