Pepperell thankful for mum’s mittens in British Masters win
EDDIE Pepperell defied miserable conditions with a little help from his mum to win his second European Tour title of the season in the British Masters – and with it a different Masters appearance next April.
Pepperell carded a closing 72 at a wet and windy Walton Heath to complete a wire-towire victory on nine under par, two shots ahead of playing partner Alexander Bjork from Sweden.
Australian Lucas Herbert and England’s Jordan Smith finished two shots further back, with tournament host Justin Rose carding a closing 70 to finish eighth on three under and Ryder Cup teammate Tommy Fleetwood another stroke behind.
Pepperell’s three-shot overnight lead was down to a single stroke when he threeputted the ninth – the same hole where he enjoyed a spectacular hole-in-one on Thursday – and Bjork covered the front nine in 34.
However, Pepperell then promptly holed his second shot to the 10th from 122 yards for an eagle to move three clear and, although bogeys on the 15th and 16th set up a nervous finish, the 27-year-old from Oxfordshire saved par from a bunker on the last to seal a deserved win.
“The credit for the eagle goes to my mum Marian because she gave me some mittens as I was walking off the 10th tee,” Pepperell joked. “It was such a tough day in the conditions, I didn’t swing it well from the get-go and it was an absolute grind.
“I did not sleep great the last two nights. My mind was very active, especially with all the stuff after the hole-inone, the social media.
“It was hard to keep my mind on the golf because I was leading all week, I didn’t do much practice and I played terrible leading up to the event; Wednesday was the worst I’ve played for ages.
“I didn’t know how I felt about my game, I had to grind it out at times and I guess to have won like that is really satisfying.”
The win will take Pepperell into the world’s top 35 and almost certainly secure a Masters debut in 2019, with the top 50 at the end of December qualifying for the first major of the year at Augusta National in April.