By Coleman Bentley
In case you missed it, which you probably did if you’re not super plugged into the world of virtual post-coronavirus Formula 1, on Sunday the second round of the F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix series went down at the digital Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. On the starting grid were a host of professional F1 drivers, such as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Williams’ George Russell, and Mercedes’ Esteban Gutierrez, accompanied by a grab bag of other big-name European athletes such as Sergio Aguero, Thibaut Courtois and a guy you’ve actually probably heard of, Sir Ian Poulter.

Just kidding, Poults hasn’t been knighted.

Striker’s instinct ?

Footballer @aguerosergiokun slides up the inside of golfer @IanJamesPoulter in their #VirtualGP battle ??‍#F1 #RaceAtHome @ManCity pic.twitter.com/dRW7vcFqlY

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 10, 2020

Now Poulter is a self-avowed “car guy,” showing off his stable of speeding ticket magnets at every available opportunity. Unfortunately, his passion for petrol didn’t translate to on-track results, with Poulter starting second to last in 19th and finishing third to last in 18th after Lando Norris crashed out. But hey, he kept it on the track, bettered his starting position, and lived to see another GP, so all in all, it could have been a lot worse. Check out the whole race below if you have 90 minutes, which, let’s be honest, you probably do.

There’s no word yet, however, on how a Ferrari guy must have felt stuck behind the wheel of a Renault, but knowing Poults like we do—fiery competitor, master troller—the next time we see him in the virtual pits, he’ll be wearing red.

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The tour announced on Monday an agreement with lesser-known developer HB Studios to produce the tour’s licensed video game starting in 2019. The game will be called “The Golf Club 2019,” keeping the name from the developer’s previous golf game “The Golf Club,” which included the ability to design your own golf courses. According to GameSpot.com, all existing Rory McIlroy PGA Tour games will be pulled off the shelves, but an EA Sports representative also told the gaming website: “We continue to have an ongoing relationship with the PGA Tour.” It’s unclear what that might mean for the future, but for the time being, the licensing agreements have not been renewed for a new game this year.

“The Golf Club 2019” game will be available in August on Playstation 4, XBOX One and on PCs and will feature a career mode, allowing players to go through the path to the PGA Tour—from Q-School, to the Web.com Tour, a 32-tournament season on the PGA Tour, and if you make it—the FedEx Cup playoffs. According to the release, only TPC-sanctioned courses are available to play in the game, which include TPC Sawgrass’ Players Stadium course, TPC Scottsdale (Stadium), TPC Boston, TPC Southwind, TPC Deere Run and TPC Summerlin. It appears that this deal does not include being able to use the likeness of players, which previous EA Sports games included, enabling users to play with some of the tour’s best players, including Tiger Woods, obviously.

It’s unclear what to make of EA Sports’ comment, saying that the relationship between the PGA Tour and the gaming giant has not ended, but perhaps there will be another EA Sports game down the road. With Tiger Woods back to playing a full tour season, we’d imagine another Tiger Woods game would be pretty appealing to all parties involved.

Here’s a preview video provided by HB Studios and the PGA Tour:

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