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PGA president sacked

Palm Beach Gardens - Ted Bishop has been sacked as president of the PGA of America, less than a day after he branded Ian Poulter a "lil girl" on Twitter.

The PGA of America said Friday that Bishop was relieved of his duties after the slur aimed at the European Ryder Cup star, which he then repeated on Facebook, before removing both of them.

"The members and apprentices of the PGA of America must uphold the highest standards and values of the profession, as well as the manner in which we conduct ourselves at all times," said PGA vice president Derek Sprague, who will replace Bishop on an interim basis.

"We apologize to any individual or group that felt diminished, in any way, by this unacceptable incident."

The PGA of America said the decision to remove Bishop came from a vote from the board of directors.

"The PGA of America board of directors voted today to remove Ted Bishop, the 38th PGA president, from office for insensitive gender-based statements posted yesterday on social media. The board deemed the remarks to be inconsistent with the policies of the PGA," it said in a statement.

On Thursday, Bishop tweeted to Poulter "(Nick) Faldo's record stands by itself. Six majors and all-time Ryder Cup points. Yours or His? Lil Girl."

Bishop added fuel to the fire on his Facebook page, accusing Poulter of belittling Tom Watson and Faldo.

"Sounds like a little school girl squealing during recess. C'MON MAN!," Bishop wrote.

Bishop's comments were in reaction to Poulter's recently released autobiography.

In the book, Poulter stated that players had "lost a lot of respect" for Faldo, who said Sergio Garcia was useless at the 2008 Ryder Cup.

Bishop had named Watson to lead the 2014 United States Ryder Cup team but Europe won the match-up by five points.

Bishop had one month remaining on a two-year term. Sprague has been appointed as the association's interim president. Paul Levy, the PGA secretary, will assume the dual responsibilities as vice president and secretary.

The PGA annual meeting is scheduled for November 22, at which the election of new national officers will take place.

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