Report: One of LIV Golf's harshest critics is quitting the Middle East!

The golfer has also confirmed he's given up booze. 

Ben Smith's picture
Wed, 3 May 2023
Report: One of LIV Golf's harshest critics is quitting the Middle East!

LIV Golf has had a number of critics, but would it be unreasonable to suggest Eddie Pepperell has been one of the harshest?

Since the rival league disrupted the status quo in men's professional golf last June, the Englishman has not been shy in offering his thoughts. 

He went after Henrik Stenson when the Swede decided to join LIV Golf. It was a decision that led to the 2016 Open winner being sacked as Ryder Cup captain. 

"Henrik, just be honest, it was a bucket load of cash and you couldn't resist it, like the rest of the guys," Pepperell wrote on Twitter in response to the Swede's lengthy statement about his decision to join his other 'rebels'. 

Elsewhere, Pepperell has called out Sergio Garcia, labelling the Spaniard as 'pathetic' and spoke of his disappointment in seeing stalwarts such as Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter bolt to the Saudi-backed league. 

These Ryder Cup legends are reportedly now going to resign their memberships with their home circuit

Pepperell previously said: 

"If this happens and we look back and conclude that LIV Golf put the knife into the back of the European Tour, how are Westwood and Poulter and Sergio and these guys going to feel about themselves knowing they have been complicit?
"I rooted for Sergio, the player. It's hard to root for Sergio, the man. The way these guys speak, quite gleefully, about what they've done, well, it's just disappointing."

It got to the point where Pepperell even starred in a hilarious spoof video, taking the right royal p*** out of the enormous fees the golfers have received for their services on LIV.

Things were complicated a little bit too as Pepperell's good friend Laurie Canter also played in LIV Golf events. 

Things were awkward for a while, the Englishman told The Telegraph's Tom Cary

But he added: 

"I know he's a guy capable of independent thought, which I don’t think some of them are. So it made me question my thoughts at the time."

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Pepperell was also involved in a fiery exchange on social media with another LIV player, Richard Bland, a few weeks ago. 

Bland said he was intoxicated and apologised but he has since deleted his Twitter. Pepperell told the publication that he didn't mean to cause a pile-on. 

Aside from LIV, Pepperell has confirmed that he is ditching playing in the Middle East. 

He told the publication of his 38 top-10 finishes in his career, 33 have been in Europe. Other than winning in Qatar in 2018, he's never played well in the desert, he said. 

Pepperell added:

"I just thought to myself: 'If you were a business consultant and you went in to look at that business, one of the first things and most obvious things you'd say is 'Why are you doing business in the Middle East? It doesn't work for you. Focus on what you're good at.'"

Elsewhere, the Englishman has confirmed that he's given up booze. 

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