Eddie Pepperell climbed up to seventh on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai Rankings after picking up his second title of the season with a brilliant wire-to-wire victory in often difficult conditions at the Sky Sports British Masters, hosted by World No.2 Justin Rose.
The Englishman, who won his first European Tour title earlier this season at the Qatar Bank Commercial Masters, started the final round with a three shot lead over fellow countryman Jordan Smith, American Julian Suri, Frenchman Julien Guerrier and Sweden’s Alexander Björk after rounds of 67, 69, and 71 at Walton Heath Golf Club.
The 27 year old made the turn at level par on a wet and windy day four whilst playing partner Björk heaped the pressure on after picking up two shots on his opening nine holes before Pepperell regained control after he holed-out for eagle on the par four tenth. After dropping two shots at the 15th and 16th, Pepperell looked to have opened the door for Björk but a bogey on the last denied the Volvo China Open champion a shot at a second European Tour title. With the win, Pepperell climbs from 11th to seventh in the Race to Dubai Rankings with 2,478,434 points, putting him in prime position for a share of the Race to Dubai’s Bonus Pool, which is open to the top ten players on the Rankings.
“Hats off to Eddie on another superb performance at the Sky Sports British Masters which has moved him into the top ten of the Race to Dubai,” said Nick Tarratt, Director, European Tour International Dubai Office. “We are now at the tail-end of another fantastic season of golf on the European Tour and we are thoroughly looking forward to welcoming the top 60 players on the Race to Dubai for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai next month.”
Along with his winner’s cheque, Pepperell also won £10,000 (AED48,486) for the European Tour’s charity of the year, Cancer Research and the same amount for his chosen charity, Helen and Douglas after his sensational hole-in-one on the ninth hole in the first round.
“It’s brilliant,” said Pepperell after his victory. “The crowds were great, I’ve had some great local support around a beautiful golf course – one I’ve played a lot as a junior and an amateur – so to come and win this event is really special.
“It was such a tough day with the conditions. I didn’t swing it very well from the get-go and it was really hard then to find it. It was an absolute grind for four or five hours. It just shows how important it is to build a lead when things are going well for you. I’m delighted to go wire-to-wire, especially at this event, I’m over the moon.”
Björk’s gutsy final round display saw him finish two behind Pepperell which earned him 438,880 Race to Dubai points. The 28 year old edges closer to the Race to Dubai top ten after climbing from 22nd to 12th on 1,804,834 points.
Meanwhile, England’s Sam Horsfield took a giant step towards a debut appearance at the DP World Tour Championship thanks to a tied for fifth place finish. The 22 year old, who is in his rookie season on the European Tour after progressing through all three stages of Qualifying School last year, moves up to 52nd from 67th on 668,792 points.
With only five tournaments to go on the Race to Dubai calendar, Italy’s Francesco Molinari leads the way with 4,635,909 points, whilst England’s Tommy Fleetwood follows in second place on 3,291,967 points. USA’s Patrick Reed completes the top three 3,057,948 points.
The DP World Tour Championship takes place at Jumeirah Golf Estates from Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 November.
