Pepperell fears for European Tour

London – British golfer Eddie Pepperell said this week he is concerned for the future of the European Tour given the “frankly terrifying” state of the global economy due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Tour started its newly formed British swing yesterday at the British Masters after returning to action with two events in Austria earlier this month.

Pepperell, ranked 82nd in the world, won the British Masters in 2018 and was runner-up last year.

The tournament, at Close House Golf Course in northeast England, has a prize fund of €1.25 million and is the first of six consecutive events in Britain.

The remaining five tournaments have purses of €1 million each and are funded by the European Tour itself.

In stark contrast, the US-based PGA Tour has been providing full prize funds since it returned last month and $10.5 million is up for grabs at next week’s WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational.

Pepperell, 29, personally feels under no financial pressure to play, but is concerned about the broader picture for the European game.

“I worry more about the cascading effects because if we’re playing for 30% less then that has a knock-on effect,” he said.

“I don’t pay my caddie as much, I don’t pay my coach as much, I don’t pay my physio as much so they’re not as wealthy and that’s what concerns me, not just the golf obviously.

Asked if he feared for the future of the European Tour, Pepperell added: “I suppose so, but ultimately there’s probably a dozen companies on the planet that could have survived this crisis without massive intervention like the Apples and Amazons of the world.”

British Masters host Lee Westwood is confident the strict approach taken by the European Tour will ensure a virus-free tournament.

“It’s up to us to be very careful and so far, from what I’ve witnessed, people are sticking to it by the letter, wearing masks and staying away from each other as much as they can,” Westwood said. –