Pepperell prioritises European Tour despite Major lure
Eddie Pepperell (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Eddie Pepperell has nailed his colours to his home mast, insisting he has no intention of returning to America to compete on the PGA Tour during covid-19.
The European Tour stalwart admits that even the lure of one of golf's four Majors, the PGA Championship in August isn't enough to convince him to travel with the outspoken Englishman even questioning the merits of golf's return Stateside from June full stop.
"Even if the rules were to change, and if the rumours from the European Tour are true and there might be some golf to be played in the UK in July and August in a run, I will prioritise that ahead of one major championship in San Francisco," Pepperell told Sky Sports News.
"Playing the UK events makes more sense to me, and I can't see myself going anywhere outside of Europe. And I've got a holiday booked in Ibiza in July!"
Anyone familiar with Pepperell's work on twitter will know he's not afraid to push the boat out when it comes to voicing an opinion. And although he resisted the urge to criticise the PGA Tour's decision to restart so soon with June 11th's Charles Schwab Challenge, it's clear that Pepperrell feels uncomfortable with the position the Tour has put its players in ahead of next month's resumption.
"The unfortunate position PGA Tour players are in, as things stand, is that this season is going to count," he explained.
"If this season was rolling forward and there were no eligibility issues, I think that would definitely change the decisions some players are making.
"They're probably going to be forced to play but I don't think you can adhere to the rules 100 percent, so if we're going to go ahead with this, we have to acknowledge there are going to be some infractions. This may put the players in an awkward position.
"But it's a phenomenal operation that they're going to have to come up with over the next month. Is it worth it? I suppose many people would say that it is.
"My personal opinion is I would rather wait until we can get back closer to some kind of normality and then come back than force it to happen, but that doesn't mean I think it's wrong."