Eddie Pepperell bags European Tour award

Eddie Pepperell’s unusual hole-in-one at the Sky Sports British Masters – which he won to capture his second European Tour title – has been voted the 2018 European Tour ‘Shot of the Year’ by fans.

The Englishman produced the highlight of the opening round with his maiden European Tour ace on the par-3 ninth at Walton Health.

The 27-year-old hit the pin with his tee shot before the ball landed on the green and spun back into the cup to the delight of home crowds.

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“This is very cool,” Pepperell said. “The British Masters was a massive tournament for me and that shot sparked off the week.”

“With the wind, the ninth was a tough hole all week, picking the right club and ball flight was tricky. I hit a really good seven iron and it never left the pin. It obviously got lucky but it nearly went in on the fly. It’s one of the craziest aces I think I’ve seen.

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“I owe a massive thanks to all the fans who voted.”

Over the course of three weeks, Pepperell’s hole-in-one received nearly a quarter of all fan votes, narrowly topping Italian Renato Paratore’s miracle escape on the 72nd hole of the Porsche European Open, and beating out competition from the likes of Justin Thomas, Justin Rose and Russell Knox.

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Pepperell joins Joost Luiten, Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Jamie Donaldson, Henrik Stenson, Louis Oosthuizen and Graeme McDowell as the winners of the award since 2010.