British Masters winner Eddie Pepperell gives hope to us all

As we’ve mentioned before in T2G, Eddie Pepperell actually has a personality, has something to say on a variety of subjects and isn’t afraid to say it. Which makes him rare among today’s golfers.

Seek out his blog online for largely uncensored episodes of tour life, his eloquent thoughts and a healthy perspective.

It makes him a good story for us journos, and it’s good to relate that he can play a bit as well. Two tour wins this year? Just a bit.

I’m indebted to my colleague James Corrigan for ekeing out of Pepperell that all this comes from him reading his first book, cover to cover, at the age of 19.

And it wasn’t Hunger Games or the 50 Shades series, either.

OK, it was the autobiography of English rugby star Lawrence Dallaglio, but Eddie soon graduated to more stimulating stuff.

Reading books – and some of them are quite difficult ones – is enough to make you an intellectual in today’s locker room.

To have an epiphany like Eddie – he was not a gifted school student – is quite startling.

So as you look at your feckless teenager squinting at phone screens reading about Kardashian updates or playing Fortnite, remember Eddie and maybe casually leave a copy of Great Expectations lying around.

There is hope.