Eddie’s tipple leads to corking final day
Sometimes sports science is overrated. Disgusted by his third-round performance, Eddie Pepperell decided to hit the bottle on Saturday night and with a throbbing head proceeded to shoot a four-underpar 67, the best score of the final round.
“I was a little hungover, I won’t lie,” Pepperell said. “I had too much to drink last night. It was just some wine in the IMG house, and I was there with my coach. We just drowned sorrows for a half hour and had a good chat.
“Sometimes I have a few drinks. Tiger [Woods] is minus-seven [at the time], he didn’t have a drink last
night, I bet. He’s a proper athlete. I mean, I’ve done it all different types of ways in my career, and the next day it’s been anything and everything. So there’s no real rhyme or reason to it. I think it depends on how you feel.
“I like to socialise in the evenings really, if I can and it certainly takes some of the pressure and the sting away from competitive golf at this level because it’s stressful.”
At a time when scores were coming tumbling down the leaderboard, there was a serious prospect that Pepperell’s clubhouse leading score of five-under 279 could be enough to win the Claret Jug. “Apparently, I’ll have to hang around,” Pepperell deadpanned after his round, which contained five birdies and just a single bogey. That ended up being good enough for a share of sixth place – tied with a certain “proper athlete” Woods – which was his first top-10 finish at a major championship.
The weaker wind for the earlier starters obviously helped. So did the presence of playing partner Phil Mickelson, a five-time major winner. But most of all Pepperell benefited from no longer giving a damn.
“I was so frustrated yesterday, that today was really, I wouldn’t say a write-off, but I didn’t feel I was in the golf tournament,” Pepperell said. “Whether I shot 69 or 73 today, it wouldn’t have been heartbreaking. But as it happens, I shot 67. So, you know, it’s a funny game.
“I wasn’t shy today. I hit the ball better on the range, which gave me some confidence because I didn’t feel I was swinging it well this week. And then playing with Phil. Those two things gave me something to go out there with.”
Pepperell, if you could not tell already, is not your typical golfer. He does a fine line in self-deprecating humour – attributing his hangover to being a “lightweight” rather than the quantity of alcohol consumed – and writes one of the most illuminating and lucid blogs of any sporting professional.
Rather than being ghostwritten on a slick, corporate website such as the Players’ Tribune, Pepperell writes his own content on a reassuringly basic Wordpress platform.
Nor is he afraid to venture an opinion. When Mickelson provoked uproar at the US Open by stopping his ball rolling off the green, Pepperell tweeted, “He’s taken advantage of the rules. He’s not cheated. It’s like what [Luis] Suarez did at the World Cup a few years ago with his handball. It’s just unethical and that’s what’s hard to swallow for some of us, I believe.”
Apparently Mickelson does not follow him on social media as the conversation mainly centred around Pepperell trying to blag some free shirts. “I mean, I didn’t get to ask him about that, which was a shame because I wanted to.
“I asked him about his clothing line and that it looks good. He did say the fabric is kind of loose fitting around this area, and he called me an athlete. I think he’s lying. So I’m going to ask for a couple. Yeah, so I’m going to have to ask for a couple shirts maybe.”