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Eddie Pepperell slams “pathetic” Woods-Mickelson match, Peter Uihlein offers counter argument

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Eddie Pepperell is never shy at voicing his opinion on social media, and ahead of the much anticipated Woods-Mickelson showdown in Las Vegas, the Englishman took to Twitter to take a shot at the event.

Describing the winner-take-all match as “pathetic,” Pepperell made it clear in his tweet that he feels that the event is a poor advert for the game of golf.

As expected, the Englishman’s tweet caused a stir and even provoked world No. 78 Peter Uihlein into defending the contest. The American claimed that the reason Pepperell, himself and every other tour player compete for such high purses these days is due to the impact Woods, and Mickelson made in the world of golf and that the two men have earned the right to play for the $9 million purse.

Pepperell and Uihlein join a list of professionals who have now voiced their opinion on the event. Justin Thomas and Rory Mcilroy have both stated that they will not be watching, while when asked to comment about the match during last week’s Hong Kong Open, Sergio Garcia said: “I don’t care.”

The match between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson takes place today at 3 p.m. ET, with the winner taking home the $9 million jackpot.

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Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected].

19 Comments

19 Comments

  1. Dr. Bernfeld

    Nov 30, 2018 at 9:50 pm

    I think Pepperrel missed the point: How wonderful for them to play for $9M. Put up your own money, make it mean something. This “exhibition” was less than pathetic. They should have set this up hitting off skyscrapers in Dubai, insulting!

  2. Roy

    Nov 26, 2018 at 2:56 pm

    I find it funny that you have professional golfers who routinely fly on private planes and get courtesy cars the week of tournaments complaining about the amount of money others are playing for….

  3. Benny

    Nov 25, 2018 at 9:02 am

    WTF cares. This is the United States boys. Hard work, dedication and drive can make you extremly wealthy, rich and successful. You think these guys are simply gifted with these abilities? You think they didn’t have sacrafices in their lives? That they didn’t spend days training and practicing while someone like me wasted years partying it up and chasing chicks?
    The old saying “don’t hate the player, hate the game” is true. You aren’t fat because of McDonalds, you are fat because you eat like shite. Get off your pedestal people. Enjoy your life or do something about it, but stop complaining because you don’t have the drive these guys do.
    Sure there is unfortunate circumstances around the world. But for those wasting a life w/o mental or phsycal dissabilities shame on you. It is YOU who needs to fak-off and get off your ipad and get after something. Make something of your life.
    Lets all get over yourselves. Suck it up. You have control.

  4. paul

    Nov 25, 2018 at 1:43 am

    I’d like to know who takes the PPV money, as it was stated the $9 million was going to charity. It was ordinary golf, and these two don’t look like real friends. An event easily missed.

  5. Elliot Smith

    Nov 24, 2018 at 6:55 pm

    I find it funny that all these comments saying they don’t deserve it. The sport is Tiger ratings go up 4-6 fold when he plays. They get paid this much because it makes money. The amount these pros play for is because Tiger and Phil. Maybe instead of being a keyboard warrior, go find something that you can add some value to instead of having a mentality that life isn’t fair… news flash, it’s not.

  6. Joe

    Nov 24, 2018 at 2:48 pm

    JT was literally on Instagram Live watching the match. so he was full of it and like most people caved and watched it. honestly who cares, and if you do. that’s your problem

  7. Pretty Ricky

    Nov 24, 2018 at 2:09 am

    I love how people tell these guys what they should do with their own money. Should they tell you how to spend yours?

    • JThunder

      Nov 24, 2018 at 2:38 am

      Are you under the impression that Phil and Tiger ponied up the $9mil? Woefully incorrect. That $9mil came from the working class, as usual. Tiger made $43.3 mil last year, mostly from endorsements, with a lone late-season win. Net worth, what, $1.5bil? Mickelson is worth $375 mil.

      “They deserve to play for this money”

      Wow, I thought golfers said it was the poor who acted “entitled”. They don’t “deserve” a damn thing. They’re insanely lucky that the world values their useless ability to smack a ball around SO highly over those who educate, create, serve and defend.

      They have both received far, far more money than they “deserve” or could ever possibly need.

      If the money doesn’t go to charity – the purse AND the side-bets, they both should be horribly ashamed of themselves. Aren’t they both California boys? There are plenty of people there who could use your help.

      • Fat Albert

        Nov 26, 2018 at 12:42 am

        Agreed-Well said.

      • They Earned It!!

        Nov 26, 2018 at 2:59 pm

        SO they should be ashamed of themselves for not giving THEIR money to who you think deserves it???

        Only in America are those paying 100’s of millions in taxes the greedy, and those who benefit from it the victims….

  8. Steve O

    Nov 23, 2018 at 10:24 pm

    Pepperell is a jealous little boy providing ill thought immature comments on the two players most responsible for his well being.

  9. Liberty Apples

    Nov 23, 2018 at 7:01 pm

    Pepperell is correct.

  10. Gunter Eisenberg

    Nov 23, 2018 at 12:23 pm

    Pepperell is right. While is would be nice to have the winnings go to charity this exhibition match isn’t relevant now. It would have been relevant 18 years ago.

    Would you pay money to see a PPV between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus?

    • NoMo3putts

      Nov 23, 2018 at 12:55 pm

      The point of the bet amount is to make each player feel uncomfortable, if the winnings were going to charity it might lose that feeling, besides the side bets are going to charity.
      Who knows, maybe the winner will end up donating the winnings.

  11. Andrew

    Nov 23, 2018 at 10:29 am

    Agree with EP (and all other naysayers!) Wouldn’t it be something if these Calafornia boys would actually donate their winnings to the victims of the Calafornia fires.

  12. T

    Nov 23, 2018 at 10:16 am

    All of the naysayers wouldn’t complain if they were asked to play!

  13. Dr Troy

    Nov 23, 2018 at 9:50 am

    Pete is absolutely right. Pipe down Peppermint.

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Morning 9: Wyndham Clark on back injury | DiMarco’s bold Champions Tour take | Houston Open photos

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Thursday morning, golf fans, as day one of the Houston Open gets underway.

1. Wyndham Clark hurts back…still hopes to play

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…”Reigning U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark injured his back while working out at home Monday, but he hopes to play in this week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open, which starts Thursday at Memorial Park Golf Course.”

  • “Clark, the fourth-ranked golfer in the world, said he was lifting weights and “got caught in an awkward spot doing a lift and [his] back went.”
  • “It’s not something that happens regularly, but it happened and you live and you learn,” Clark said. “I’m trending in the right direction. I’m hitting it or feeling stronger and more mobile every day. I’m going to give it my best effort tomorrow and hopefully I can play and compete. If not, I’ve got to get ready for tournaments to come after this.”
Full piece.

2. DiMarco’s bold Champions Tour take

Our Matt Vincenzi…”While speaking on the Subpar podcast, former PGA Tour winner and current PGA Tour Champions player Chris DiMarco said he hopes LIV buys the Champions Tour.”

  • “We’re kind of hoping that LIV buys the Champions Tour,” he said.
  • “Let’s play for a little real money out here. I mean this is kind of a joke when we’re getting $2 million. There were like seven guys last week from TPC (Sawgrass, at the $25 million PLAYERS Championship) that made more money than our purses.”
Full piece.

3. Charley Hull’s course management problem?

Our Matt Vincenzi…”Charley Hull came just short of her third LPGA Tour victory over the weekend at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship when she played her last two holes at 3 over to slip all the way to 10th on the leaderboard.”

  • “After the round, Hull was blasted by Sky Sports commentator and former LPGA Tour player Trish Johnson for her lack of golf course management.”
  • “While speaking on the Sky Sports Golf podcast, Johnson spoke harshly of Hull.”
  • “I’m probably her harshest critic, because I know how good she is. She doesn’t win anywhere near enough for her talent, and she doesn’t get involved enough, in all honestly.
  • “The thing with Charley is that you’re never going to change her. I read something the other day that said how much she loves the game and it’s her love of the game [that costs her]. She’s never going to change and she’s just going to go for every pin.
  • “In theory that’s great, but it won’t win you golf tournaments, it just won’t because she’s not that much better than anybody else.
Full piece.

4. Sahith’s interesting idea

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”Which brings Theegala to his big idea: “There’s got to be something, like a fan challenge or – I think it would be awesome to see a scratch handicap go out and play like the Monday after a tournament, keep the same conditions and see what they would shoot just to put it into perspective how hard a PGA Tour golf course is.”

  • “Theegala loves the thought so much that he’d even come out and watch.”
  • “Shoot, I’d commentate on it,” Theegala added before continuing, “I have a pet peeve, sometimes when I watch golf on TV, a great example is hole 8 at Valspar last week. It’s a 230-yard par 3, the green’s 12 yards wide and someone will hit the middle of the green and, you know, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, really smart shot there.’ I’m like, ‘Well, no, he’s absolutely laced this 4-iron in the middle of the green, that’s right where he’s looking and to hit a 4-iron that straight is really, really hard.’ … Even like chipping, a lot of the stuff just looks flat on TV, but then when you get over the chip, like, oh, great, I have to land it over a mound on a downslope down grain?”
Full piece.

5. Top am Rachel Heck not going pro

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”As Rachel Heck nears the end of her college golf career, she has decided that the LPGA isn’t for her.’

  • “Heck, the 22-year-old Stanford senior who won an NCAA individual title as a freshman and has climbed as high as second in the world amateur rankings, penned a first-person essay for No Laying Up in which she explained her reasoning for remaining amateur after graduation this summer and starting an internship not in professional golf but rather private equity. Heck, a political science major, also will be pinned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.”

Read her piece on No Laying Up: https://nolayingup.com/blog/why-im-remaining-an-amateur

Full piece.

6. DJ’s new LIV signing

Golf Monthly’s Elliott Heath…”Dustin Johnson‘s LIV Golf team 4Aces GC has announced former TravisMathew CEO Chris Rosaasen as the side’s new General Manager.”

  • “Rosaasen, who is a long-time friend of Johnson, is also the founder of the team’s apparel sponsor Extracurricular and has been CEO of the Omniverse Group for the past four years.
  • “He joins with more than 20 years of “brand-building, marketing, and business leadership” according to LIV Golf, which says his “record of innovation in the golf industry will strengthen and accelerate the growth of the 4Aces GC brand.”
Full piece.

7. Photos from the Houston Open

  • Check out all of our photos from this week’s event!
Full piece.
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Four books for a springtime review

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One thing that never changes over time: snowy evenings give purpose to reading (is it the other way around?) It has been a snowy 2024 in western New York, and I’ve had ample time to tuck into an easy chair with a blanket, coffee, and a book. You’re in luck, because despite the title of this piece, I’ll share five books and their worth with you.

There is great breadth of subject matter from one to five. Golf is as complicated as life, which means that the cover of the book isn’t worth judging. The contents begin the tale, but there is so much more to each topic presented within. If you’re like me, your library grows each year. Despite the value of the virtual, the paper-printed word connects us to the past of golf and humanity. Here’s hoping that you’ll add one or more of these titles to your collection.

        

Rainmaker

Hughes Norton interviewed with Mark McCormack for 20 minutes (30 if you count the missed exit at Logan International) while driving the founder of IMG from Harvard to the airport. The lesson of taking advantage of each moment, of every dollar, because you might not get another opportunity, is the most valuable one that life offers. I say to you, be certain to read this book, because another opportunity to bend the ear of Hughes Norton may not come our way.

Hughes Norton was with Tiger Woods for waaayyy fewer years than you might guess, but they were the critical ones. Be warned: not all of the revelations in this tome are for the faint of heart. Some, in fact, will break your heart. Golf was a sleepy hamlet in the 1990s, until the 16-lane interstate called Eldrick “Tiger” Woods came into town. Everything changed, which meant that everything would change again and again, into eternity. Once the ball starts rolling, it’s impossible to stop.

My favorite aspect of this book is its candor. Hughes Norton is well into his time on Planet Earth. He has no reason to hold back, and he doesn’t. My least favorite aspect is that George Peper got the call to co-author the book (and I didn’t.) Seriously, there is no LFA for me, so this is the best that I could do.

Decision: Buy It!

The Golf Courses of Seth Raynor

Michael Wolf, James Sitar, and Jon Cavalier, in abject partnership, collaborated to produce a handsome volume on the work of gone-too-soon, engineer-turned-golf course architect. Seth Raynor was pulled into the game by Charles Blair MacDonald, the crusty godfather of American golf. Raynor played little golf across the 51 years of his life. His reason? He did not wish to corrupt his designs with the demands and failings of his own game.

Jon Cavalier began his photography career as a contributor to the Golf Club Atlas discussion group. I met him there in a virtual way (we still have yet to shake hands) and have exchanged numerous emails over the years. Despite the demands of his day job, Cavalier has blossomed into the most traveled and prolific course photographer alive today. His photography, both hand-held and drone, makes the pages pop. Michael Wolf invited me and two friends to play his home course, despite having never met any of us in person. His words, melded to those of James Sitar, are the glue that connect Cavalier’s photos.

My favorite aspect of the books is the access it gives to the private-club world of Raynor. Fewer than five of his courses are resort or public access, and knowing people on the inside is not available to all. My suggestion? Write a letter/email and see if a club will let you play. Can’t hurt to try! My one complaint about the book is its horizontal nature. Golf is wide, but I like a little vertical in my photos. It’s not much of a complaint, given the glorious contents within the covers.

Decision: Buy It!!

Big Green Book from The Golfer’s Journal

Beginning with its (over)size, and continuing through the entire contents, there is no descriptor that defines the genre of the Big Green Book. It is photography, essay, layout, poetry, graphics, and stream of consciousness. It harnesses the creative power of a lengthy masthead of today’s finest golf contributors. Quotes from Harvey Penick, verse from Billy Collins, and prose from John Updike partner with images pure and altered, to immerse you in the diverse golf spaces that define this planet.

One of my favorite aspects is the spaces between the words and photos. Have your friends and others write a few notes to you in those blank areas, to personalize your volume even more. One aspect that needs improvement: the lack of female voices. I suspect that will be remedied in future volumes.

Decision: Buy It!!!

Troublemaker and The Unplayable Lie

Books that allege discrimination and mistreatment check two boxes: potentially-salacious reads and debate over whose perspective is accurate. In the end, the presentation of salacious revelation rarely meets the expectation, and the debate over fault is seldom resolved. Lisa Cornwell spent years as a competitive junior and college golfer, before joining The Golf Channel as a reporter and program host.

Despite the dream assignments, there were clouds that covered the sun. Cornwell documents episodes of favoritism and descrimination against her, prior to her departure from The Golf Channel in 2021. Her work echoes the production of the late Marcia Chambers, who wrote for Golf Digest in the 1980s and 1990s. Chambers took issue with many of the potential and real legal issues surrounding golf and its policies of access/no access. Her research culminated in The Unplayable Lie, the first work of its kind to address issues confronted by all genders and ethnicities, and immediately predated the professional debut of Tiger Woods in 1997.

My favorite aspects of the two works, are the courage and conviction that it took to write them, and believe in them. My least favorite aspects are the consistent bias that many groups continue to face. Without awareness, there is no action. Without action, there is no change.

Decision: Buy Them!!!!

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

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GolfWRX is on site in the Lone Star State this week for the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

General galleries from the putting green and range, WITBs — including Thorbjorn Olesen and Zac Blair — and several pull-out albums await.

As always, we’ll continue to update as more photos flow in. Check out links to all our photos from Houston below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.

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