On Monday morning, a pair of English tour pros, Lee Westwood and Eddie Pepperell, got into a testy Twitter spat over LIV with Pepperell eventually pointing out that Westwood got paid £100,000 last week for “playing like a turnip.” Here’s how it went down.

First, Westwood chimed in on the latest edition of the Official World Golf Ranking, which still doesn’t recognise LIV events because they don’t meet the ranking system’s requirements:

#OWGR update after week #32

1Scottie
2Rory
3Rahm
4Cantlay
5Viktor
6Xander
7Homa
8Harman
9CamS
10Fitz
11Clark
12Spieth
13BK
14Hatton
15Tommy
16Keegan
17Young
18TomKim
19Finau
20Collin
27Im
29Henley
30Glover?
32Rose
36Sahith
43Schenk
45Moore
49CamDavis
57Hadwin
99Tosti?

— Nosferatu (@VC606) August 14, 2023

That’s when Pepperell, never one to shy from Twitter spats, jumped in with his first jab:

I’ll tell you what’s a joke Lee; you earning 3X the average annual UK salary in one week for shooting +20 over 3 rounds.

— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) August 14, 2023

Westwood responded by pointing out the PGA Tour has added some new ways to get more money in its players’ pockets as well. To which Pepperell responded with the “turnip” dig:

It’s all laughable. From you earning £100k last week for playing like a turnip to the TGL/PIP.

Pro golf has degraded itself to being just about the money. Maybe it always has been and I’m just naive, but it isn’t doing much to improve the sport and genuinely ‘grow the game’.

— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) August 14, 2023

But it wasn’t over. The two exchanged a few more jabs, including Pepperell claiming pro golf would be in a better place if players like Westwood hadn’t jumped to LIV Golf and getting a “Mean Girls” line in there.

Not from the top I’m not!

But pretty sure professional golf would be in a better spot if a few of you stuck instead of twisted.

But money and all that… sure is alluring whatever the implications for the sport.

You go Glen Coco.

— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) August 14, 2023

Westwood eventually hit Pepperell with a classic Simpsons GIF:

@PepperellEddie pic.twitter.com/ZfDz4gWeG1

— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) August 14, 2023

And Eddie seemed to agree that he shouldn’t have said anything.

As Ricky Gervais would say; “I should’ve left it”

??

— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) August 14, 2023

Anyway, should make for an awkward moment the next time these two are paired together, whatever the tour. Unless they keep the conversation to pop culture references.

The post Lee Westwood, Eddie Pepperell get into testy Twitter spat appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Crocker began the day with a two-shot lead but was joined at the summit early on as the chasing pack closed in on him at Fairmont St Andrews.

He led by one at the turn before starting the back nine with three birdies in four holes to reach 22-under par and stretch his advantage back to two.

But with Englishman Pepperell in the clubhouse on 21-under, Crocker endured a nervy finish as he parred his way home to sign for a closing 68 to win by a single shot.

Crocker, who started the 2022 season with eight missed cuts and a retirement in his first nine events, was visibly relieved as he holed his four-foot par putt at the last to secure the trophy.

Pepperell finished alone in second one shot behind Crocker after firing a brilliant Sunday 65, while home favourite David Law and Dubai-based Spaniard Adrian Otaegui shared third place on 19-under.

Swede Jens Dantorp and Denmark’s Oliver Hundebøll were a shot further back, while another Dane in Soren Kjeldsen, Wilco Nienaber of South Africa and Englishman Callum Shinkwin rounded out the top 10 at 17-under.

“Winning a golf tournament is not easy,” said Crocker. “Eddie did not make that easy for me either.

“After the three putt par on 15 I thought I still had a little bit of room. They are not easy holes coming down the stretch. Great save on 17. I thought I could then make it pretty easy — it’s a par five coming in, but I don’t think it’s ever easy to make a par to win a golf tournament. That was pretty special.

“I have felt pressure like that before but this is my first pro tournament win. That putt looked like it was 20 feet, the hole looked like it was half an inch wide. Right off the face I knew it was a well-struck putt. As I looked up and I saw it drop, I was just telling myself — don’t start crying.”

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The post DP World Tour: Sean Crocker secures wire-to-wire Hero Open win at St Andrews appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 36-year-old Dutchman, who previously won this event in 2013 and 2016, shot a seven-under par 65 at Bernardus Golf-— with eight birdies against a solitary bogey — to take the outright lead ahead of early starters Englishman Eddie Pepperell and Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard.

Meanwhile, Pepperell revealed some words of wisdom from his partner Jen were behind his decision not to play a practice round ahead of the tournament and the strategy paid off as the Englishman shot 66 to finish in a share of second place alongside Hojgaard.

The 31-year-old has performed well in the Netherlands with four top 10s to his name and was pleasantly surprised with his game and the golf course.

Victor Perez, Andrea Pavan, Mikko Korhonen and Marcel Schneider finished in a tie for fourth on five under

“It could have been better, but you know, I won’t be too picky,” said Luiten. “I have been struggling a bit with my game, so it was great to see the score today and for some reason I just love playing in front of the home crowd. I got off to a fast start and I kept it going, seven-under is a good day in these conditions.

“I think for me because there is so much going on around you, I need to get into my own little bubble and just do my thing, and for some reason when there is a lot more people than I am used to I’m better at it, or it makes you go into that place. So that is the place I am trying to find every day but obviously you have to pretend like the crowd is there all the time and it’s hard, but I have been able to do it today so hopefully we keep it going.”

Pepperell added: “Last year I was trying hard, I was turning up to tournaments early, working a lot harder than I historically did and I was getting home knackered, and Jen was like, ‘What are you doing? You used to play Majors blind, when you were doing well you wouldn’t bother with practice rounds’, and I think she has got a point.

“I always focused on energy levels, short games, trying to at least feel comfortable with where my game is actually at. I could play my home golf course and swinging it the way I have been the last couple years, and not make a cut out here, so the truth is you have got to have your skill set and I am just prioritising that and I think things are moving in the right direction.

“I’m trying to get back what I had, that is the most frustrating part. It is venturing into the unknown which can be enjoyable but when you are trying to get something back, it is infuriating because you know you can do it and your body is not responding and that is where I have been at.”

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The post Home hope Joost Luiten leads the way at 2022 Dutch Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
Back when the Players Championship was a four-day event; back when the word “pandemic” wasn’t part of everyday conversation; and back when Tiger Woods was just a four-time Masters champion, Eddie Pepperell did rather well at TPC Sawgrass. Closing with a six-under-par 66, the then 28-year-old Englishman rose from relative obscurity, at least in the United States, to finish T-3 in the biggest event on the PGA Tour and against the strongest field of 2019.

At the time, that exceptional performance looked like merely the next step up professional golf’s ladder for Pepperell, a two-time winner on what is now the DP World Tour.

But it wasn’t.

Fast forward three years and Pepperell is nowhere near Ponte Vedra Beach. Not physically. And certainly not in terms of his ranking. Once as high as 32nd in the world, the now 31-year-old is currently the 468th best golfer on the planet. Last season, he finished 139th on the Race to Dubai and lost his card, having made only 10 halfway cuts in 23 starts. His most recent top-10 finish came 18 month ago with a sixth at the 2020 BMW PGA Championship. And he has failed to make the weekend in his last five DP World Tour events, most recently at the Magical Kenya Open.

Today, Pepperell is a category 16-b player on the DP World Tour, a place reserved for those who finished between 139th and 161st on last season’s money list. He’s fallen so far that this week he failed to merit a starting spot in something called the MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood, a DP World Tour event “boasting” what will surely be one of the weakest line-ups of 2022.

Keyur Khamar
Pepperell’s T-3 finish at TPC Sawgrass in 2019 was his best career showing in 16 career PGA Tour starts.

It’s an ugly scenario, but not unprecedented for this thoughtful, always quotable and mildly eccentric character whose now neglected blog-writing was full of wit and commentary not often found within the often-insular world of golf. Sadly, he has failed to find the inspiration to write since May 2020.

“Away from the course, I don’t think much about golf, if I’m honest,” Pepperell told Golf Digest in an interview this week. “So most of what comes into my mind is non-golf related. My twitter feed is full of non-golf stuff. But I certainly wouldn’t want to write anything longer about what is going on in my head. We are living in a fascinating time in the broader context of history. So I don’t see myself as just a golfer, more a member of society. I like to think about it all and see where’s we are heading.”

As far as Pepperell is concerned, that has always meant following his own distinct path. Lest we forget, this is a man who, while suffering a severe hangover, shot 67 in the final round of the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie to finish T-6. That came less than two years after the first major dip in the life of Pepperell the golfer. Making a double-bogey on the final hole of his second round at the 2016 Portugal Masters, he missed the cut and relinquished his playing rights on what was then the European Tour. Where his apparently floundering career sits now is certainly unpalatable, but it is a situation with which he is hardly unfamiliar.

“When I lost my card first time round, I felt a lot more panic,” says Pepperell, who has earned €6.7 million from 207 appearances on his home circuit. “Sometimes I respond well to that. But this time round, I haven’t had that same feeling—probably because I’m in a much better place financially. I don’t feel like I have to panic. In some respects, that is a good thing. But in others, maybe not. The emotion I’ve felt most is frustration. My mood on the course has been very low. But the only way to solve that is to get better at golf. I still have confidence in my ability to do that.”

Pepperell’s biggest problem has been his iron play. What was once the strength of his game, has become his weakness, far out-stripping his previous issues with the driver and putting best described as “erratic.”

“I’ve just lost my ball-control as much as anything,” he admits. “Off the tee I’ve hit the ball as well as I ever have over the last two years. I’ve putted pretty well, or at least consistently, which is not like me. In both of those areas I’ve historically had a lot of volatility. But both have improved. On the other hand, my perennial strengths, short game and iron play, have regressed. That’s why I haven’t had any good results. It’s been a very frustrating period.

“I haven’t been shooting 80 all the time,” he continues. “But I’ve had a hard time shooting five under par. Because I’m hitting too many poor iron shots and making too many silly bogeys. Even when I’ve played well other than that, the best you can ever hope for is maybe three under par. In this day and age that just doesn’t cut it.”

In hindsight, Pepperell entered the pandemic in a place that wasn’t perfect and was getting worse. Then he came back to the tour with a skill set he labels “abysmal.”

“The most depressing thing is not so much that my iron play has been so bad,” he says. “It’s the occasional shank or thin from a bunker. It’s hitting them fat. I’ve hit some 60-yard pitches 30 yards short, that sort of thing, which shows me that there is something really wrong in my method. I have to say a 6-year-old could do better than me in some areas.”

Andrew Redington
Last season, Pepperell finished 139th on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai, losing his card after making 10 cuts in 23 starts.

All of which has led to a series of visits to a series of coaches, the latest Alan Thompson, who also works with Tommy Fleetwood. And the problem has been located. At impact with an iron in his hands, Pepperell is simply out of position. There is, he says, a significant “reverse-C” look to him at impact. A line drawn from his right shoulder down his right side to his right knee has a lot of bend to it. In the past, that would have been much straighter.

“My issue was easy to identify,” Pepperell says. “My impact position it is a long way from where it used to be. There has been a gradual deterioration in my game, to the point where you could put anyone in my impact position and they would struggle. I clearly have a talent for golf, but I’m simply not good enough to hit consistent shots from where my body is at impact. But correcting it requires some expertise in the form of a good coach. It’s important that I receive that input and work on it. Habits are so difficult to get out of. Creating a new movement pattern can be tricky.

Pepperell says that when he was doing well, his good shots were often the product of doing drills that he came up with on his own. “I did those on top of any coaching I was getting. I took a lot of ownership,” Pepperell says. “And maybe that has been part of my problem. I saw success doing my own thing to an extent. But maybe the last year would have been more productive if I had been listening more to a coach. If I had been doing what I was told I could have built my ownership on top of that. Some players sacrifice ownership entirely; others take it on themselves. I seem to need a bit of both.”

In the meantime, Pepperell has memories of 2019 and TPC Sawgrass that sustain him. Sitting at home in the university city of Oxford this week, he has allowed himself a short trip down the lane called “memory.”

“The Players is a bit like a major or the Ryder Cup,” he says. “I’m enjoying it for what it is. Plus, I’m not a bitter person, so I’m not looking on with any regrets about not being there.”

Which is a heathy outlook. Sensible too. Three years on from what Pepperell calls the best performance of his life, there is much to look back on with pleasure. But the biggest smile has been reserved for the circuitous 49-foot, seven-inch putt he holed on the 71st green for what was his fifth birdie since the turn.

INCREDIBLE!

5️⃣0️⃣ feet from @PepperellEddie at the iconic 17th!

He’s tied for the lead @THEPLAYERSChamp.

What a moment.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/uAmTF6eU7w

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 17, 2019

“I’m not one to celebrate much on the course,” he says. “But the putt on 17 was sort of the climax to a weird back nine. Ironically, I don’t remember playing that well generally. I wasn’t particularly good with the driver or my irons. But mentally I was in a great place. My short game and putting were just brilliant that week (he led the field in strokes gained around the green). I was so in the zone at that point in terms of feel, which was such a part of that putt because of the break involved. I was so immersed in the actual putt. So it was difficult for me to immediately detach myself from the process once the ball went into the hole. It was nice, and a bit surreal – when the crowd starting chanting my name though.”

Indeed, his is a name worth remembering. It may take a wee while, but Eddie Pepperell will be back.

The post Eddie Pepperell’s T-3 at the 2019 Players was supposed to be his breakout moment. Three years later, he’s still waiting on the payoff appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
A month after Dustin Johnson captured his second Saudi International title in three attempts, the European Tour season cranks back into life in Doha on Thursday.

The $1.5 million Commercial Bank Qatar Masters enjoys a rich history with Adam Scott (twice), Ernie Els, Henrik Stenson, Retief Goosen, Paul Lawrie and Sergio Garcia former winners of the Mother of Pearl trophy.

Quite who will join that elite company when Education City G.C. plays host to the event for the second time this week is anyone’s guess given a wide open field of seasoned European Tour winners, talented youngsters and journeymen just as hopeful of a breakthrough.

Here’s all you need to know ahead of Thursday’s first round.

Wide Open

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Being scheduled opposite golf’s unofficial fifth major, The Players Championship, is a glass half full or half empty proposition depending on your viewpoint. While the world’s great and good are at TPC Sawgrass in Florida, there are 2000 Ryder Cup points and a precious European Tour exemption on the line for the lesser lights in Doha so expect a tight tussle.

Four-time European tour winner Andy Sullivan is the highest-ranked player at 61st in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) and one of just eight players rated inside the top 100 so take your pick. The Englishman’s T-25 placing in Abu Dhabi is his best finish in four 2021 starts which includes a T-68 finish at the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession in the last week of February.

2020 Recap
Jorge Campillo’s epic playoff victory over David Drysdale sadly got lost in the confusion that reigned this time last year as the coronavirus pandemic swept the world. Indeed, the European Tour shut down for four months immediately after Campillo outlasted Drysdale at the fifth hole of overtime at Education City courtesy of three putts holed from more than 20 feet in the playoff.

The Spaniard is clearly looking forward to defending for the first time despite Qatar being his second European Tour win. In a crazy old year, Campillo was denied that opportunity when the Trophée Hassan II, which he won in 2019, was cancelled last year due to COVID-19.

“It’s different [being defending champion], I’ve never been in this position before because the other tournament I won [Trophée Hassan II] I couldn’t defend it. It’s new for me. I have had most of the attention this week, but I’m fine with it. It’s nice to be the defending champion.

“I’ve had a long time to think about the win. I was playing good and was ready to go to India to try and win another golf tournament, but that was stopped because of the pandemic. It was hard to come back after the break.

“The play-off stands out the most. It was such a great play-off. Besides all the putts I made, I hit some good shots too. David played great and I was glad I made those putts to keep up in the play-off.”

The defending champion is back with his trophy ?#QatarMasters pic.twitter.com/oyokjVefP7

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) March 10, 2021

COVID lingers
Sadly, the pandemic remains a pesky reality for the game a year on. The European Tour announced on Wednesday that Lorenzo Scalise had been forced to withdraw after a positive COVID test.

The Italian, who has not exhibited any symptoms, was tested on arrival at Hamad International Airport on Tuesday afternoon as part of the pre-tournament screening process.

Others to watch
This week’s field includes three former champions in Darren Fichardt, Justin Harding and Eddie Pepperell, along with 2016 Ryder Cup players Thomas Pieters and Sullivan.

Pepperell, the 2018 champion at Doha Golf Club who went on to capture the British Masters seven months later, was typically forthright when he cornered for some preview content, saying “I need to become a golf professional again”

Check it out:

“I need to become a golf professional again.”@PepperellEddie ahead of this week’s #QatarMasters. pic.twitter.com/7kgdeACY15

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) March 10, 2021

Desert Ascent

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

Don’t be surprised if Rasmus Højgaard features strongly. The 19-year-old Dane, who won twice in his rookie season, is trending nicely this Desert Swing after rattling of T-25, T-9 and 6th places finishes in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Saudi Arabia respectively.

Højgaard did miss the cut at the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession but thinks he’s figured out why.

“I struggled at the WGC at The Concession, I think I got caught up in thinking about the result there,” Højgaard said.

“It’s a big event, you want to play well. I was thinking more about that instead of producing good golf shots. That will be my focus this week. I want to win as much as possible, but it’s more important that I keep improving my game and that should produce good results and more wins, I hope.

“It feels good to be back in Qatar, it’s a good course and I enjoyed playing it last year.”

The post All you need to know about the Qatar Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

In recent years, we’ve been treated to instant classics like “Chase the Ace,” “The Awkward Reporter,” and a fantastic mock Zoom call. But this may be the best effort yet.

A collection of the Euro Tour’s biggest stars (Tommy Fleetwood, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson, Tyrell Hatton, Eddie Pepperell, and Matt Wallace) got together to attend an anger management therapy group. Not surprisingly, hilarity ensues. Check it out:

Of course, what makes all these videos so great is the fact these guys don’t take themselves so seriously. And boy, are they cool with making fun of themselves. In particular, Tyrrell Hatton acknowledging he’s a hothead on the course, Matt Wallace referring to his checkered past dealing with caddies and Ian Poulter playing up his reputation as a vain Ryder Cup villain.

And then Martin Kaymer drops a perfect cameo as the guy who is too nice to be part of this group. There are some great lines and some genuinely good acting. Just look at Hatton’s face here!

Give that man a BAFTA! Anyway, add it all up and it’s content gold. And at the end, Stenson can be heard saying, “That’ll do, guys. Slow golfers are in next.” We can only hope, that’s the Euro Tour’s next video project.

The post This video of European Tour stars in anger management group therapy is as great as you’d expect appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The casual golf fan may not know much about Dean Burmester, but it will only take the following clip to know the 31-year-old South African is an absolute savage. After laying up(?) off the tee with a 2-iron on the 569-yard, par-5 11th at Gary Player Country Club, Burmy belted another trusty 2-iron to near gimme range to set up one of the most unusual eagles you’ll ever see. Check it out:

2 iron + 2 iron = 569 yards@BurmyGolf eagles the 11th.#SAOpen pic.twitter.com/iDKd2QjE5F

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 4, 2020

Two irons. Five hundred and sixty-nine yards. Granted, it was two 2-irons, but still. We’re guessing that’s not what Gary Player envisioned when he designed that long par 5.

Of course, this will likely cause the latest cries of “THE BALL GOES TOO FAR!” from golf purists. And maybe it does, but do you know how hard it is to hit a 2-iron?! And aren’t golf purists always complaining the modern tour pro not having to hit clubs like 2-irons?

Anyway, well played, Burmy. You’re a beast.

Ed’s Note: For the record, here’s Pepperell’s tweet after Shinkwin posted a 68 int he first round of the Golf in Dubai Championship at JGE with two drivers:

He was out driving me by 30 yards with the short one and 50 yards with the long one.

— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) December 2, 2020

The post This European Tour pro who reached a 569-yard par 5 with a pair of 2-irons is an absolute savage appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Just in case you were in any doubt about the quality of the Englishman’s flushed approach into his penultimate hole on Thursday, there was an exclamation mark from the European Tour broadcast booth.  “What a shot!” the commentator cried.

Quite. Check it out:

Leads by three @andysulligolf ?‍#GolfInDubai pic.twitter.com/nwR1rHifcF

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 3, 2020

The post-shot shrug, that was trademark Sully too. The tap-in birdie than ensued helped him to -17 and a three-shot lead heading into moving day on Friday. But was it the shot of the second round? You be the judge.

How about Martin Kaymer’s classy pitch off a cart path?

Martin Kaymer from the cart path ?#GolfInDubai pic.twitter.com/HgP9oMmtRe

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 3, 2020

Or the shot Eddie Pepperell produced after whatever he was doing on the previous green.

Whatever @PepperellEddie was thinking about, it worked.#GolfInDubai pic.twitter.com/pmT9LDeHKs

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 3, 2020

We love it when Pepperell has a quiet word with himself. Nearly as much as the Englishman’s social media musings which peaked after Sullivan’s opening round 61.

Don’t be like that Ed I missed a few coming in. ??????

— Andy Sullivan (@andysulligolf) December 2, 2020

Talking of shot-making, how about Ross Fisher going 36 blemish-free holes to get it to -14 after backing up his opening 63 with a 67.

“I made five [birdies] today, there were probably at least a handful that slipped by. It would have been nice to get one on nine [his final hole]there, but I’m not going to stand here and complain that I’ve missed a few putts. I’m 14 under, haven’t made a bogey, so life’s pretty good,” Fisher said.

“It’s very satisfactory to make as many birdies as I have, but to not make a bogey in 36 holes, I’m delighted with. I think – I’ll have to check it – but if my stats are correct, I haven’t missed a green either. For 36 holes, to hit every single green. I missed the par five, but it was just off the edge. Very satisfying. “

Also on -14 is Matt Wallace (63-67) who is learning the importance of patience on a course giving up so many birdie looks.

“There is that added pressure but I just kept saying to myself, I shot nine-under yesterday, I’m playing some good stuff. I’m allowed to put in bad swings and to hit bad shots but what I’m not allowed to do is get down on myself – just crack on and move in,” Wallace said.

Andrew Redington/Getty Images

“This week in particular, it’s just wide off the tee in areas. I’ve managed to lose a ball or take a penalty drop off two drives this week so it’s obviously not wide enough for me. It’s wide in areas and you can get away with having a putt for birdie so it does come down to the putts.

“Very much looking forward to the group tomorrow, I spent a bit of time with Andy and Ross, just talking to them. I’ve got Sean on the bag who used to caddie for Sully so they’ll know each other well. I’m looking forward to it.”

The post Kaymer’s cart path escape, Pepperell’s zen moment and other epic shots from JGE appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Major winners Francesco Molinari and Padraig Harrington have withdrawn from next week’s PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park.

Harrington, who lives in Dublin, Ireland, is dropping out due to COVID-19 concerns, believing travelling to the United States proved too much a threat.

“As COVID-19 currently looks to be under control in Ireland, I am taking the prudent approach by following the guidelines and reducing the risk as much as possible by staying at home,” he said in a statement. Harrington is three-time major winner, which includes a victory at the 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills.

Molinari, who captured the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie, has not made a public statement about his decision not to play. The Italian, ranked No. 33 in the world, recently moved from London to California and has not played on any tour since February’s WGC-Mexico Championship.

The duo joins Lee Westwood, Eddie Pepperell, Shugo Imahira and Thomas Pieters as players who have opted out of the San Francisco proceedings, although the field remains strong with 95 of the top 100 suited to compete.

Molinari and Harrington will be replaced in the field by Taylor Gooch and Troy Merritt.

The post PGA Championship 2020: Pair of major winners to skip TPC Harding Park appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

RELATED: A slimmed-down Eddie Pepperell returns from quarantine

Appearing on an episode of “A Round with Radar” at Frilford Heath Golf Club, Pepperell told host Wayne Riley that he was once temporarily banned from the course for losing his cool during the club championship.

“I had like a four-foot birdie putt and missed it,” Pepperell recalls. “The red steam, the red mist descended and I gave it one of those.”

Pepperell then demonstrated taking a huge swing with his putter at the putting surface.

“I think I’d only done it six or seven times in my life up to that point, but this time I got caught,” the two-time European Tour winner said.

Vintage Eddie. You can watch the episode below with this part starting at around the 30-minute mark:

“I did do a great reparation job. I repaired it beautifully. You could barely see what had happened afterwards, but the group behind did come and notice it and then they pulled it up and took a photo and made it look much way worse than it was.”

So what was the penalty?

“I got six months for that,” he said.

Harsh, but it sounds like both the green and Pepperell’s relationship with the club has been patched up. OK, Eddie, now tell us more tales about the “red mist” descending. This is good stuff!

The post Eddie Pepperell reveals why he once got suspended from his home course appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.