Fiery Eddie Pepperell could be facing a hefty Tour fine after walking off the golf course claiming he’d run out of golf balls having found himself in a calamitous situation on day three of the Turkish Airlines Open.
Pepperell, 28, began his round from the 10th and was level par coming to the second hole, his 11th. He bogeyed the hole and then also bogeyed the third hole, his 12th, after using a wedge to putt-out on the Montgomerie Maxx course in Belek, with suggestions he may have snapped his putter in half.
The Englishman then came to the par-5 fourth hole, the 13th of his round, with water all down the left side and guarding the green, with Pepperell, who has not made many social media friends for his use of the a certain 4-letter word on Twitter, about to implode.
Pepperell found the fairway with his drive but this is where the story gets cloudy with playing partners, including double Major winning Martin Kaymer, 80% certain he then put five balls into the water whereas South African George Coetzee suggested it was closer to seven.
Kaymer said: “He put his second into water. Penalty. Then his fourth into the water. Penalty. Then put his sixth shot into the water. Penalty. Then after putting his then eighth shot into the water he walked up to us to say he’d run out of balls.”
“So, that’s five balls into the water but then I am not totally sure. I am thinking 80% five balls, 20% four balls but it was just all happening so quickly. (laughing).”
“It happened all so quick it was hard to count how many he’d hit.”
“Eddie just didn’t look right. He was clearly not happy on three as he didn’t putt with his putter on the third hole and putted with his wedge.”
Pepperell’s actions were reminiscent of the final scenes of the hit golf movie Tin Cup, where Roy McAvoy (Kevin Costner) puts ball after ball into the water guarding the final green, and while leading the U.S. Open, to eventually find the green and walk off with a ‘12’.
Kaymer remarked Pepperell’s actions reminded him on the movie.
He said: “I have watched the movie ‘Tin Cup’ on TV but now I’ve seen it live (laughing) but in the end both players didn’t win the tournament”.
Pepperell was then disqualified by the Tour ‘for not having enough golf balls to complete his round’.
Pepperell was later located in a restaurant at the nearby host Maxx Royal Hotel where he was asked what happened commenting; “It’s not worth recording, I wouldn’t say…..”
“I’m willing to let people say what they want to say. I ran out of golf balls, it was literally that. It’s not happened before, at least not to me.”
Pepperell was asked how many balls did he have in his golf bag.
He said: “‘I don’t know exactly but it was a good few. I lost a few when going around, I know that, and then I ran out.”
Two days earlier, at the same fourth hole, Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington took a ’10’ at the same hole after putting three balls into the water in an eventual round of 75
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