Fan favorite Eddie Pepperell re-earns DP World Tour card with one of the clutchest closing stretches you will ever see
Valerio Pennicino
Back in the pre-COVID halcyon days—long before the likes of Jessica Hadwin and Michael Kim took up the baton—Eddie Pepperell was a Golf Twitter star. Unfortunately, as the pandemic came and went, so did Pepperell’s game, and the Englishman eventually lost his DP World Tour card. In 2024, he failed to regain his status by mere inches, experiencing one of the most gut-wrenching scenarios a professional golfer can ever face.
Coming down the stretch of the final round of the DP World Tour Q-School Final Qualifying on Wednesday, things looked to be headed in a similar direction for Pepperell. The now 34-year-old was three strokes outside the number with four holes to play in the 108-hole affair … but then something miraculous happened. Pepperell found something, birdieing his way into the clubhouse to leap up the leaderboard and put himself in position to reclaim a DP World Tour card (the top 20 finishers earned cards).
After his round, an emotional Pepperrell (who ultimately finished T-13, two shots to the good, said the entire week felt like a struggle until the moment it mattered most.
Better late than never, Eddie!
South Africa's Xander Lombard earned medalist honors, winning by 13 shots over Aaron Cockrill, Shubhankar Sharma and Connor McKinney. Pepperell was 18 back, but his extensive experience at golf’s top level surely helped him down the stretch in Tarragona, Spain, where this week’s final qualifying was held. Pepperell played on the DP World Tour for 12 years, winning twice. He also finished T-3 at the 2019 Players Championship in what looked like a sign of things to come for the wise-cracking Englishman. That promise didn’t exactly materialize, but thanks to his fourth-quarter heroics on Wednesday, he’ll now get another shot. Here’s hoping he sticks it this time, because golf could use more characters like Pepperell.
Here's the full list of players who earned cards.