An injury knocked Eddie Pepperell from Sunday’s final grouping on Europe’s secondary circuit.
Pepperell was tied for the lead with David Horsey and Albin Bergstrom at 13 under entering the last round of the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge, a French stop on the HotelPlanner Tour, formerly the Challenge Tour. But the 34-year-old Englishman was forced to withdraw because of a back injury that flared up overnight.
Not active on social media since last summer, Pepperell has yet to comment on the withdrawal.
A two-time DP World Tour winner, though not since 2018, Pepperell missed six weeks of action after withdrawing six holes into his second round at the DPWT’s Turkish Airlines Open in early May. Pepperell blamed burnout and subsequent poor play, saying later, “I knew before Turkey, but I certainly knew when I was heading off the course in a buggy in Turkey that I wasn’t going to see a golf course for a while.”
He returned to the HotelPlanner Tour last week in Pleneuf, France, where he missed the cut. He currently sits No. 74 in the Road to Mallorca, where the top 20 players at season’s end earn DPWT status.
Pepperell, who is ranked 538th in the world rankings, lost his DPWT card last season. He then narrowly missed at Q-School.
“So far this week, I’ve played the golf I used to play,” Pepperell said Saturday evening after rounds of 70-67-66. “… I feel refreshed for sure. I feel much calmer and my energy levels have been a lot better which is a good sign. I’m definitely in a better place physically and psychologically, too.”
Horsey and Bergstrom played Sunday as a twosome.
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