Ian Poulter has made his feelings clear after he and his highly talented son, Luke, both missed out in final qualifying for The Open Championship at Royal Portrush

Ian Poulter thanked fans for their support at Royal Cinque Ports(Image: Tom Dulat/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

Ryder Cup legend Ian Poulter lamented a sluggish start as he missed out on a spot at The Open Championship, but the LIV Golf star paid tribute to the “class” support he received from supporters.

Poulter, 49, attempted to play in his first major in three years by entering one of the four final qualifying events across the UK on Tuesday. The Englishman and his 21-year-old son, Luke, were in the field at Royal Cinque Ports in Kent.

The father and son are at opposite ends of their careers. Ian remains one of the most charismatic players of his generation, and he produced iconic moments at the Ryder Cup, but the former world No. 5 has not won a tournament since the 2018 Houston Open.

Luke, meanwhile, is a highly touted amateur at the University of Florida, with a sense that he could make his mark when he turns professional. He is ranked No. 49 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and is heading into his junior year at Florida.

They both drew healthy crowds on Tuesday as they tried to earn a ticket to Royal Portrush, which hosts The Open in two weeks. Luke made an excellent start, carding an opening-round 67 to put himself in position to earn one of the five qualifying spots on offer.

But a second-round 76 saw him fall away, finishing in a tie for 13th place at one-over-par, three shots short of the qualification mark. His dad would finish with the same score, and he blamed a sloppy start to the day.

Luke Poulter started strongly but struggled in the afternoon(Image: Tom Dulat/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

Starting his first round on Royal Cinque Ports’ back nine, he bogeyed three of his first four holes to leave himself with a mountain to climb. To his credit, he fought back to even par through 18 holes, but a one-under-par loop in the afternoon was not enough to get into the top five, which would have earned him an invite to Portrush.

With Luke behind the wheel driving the Poulters home, Ian took to Instagram from the passenger seat and thanked supporters in a video message.

“Big thanks to all you guys that came out to watch Luke and myself in The Open qualifying. Unfortunately, we both came up a couple of shots short, which is very disappointing,” he said.

“Luke shot five-under this morning and was nicely in position. Unfortunately, it didn’t go quite so well this afternoon. And I kind of blew myself out on the first nine.

“But thank you for all the spectators who came out, you were class, and see you down the road somewhere, somehow. Take care.”

Ian returns to action next week when LIV heads to Spain and Real Club Valderrama, the host of the 1997 Ryder Cup. With four events remaining, he occupies 46th place in the standings and needs points to pull away from the relegation zone.