The irony of Garcia’s statement, in which he claimed he was “proud” to call the DP World Tour “home” again, was apparent to many who read it. You can count DP World Tour pro Eddie Pepperell among them.
Shortly after Garcia’s announcement, Pepperell sharply criticized Garcia in a strongly-worded social media post of his own.
Garcia is one of the greatest European players of all time. He’s accumulated 16 DP World Tour wins in his career, and he starred on a series of winning European Ryder Cup teams.
But in 2022, he chose to abandon the PGA and DP World Tours in favor of big paydays at LIV Golf. He was suspended by the DP World Tour and later resigned his membership.
And he wasn’t exactly judicious about the split. That year, he ranted to the Telegraph, “This tour is s—, you’re all f—, should have taken the Saudi money,” after the DP World Tour fined LIV players and temporarily banned them from certain events.
And that’s the reason the tone Garcia chose to employ in his DP World Tour return announcement did not sit well with Pepperell.
“This has to be Sergio trolling us? Surely. Elite level s—housery, this. Or has he got dementia?” Pepperell asked on X.
A few hours later, Pepperell followed his original post with another, in which he acknowledged that Garcia brings more value to the DP World Tour than he does.
“To be clear, I think Sergio Garcia is still a wonderful player. He was my favourite golfer growing up, ahead of Tiger. And I can see the value he still brings, ahead of me certainly,” Pepperell wrote.
But he wasn’t walking back his point. He continued by declaring that Sergio’s announcement displayed a “stunning” lack of awareness, given his previous criticism of the DP World Tour.
“But his statement today shows a remarkable lack of self awareness,” Pepperell wrote. “Like, a stunning amount.”
To be clear, I think Sergio Garcia is still a wonderful player. He was my favourite golfer growing up, ahead of Tiger. And I can see the value he still brings, ahead of me certainly.
But his statement today shows a remarkable lack of self awareness. Like, a stunning amount.
LIV players’ returns threaten DP World Tour pros’ careers
Pepperell has been an outspoken critic of LIV Golf for years, but he’s also been remarkably consistent over that time. His primary concern about LIV was how it could negatively impact the DP World Tour.
“It’s like they’re trying to deal the PGA Tour and DP World Tour a slow death by a thousand paper cuts,” Pepperell said at the time.
He’s also worried about how his own career will be affected by a large group of former LIV pros playing the DP World Tour next year.
In a blog post last week, Pepperell wrote that if returning LIV Golf pros were to take his own spots in DP World Tour events, it “would feel like an absolute betrayal.”
But he also acknowledged that the DP World Tour needs star power to aid its dire financial situation. So, while he’s OK with big stars getting special invites, he thinks most LIV Golf pros should have to earn their way back through Q-School.
It’s important to note that none of this is hypothetical for Pepperell. The two-time winner made it through Q-School last season to reclaim his DP World Tour card. This year, he sits in 101st in the Race to Dubai standings, which means his status for next season is at risk.
“[The DP World Tour] should make it harder for guys to come back. Four years ago they didn’t give a s— about the DP World Tour. They made a decision to go after the money. And now all of a sudden, the money is gone and they want to come back and act like nothing happened. I don’t think that’s right,” Luiten told Today’s Golfer.
He continued: “Why give them invites? If I apply for an invite if I’m not in a tournament, I’m not going to get it because it’s all going to the LIV guys. There’s only a certain amount of invites. Invites should be for young talent coming through and not guys that took the piss against this tour and now they want to come back and they get invites. I’m not a big fan of that.”
