Eddie Pepperell believes the DP World Tour’s decision to allow 10 players to leave for the PGA Tour is a “disaster”.
Speaking on The Chipping Forecast podcast in 2023, the two-time tour winner said the scheme to allow the top 10 players in the Race to Dubai a path to the US circuit made “no sense”.
As well as offering full membership to players who fail to hang onto their PGA Tour cards following the Fall Series events, the leading 10 players in the DP World Tour standings at the end of the season, not otherwise exempt, can depart stateside after earning playing rights for the following season.
The initiative was created as part of the strategic alliance between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour and those set to capitalise in 2025 include Rasmus Hojgaard, Matteo Manassero, Paul Waring and Thriston Lawrence.
Pepperell acknowledged that the initiative was beneficial from a players’ perspective, but looking at the overall ‘commercial strategy’, he said: “I personally think it’s a disaster for the DP World Tour. I can’t think of any good business that tries to not retain its clients if you like. Just give the best ones away. That makes no sense to me.
“But from the players’ perspective, who all have, frankly, ambitions to play on the biggest stage, which clearly now is the PGA Tour, it’s good for them.
“Now, it’s one of those things – how long can both of those things be in existence? Because to me it doesn’t seem sustainable that the tour can continue to operate successfully while giving away its best players.
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“But even equally, the players feel like it’s a good thing. I’m afraid I don’t like it at all. And like you say, it’s extremely formal now to the point where next year, or the year after, these players are all going to be falling back into a very high category on the DP World Tour anyway.
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“So there really is no incentive next year for these guys next year to play any tournaments on the DP World Tour other than their minimum events, which I just can’t get my head around as a strategy commercially from the DP World Tour.
“But it is what it is. I guess it’s in return, frankly, from all the investment that the PGA Tour is making, and to be clear, that is going to be well into the hundreds and hundreds of millions across a five-year period. So the PGA Tour clearly want to see some return. Part of the return is getting some very good European players.”
In 2022, the DP World Tour, formerly the European Tour, and the PGA Tour extended the strategic alliance for another 13 years in the wake of the rival LIV Golf League’s inception and the hefty financial backing of Saudi Arabia that came with it.
The PGA Tour increased its stake in European Tour Productions from 15% to 40% while also providing operational support and additional investment. The total purse on the DP World Tour increased to £117 million in 2024 and now to just over £120 million in 2025.
Asked by podcast host Andrew Cotter whether he would take up a PGA Tour card if he found himself in a position to do so, Pepperell added: “I wouldn’t want to take it up and I would have to think carefully about it.
“The issue is if you don’t take it up then you effectively, and this isn’t a reason to take it up in of itself, but if you do take it and you play 15 events you are going to get half a million dollars and you’re coming back the year after with absolute security to play on the DP World Tour.
“That’s a reason to obviously take these cards.”
You can listen to The Chipping Forecast podcast here.
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