Eddie Pepperell slams “pathetic” Sergio Garcia

Long-time LIV Golf critic Eddie Pepperell slammed Sergio Garcia’s recent behaviour, branding the Spaniard’s antics “pathetic”.

Appearing on the Stripe Show podcast, Pepperell – a staunch ally of the DP World Tour – took aim at Garcia over his withdrawal from the BMW PGA Championship after just one round.

The former Masters champion was pictured hours later at a college football match in Texas, and has since been fined.

Pepperell, meanwhile, has been vocal in his opposition to the LIV series and became embroiled in a spat with Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter on Twitter during the Andalucia Masters.

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“I think Sergio acted pathetic and he’s been heavily criticised for it, and I’d add my voice to that,” he said.

“I haven’t got a lot of time for the actions and some of the words he’s said.

“There is a lot of frustration but there are a lot of players who would have taken the opportunity, and they would admit that.

“The frustration I’ve had, and it’s probably come across on Twitter on a couple of occasions directed at Lee Westwood, are at some of the comments that have come about after the fact.

“I have no issue with any of these players going and playing for LIV, but there are some things that not enough people understand about the situation with these people and LIV, namely that they are shareholders in the business of LIV. It is now of their interest to make LIV successful and work because they will be financially rewarded.

“There is a bit of conflict of interest in some respects here and that should be acknowledged.”

“A journalist wrote an article bemoaning the standard of the field and criticising the way it isn’t what it used to be, and cast a lot of aspersions on the DP World Tour as being at fault for that,” Pepperell added.

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“Lee and Ian both praised the article. What frustrated me about that, and the reason I asked the question on Twitter – I knew the answer to that question, I just wanted them to answer it honestly which neither of them could do.

“The truth is they can’t be there, even if they wanted to be, because with LIV there are contracts involved. They are criticising the tour for not having the strength of field at an event they can’t compete in anyway. It’s totally backwards, and I think a lot of this stuff is unfortunately.”

Pepperell also gave his thoughts on the DP World Tour’s strategic alliance with the PGA Tour – and revealed he will not go back to the US even if he earns a tour card.

“This feeder-like system has been in place for years,” he said.

“That isn’t because there’s some kind of monopoly on the game of golf. It’s because the PGA Tour offers the best product, the best players come together more frequently, they have the most money, the best events. When you weigh it up it’s fairly obvious why anyone would choose to go and play on the PGA Tour.

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“All that’s happened over the last six to nine months is on top of that we now have ten guaranteed spots at the end of the year, and if a player gets that they’re going to receive $500,000 up front.

“If I have a good year and take one of those ten spots I wouldn’t go and play on the PGA Tour. I love playing in Europe, I’m earning a lot of money in Europe anyway and that’s the lifestyle I want to live.

“Most will go. But most who do go will realise pretty quickly, ‘oh God, this is really difficult’. They may decide to come back and play in Europe anyway.

“A lot of people say to give your ten best assets away is crazy and I can understand that, but that’s part of the deal we’ve had to make.”