Ian Poulter has denied swearing at a marshal during the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open after being labelled "an a*******" by best-selling crime author Quintin Jardine.
Jardine, who is also a member at the host course of Gullane, was marshalling in Saturday's third round when Poulter hit a wayward drive on the opening hole.
In a letter to European Tour tournament director Mike Stewart, Jardine wrote that Poulter "arrived in a shower of expletives" and asked where his ball was.
"I told him and said that I had not ventured into the bush for fear of standing on it," Jardine wrote. "I wasn't expecting thanks, but I wasn't expecting aggression either.
"He told me in essence that I should have, his reasoning being that if I stood on the ball it was a free drop, whereas if he did it was a penalty.
"Basically I take no s*** from no man. Industrial language doesn't bother me, but truculent aggression does.
"I'm not asking for him to be fined, because I don't see the point of that. However I would like him to be reminded that even though most of the world knows you're an a*******, there's no need to go proving it to the rest.
"I will take his apology as read, but if he wants to make it in person, I'm not hard to find in Gullane."
Poulter responded with a post on social media on Sunday, writing on Twitter: "Extremely sad to see a marshall has wrote in and complained about me aiming abuse at him on the first hole.
"I asked if he found my ball and his response was "it's in there somewhere" "I didn't want to step on it" I replied "if you stand on it I can replace it without penalty but if I stand on it I will get penalized"
"Venting at myself like I do at times, I said a couple of choice words aimed at myself. I do not abuse Marshall's. I may have done in my early years.
"After I played my shot I said to the Marshall "I'm not frustrated at you I just want you to know the rule incase you come across the situation again. He said ok thanks."
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