Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Pepperell tees off on the iconic 8th hole at Emirates Golf Club during the second round of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on January 24, 2020.

By Kent Gray
When the television cameras finally caught up with Eddie Pepperell’s charge up the leaderboard at the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic on Friday, a round that had been purring along nicely began to suffer from a curious misfire.

“I must have been concerned with how I was looking, because then I started struggling,” the Englishman mused afterwards.

Pepperell was able to chug his way home without too much damage done, a bogey on the 6th, his 15th hole after starting on 10, one of just two dropped shots in a second-round 67 to set the early clubhouse target at -8.

Mercifully, the droll humour that is Pepperell’s trademark remained in top gear when he was hauled before the cameras again for his verdict on a day that ultimately saw him snare the halfway lead at the $3.25 million event. The key thus far has been a reversal of fortunes with his putter, inspiration drawn from Lee Westwood’s victory in Abu Dhabi last week – where Pepperell missed his second successive cut – prompting an experiment with the claw grip.

After needing just 21 putts in his opening 69 and 26 in the second round – including holing what he described as a couple of “smelly putts” –  Pepperell joked that we might see even more of his mallet head Ping over the weekend. This time though it will be his father Ron, rather than Westy, providing the inspiration.

“My girlfriend [Jennifer Rhodes] and my dad walked around [on Friday] and they had not seen me [claw] grip it and I think it took them a few holes to realise what I was doing, which is a great sign. It means that it looks somewhat natural despite that you’re not feeling it. And if I can putt like my dad this weekend then I’ll be all right. I’ll be getting the putter out from 60 yards and I might even hole a couple.”

Pepperell didn’t need his flat stick on Monday when he aced the 15th during a practice loop of the Majlis. Sadly, they don’t give you the keys to a BMW i8 Roadster on Mondays at golf tournaments. At least Twitter was still humming along, allowing @pepperelleddie to subtly curse his luck.

“… Only gone and had a hole in one on Monday. Off to Barasti to celebrate. On my own.”

WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN: If only Pepperell’s practice round ace had of been made during the tournament proper… (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

The wit-infused self-deprecation continued at another celebration on Wednesday, Pepperell’s birthday.

“I’m 29 today. Twenty-Nine! I know what you’re thinking, how does he keep so handsome and healthy as he gets older? Well, some of the keys to getting old seem to be good wine, rich chocolate and cheese and the good occasional dose of Cialis. Many happy returns to me.”

It would be some birthday week if Pepperell can kick on to a third European Tour title after his breakout 2018 with wins in Qatar and at the British Masters. It would also be a turn-up for the books given his recent form and a best of T38 in six previous Desert Classic starts.

There is a slightly more serious side to Pepperell which came to the fore as he discussed his putting tweak.

“I chatted with Tommy [Fleetwood] and his caddie [Ian Finnis] about it [the claw grip] as well. When I looked at my putting in the past I’ve always felt that my setup, I’ve never looked that comfortable and I think regardless of what your hands are doing on the grip, great putters tend to look quite comfortable.

“I think when I set up this way I look more comfortable … and it just allows me to do a couple of key things with the putter. Get a bit more on the inside which I’ve had a hard time doing in the past and just putt from there. I’ve been surprised with how good it’s been. If I can keep doing that over the weekend with what I’ve been doing with the swing, I think I’m going to make plenty of birdies which would be great.”

The last time Pepperell led through 36 holes he went on to win the British Masters at Walton Heath. Are you comfortable front-running?

“I like it now. I think Qatar was a big thing for me and then the British Masters also, I felt quite comfortable that week, surprisingly so, actually.

“It’s where I want to be. I think me and Mick [caddie Mick Doran] as a team out there do all the right things to make me quite difficult to beat if I’m in that position. It will be a great test for me this weekend because this is a golf course where I would say that the primary aspect is the driver. And on a golf course like this that has historically not been my strength. So if I can go and drive it well this weekend then I might drink myself a few next Monday, we’ll see.”

Stayed tuned. There are no guarantees in golf, perhaps other than the quality of the thoroughly eccentric Englishman’s self-analysis on social media. And in front of those pesky TV cameras. Whatever transpires in Eddie Pepperell’s world over the weekend, it should be thoroughly entertaining.