Eddie Pepperell returns to the golf tournament after a three-month absence. Photo: PA/Mike Egerton
It was 3am in Dubai in January when Eddie Pepperell had an epiphany about his golf. “I couldn’t sleep,” the Englishman recalls. “I just lay in bed and thought about different things. I wasn't in the best place, to be honest. We just moved in, we had things to do, I didn't feel very well after last year's trip. In Abu Dhabi last week, I just missed… Anyway, the thought flashes through my mind: apart from Qatar, where I won in 2018, I have never played well in the desert.”
On a whim, Pepperell decided to boot up the laptop in the middle of the night and review 10 years of results. “It was actually a solid set of data,” he says, smiling. “Just watching models, results, hitting averages, hitting rates, money earned, top 10… I found that I made 85 percent of my career earnings on the European tour in Europe. I think I've had 38 top 10s in my career and 33 of them were in Europe. Eighty percent of my earnings I received between June and October.
“I just thought to myself, if you were a business consultant and you came to look at this business, one of the first and most obvious things you would say is: “Why are you doing business in the Middle East? It doesn't work for you. Focus on what you are good at.”
The result of burning all that midnight oil? Three months before the golf tournament. Pepperell fulfilled his obligations up to and including the Singapore Classic in February (here he also did not make it, the fourth time in a row since the beginning of the year). But he has since returned to the UK, settling into his new home near Thame, Oxfordshire with partner Jen and their two dogs, Gus and Pip.
Seated at the kitchen table, looking out over the sloping garden. and the fields outside («The farmer said we could score balls in his field if we wanted to, which is very nice of him»). Pepperell looks and sounds quite healthy.
He got in shape, quit drinking, set up a golf studio with a simulator in a nearby barn, and played many practice rounds at Queenwood Golf Club in Surrey, where he joined some 18 months ago. “I’m doing well,” he says when asked if all the hard work has paid off. “I think we will find out. Like everything, it is cyclical. I know that I have it in me to do it. I believe I can get into a hot race again and have a good summer. Absolutely agree.”
My three month vacation is coming to an end. With a Sim in the house just got a whole lot easier! 😁
I even managed to train with Marco Simone a few times … so no excuses.
Looking forward to the start of the year 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/EzLRCqITTL
— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) April 29, 2023
This week will see the first Test at the Italian Open where Pepperell returns to the Action of the DP World Tour. This year's venue, the Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome, will host the fall Ryder Cup. Suffice to say, Pepperell is not expecting a call from European captain Luke Donald, no matter how hot this summer has been.
Pepperell has dropped to 246th in the official world golf rankings and is frankly honest about where he's trying to make a comeback, and anyone who follows his very interesting Twitter account knows that.
For those who don't, the 32-year-old is 24k gold on Twitter; funny, caustic, irreverent, never afraid to speak his mind. He often gets into trouble. Not surprisingly, Pepperell fell out with LIV Tour defector Richard Bland a couple of weeks ago. His subsequent TKO victory came as no surprise.
After Bland, a 22-year European tour veteran, sarcastically asked Pepperell for examples to illustrate his point that famous tours were honored innovation, adding, «But maybe [in] your 15 minutes on tour you know something else.» ;, Pepperell is back with a savage critique.
Where to start…
Suppose everything is simple; I have won more tournaments in my 15 minutes than you have in 22 years.
What the Tour did (to name a few);
GolfSix
Heineken Hole in Himmerland
Beat the pro in Holland
The tour you spent 22 years on did you good, mate
— Eddie Pepperell ( @PepperellEddie April 23, 2023
Pepperell has since said he regrets instigating the «bulk». In fact, he claims to be generally a reluctant polemicist. “I don’t particularly want to be seen as a person who is really opinionated,” he says. «After all, I just had some strong opinions on several topics.»
LIV would certainly be one of them. Pepperell admits his tough anti-LIV stance has put a strain on some friendships. “A few,” he says. “Lori Kanter, who has always been my closest friend on tour… it was difficult, I won’t lie. But we are still friends. Last year we had a little period where we didn't talk much and it was difficult and it wasn't due to Covid either when we parted ways on a lot of things. But I respect him. He has every right to make his decisions, and he is a very strong-willed person. And very smart. So it was interesting to talk to him about LIV because even though it was the same thing that other people said, I know he's an independent thinker guy, which I don't think some of them are. So it made me question my thoughts at the time.»
'It was like a witch trial 400 years ago'
Pepperell's firm views on Covid, isolation and vaccination are also good documented. He admits that he «may have gone too far in some rabbit holes sometimes.» But he believes he was right to challenge mainstream opinion and is clearly proud of his steadfastness in the face of criticism, even if it was a «difficult period» for him personally.
“It was the first time I felt like an outsider,” he says. “Obviously, as a straight white male, it’s very easy to just go through life… So it was hard to suddenly feel like an outsider, a pariah. It was a tough period overall and a lot of people might disagree, but I think it took a lot of courage to actually stick with what you think, why you think that, why you chose not to do something.» p>
Pepperell points to tennis player Novak Djokovic, whose decision to remain unvaccinated was on a different level than his, drawing worldwide headlines. “I think Novak was very brave. As I said, this is not easy to do. I think I just felt very strongly that people needed to think more rationally and independently of what was going on. For a while, it was like the witch trials of 400 years ago. It just shows that we haven't evolved. All it takes is an event to really scare people. And as we saw in those Matt Hancock WhatsApp leaks, that's exactly what they were trying to do. It's so irresponsible.»
Pepperell after winning the 2018 British Masters at Walton Heath. Photo: Getty Images/Christopher Lee
Understandably, Pepperell would rather focus on his golf. Having spent the past three months eating healthier, staying away from alcohol and working hard on his game, he is looking forward to being a sixth place finisher at the Open at Carnoustie and a third finish at the Open at Carnoustie again. Players who had won three tournaments before a back injury in late 2018 began a long, slow unraveling of their game; before the pandemic hit when he decided to get in shape but ended up losing over 10 percent of his weight, completely changing the mechanics of his swing.
He is curious to know where he is and is comforted by the fact that victory or defeat will depend on him. He's not interested in sports psychologists. He prefers to take «100 percent responsibility» for his game rather than put his brain power in the hands of someone else.
But isn't that what a sports psychologist does? Help an athlete take responsibility? Doesn't he wonder if it can help? What if he lives to be 40 years old, and he never manages to return to his former form in his career? Will he then regret that he was with Steve Peters or Dave Alred?
Pepperell smiles. “I actually talked to Steve once after reading his book,” he replies. “And when I was younger, I talked to Dave. This was right after I spent two winters running in the snow after one miss, doing everything right, taking all the right notes, being super super disciplined. I forced myself every day. This was back when I was an amateur. And he made me feel like it wasn't enough. And I just knew that it was incompatible with my character.
“We are all arranged differently. Obviously, someone like Matt Fitzpatrick, who takes this analytical approach… his father is an accountant. Is this some kind of surprise? My father worked at Rover for 25 years and then ran a football club.
“Ultimately if I have a 25 year golf career and I never reach my full potential, but in the process I took 100 percent responsibility through the ups and downs, then when I finish my career, keeping in mind that I still hope to live another 40 years, this person will come out with a whole bunch of knowledge. It will be valuable; interesting.
«The downside is that you can create a little robot and tell it, 'Here's what you need to do.' Every step along the way. One who is absolutely effective. But robots are not interesting.”
Pepperell will never be a robot. Everyone who loves golf and entertains golfers hopes it will be the best again soon.
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