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Rory McIlroy: 'Ian Poulter was wrong to take DP World Tour to court to play in Scottish Open'

 Ian Poulter of England and team Europe (L) Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and team Europe line up a putt on the seventh green during Saturday Afternoon Fourball Matches of the 43rd Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits on September 25, 2021 in Kohler, Wisconsin - Rory McIlroy: 'Ian Poulter was wrong to take DP World Tour to court to play in Scottish Open' - GETTY IMAGES

Rory McIlroy has told his friend Ian Poulter that he was wrong to take his home circuit to court in order to be reinstated in this week's Scottish Open, saying that such action by the Saudi rebels will only fuel "resentment" among the pros on the traditional tours.

Poulter, 46, won an injunction on Monday against the DP World Tour - formerly the European Tour - to earn a temporary reprieve on the one-week ban that he and 16 other pros suffered for appearing in the first $25milion LIV Golf Series event last month.

Yet, while the Englishman expressed his pleasure at the verdict on Tuesday, McIlroy signified his opposition to those who signed multi-million dollar contracts with LIV appearing at the $8m tournament at the Renaissance Club, which starts at the North Berwick links on Thursday.

"I think at this stage, if you've gone over to play on another tour then go and play on that tour," McIlroy told the BBC. "You've basically left all your peers behind to make more money, which is fine.

"But just stay over there. Don't try to come back and play over here again. The whole cake-and-eat-it type of attitude is what the resentment stems from within the PGA Tour and DP World Tour membership. That's the tricky part."

There are four LIV players in the competition, with the Tour putting them out together: Poulter with Branden Grace, the South African who won the $4m first prize at last week's second LIV event in Oregon as one two-ball; and Spain's Adrian Adrian Otaegui and another South African in Justin Harding in other. Both of these pairs are sent out before the rest, at 7.15am off the 10th and first tees respectively.

'There's a lot of guys that are hypocrites and that aren't telling the truth'

If this, after the ruling went against them, is the Tour making a point - in their first ever jointly-sanctioned event with the PGA Tour - then American Billy Horschel believes they have every right.

"I believe they made their bed," Horschel said. "They decided to go play on that tour and they should go play there. They shouldn't be coming back over to the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour.

"To say that they wanted to also support this tour, whether DP or PGA Tour going forward, while playing LIV tour, is completely asinine. Those guys made their bed. They say that's what they want to do. So just leave us alone.

"They keep talking about how the PGA Tour doesn't listen. I've been really frustrated by it because there's a lot of guys that are hypocrites, that aren't telling the truth and that are lying about some things.

"I just can't stand to sit here anymore and be diplomatic about it.

"The comments they make, comments that (PGA Tour commissioner) Jay Monahan doesn't listen to us. Jay Monahan and everyone at headquarters work tirelessly for us to reap financial rewards and have all the opportunities that we have.

"I am one of the 200 plus members of the PGA Tour, so when you take shots at the PGA Tour you're not just taking shots at them. You're taking shots at us."