Eddie Pepperell: The lightbulb moment that changed my career

Eddie Pepperell has opened up on the “eureka moment” that completely changed the outlook of his career and led him to take an extended break from competitive golf.

Pepperell took three months off earlier this season after starting his 2023 with four straight missed cuts in the Middle East and Asia.

The Englishman decided to skip the remainder of the DP World Tour’s Asian swing, as well as three events in Africa, to focus on improving his game ahead of the circuit’s return to European soil.

Speaking to Alex Perry at the British Masters for the latest issue of bunkered, Pepperell reflected on making the call to miss such a large chunk of the season to work on his swing on a newly-installed simulator at his Oxfordshire home.

“It was about 3am and I had a eureka moment,” he explained. “I documented all my results, from top 10s, missed cuts, stroke average, money earned, through to countries and regions and even the time of the year. Patterns emerged and the data suggested I am a much better player in Europe, and a much better player from July to October.

“And that correlates with how I feel about myself – which is a good thing. I was just tired, and not in great health, and not enjoying travelling.”

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And while it has been a mixed bag of results since his self-imposed absence – a tie for 9th in Italy, a tie for 22nd in Belgium, and a tie for 12th in Sweden were offset by missed cuts in the Netherlands and Germany as well as a withdrawal – there is a lot for Pepperell to look forward to.

But he has conceded that he has put new pressure on himself to secure strong results in a smaller window of events.

“Financially I’ve taken quite a big risk,” he admitted. “I was mortgage-free last year with zero monetary worries and now I’ve taken a much bigger mortgage out it’s a bit different. And things like that do affect me, as they do everyone, so it’s not entirely stress free.”

But this was a risk Pepperell certainly deemed worthwhile.

“I love playing in Europe,” he said. “It’s easier on the body. And I’m fortunate that there are a lot of tournaments to play in Europe.”

Read the full exclusive interview with Eddie Pepperell in issue 204 of bunkered, on-sale now in all good newsagents. Alternatively, click here to subscribe.