Pepperell And Westwood Clash In Twitter Spat

Throughout 2022, it’s been rare for the LIV Golf name not to pop up on social media or online in general, with the Saudi-backed series still dividing those in the golf world.

That continued to be the case recently, as both Lee Westwood and Eddie Pepperell were involved in yet another war of words over LIV Golf and the DP World Tour, with Westy, at one point, tweeting: “Don’t start down the “support of the ET (European Tour)” road with me Ed. It’s a battle you can’t win.”

The thread, which you can check out above, was in response to Alistair Tait’s post: “If One DP World Tour Domino Falls…” (opens in new tab) whereby he asked the question whether sponsors and venues could be thinking “it might be a good idea to jump ship and dump the old world circuit?”(DP World Tour), with the two players covering an array of topics throughout.

What were those topics you may ask? Well, the biggest one involved scheduling around tournaments on both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour. Following a lengthy discussion with a Twitter user, in which Pepperell argued how players aren’t contractually obliged to play PGA Tour events, the topic turned to whether the PGA and DP World Tours could work together with LIV.

In a tweet, Pepperell stated: “I was told from the horses mouth that a proposition was put to them that would enable all three to work (at the expense of the DPWT no less), but they turned it down. Unfortunately, as we’ve all fallen victim to at times lately, I suppose it’s down to what and who you believe.” 

Westwood responded with “it seems it’s always at the expense of the ET now. I guess that’s what happens when you hand over control and become a feeder tour. It’s all about choices,” with Pepperell firing back “no, to be clear, the ‘at the expense of the ET’ bit was the bit that would’ve favoured LIV (in the long run certainly) over anyone else.”

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If that wasn’t enough, the duo went at it further, with Pepperell asking why both Westwood and Ian Poulter, who had also commented on the thread, weren’t playing the DP World Tour event at Valderrama in the Andalucía Masters.

Ignoring his fellow countryman’s question, Westwood fired back “why weren’t you playing Eddie? I know you like a fine Rioja,” with Pepperell commenting “I didn’t get in, cause I was a crock of s**t last year.”

Not done, Westwood couldn’t help but take another dig, as the 49-year-old tweeted: “Really? Couldn’t secure an invite? I thought it was a perk of being on the players committee again? Thought you had a hotline to KP’s (Keith Pelley’s) invite batphone! Don’t start down the “support of the ET” road with me Ed. It’s a battle you can’t win.”

To close out the squabble, Pepperell signed off with: “That’s not a battle I’m after.. I was simply asking why you weren’t play Valderrama after praising Alistair’s article. I think I know the answer.. but I could be wrong. (What I think I know, has nothing to do with your want to support the ET, more your ability to…)”

It’s not the first time the two have fired barbs at one another over the social platform. Back in August, Pepperell responded to one of Westwood’s tweets with “hard to know what to make of you these days Lee,” before another tweet suggested that he should “take your cake and enjoy it in the corner.”