Ousted PGA president Ted Bishop talks about offensive comments

Not long after Ted Bishop posted his infamous comments on social media -- the ones that referred to Ian Poulter as a “Lil Girl” -- the ousted PGA of America president realized he had made a mistake.

“I felt like throwing up,” he said in an interview with Golf Digest on Monday.

Bishop lashed out on Twitter and Facebook in response to a new book from Poulter that criticized Tom Watson and Nick Faldo for their work as Ryder Cup captains. Over the weekend, the PGA’s board of directors quickly ousted Bishop with less than a month remaining in his term.

In a wide-ranging interview, Bishop said he reacted emotionally to the Poulter book because he believed Watson had suffered undue criticism after America’s lopsided Cup defeat last month. The golf official had also been spending time with Faldo recently.

“To be honest with you, there was no hesitation when I typed ‘Lil Girl,’ ” he was quoted as saying. “Because I kind of grew up in a generation where, when my dad hit ground balls to me in the backyard, if I pulled my head up, he told me I was fielding like a girl.”

When PGA officials initially asked him to resign, he refused. He will not be allowed to serve as an honorary president.

“I think the PGA of America needs to be in position to explain why this thing came down as it did,” he said. “I don’t think it was totally fair.”

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