Eddie Pepperell calls a DP World Tour spot for Charles Howell III 'utterly bizarre'

Eddie Pepperell says the DP World Tour would be making a mistake if it hands playing opportunities in 2027 to Charles Howell III and several other players leaving LIV Golf. In a Substack post published Saturday, October 24, the Englishman called the idea of Howell being on the tour's list of returning LIV players "utterly bizarre."

Pepperell wrote that nothing has been formalized yet, "though clearly arrangements have been made." He shared the post on X early Saturday morning and made it free to read.

"The idea that Charles Howell III is on this list, with all due respect to Charles - he's a terrific guy - is utterly bizarre," Pepperell wrote. He put Thomas Pieters, Branden Grace and Louis Oosthuizen in the same group, "as much as I admire his swing," and added: "None of these players are going to put enough bums on seats or in front of TVs to materially improve the balance sheet in 2027, period."

What he would do instead

Pepperell said he talked with DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings about returning LIV players back in the summer. His own view was to give invites only to players "who undeniably add stardust," naming Joaquin Niemann, Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton already have their exemptions. Everyone else, he wrote, should go back to qualifying school.

He also laid out why he thinks Kinnings is under pressure to fill fields. Pepperell cited European Tour Group accounts showing an operating loss of £64.5 million in the last financial year before a £59 million annual investment payment from the PGA Tour, and a 31% drop in TV rights revenue in 2025, a figure he credited to Money In Sport.

Golf Monthly and Golfweek both quoted the post, and Golf Monthly noted that Pepperell is fighting to keep his card for 2027.

Where Howell stands

Howell's exit from LIV was first reported by Sports Business Journal's Josh Carpenter, and Golfweek's tracker now lists him among the players leaving. GOLF.com pointed out that Howell, ranked 510th in the world, has almost no DP World Tour history. Before missing the 54-hole cut at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship this month, his recent starts on that tour came at co-sanctioned majors and World Golf Championships events in 2019 and 2020. Without status, he would need invitations to play there next year.

The tour's position, as Kinnings told BBC Sport, is that players must choose. Anyone who signs up for LIV in 2027 cannot be a member. About 15 LIV players have status through a membership category. Those without it need Q School or an agreement that gives them a set number of invitations, and those deals are only open to players who are done with LIV.

Pepperell's own spot is on the line too. He wrote that if he is still 101st in the Race to Dubai on Sunday, he will likely reconsider going to Q School, given how many invites LIV players look set to get in 2027.

What to watch

LIV's deadline for players to commit to its 2027 season is Sunday, October 25, so more names could move to the leaving column this weekend. We've already covered the exits of Grace, Oosthuizen, Hatton, McKibbin and Poulter. The next thing to watch is whether the DP World Tour publishes its invitation arrangements for 2027, and which of these players get them.