The DP World Tour caught up with former champion Eddie Pepperell at the Husqvarna British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo to discuss famous friends, his emergence from the darker side of professional sport and what maybe comes next.
"I've been through some fairly lowish points in terms of mood and that type of thing but I'm not there at the moment, my form's just dipped."
As we chat at The Belfry, Eddie Pepperell displays all the things that have made him a favourite with fans and media alike in his 15 seasons on Tour: self-awareness, self-deprecation and possibly most importantly, honesty.
A lot has happened since he graduated from the HotelPlanner Tour in 2012 armed with plenty of talent and a Twitter account that could grab almost as many headlines as his golf.
With 12 top tens in his first three seasons, it looked like a win was the next step but in 2016 he lost his card by the narrowest of margins.
That he got it straight back at the Qualifying School and within two years was a two-time DP World Tour winner inside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking says much about his determination.
He has faced greater adversity since, only securing limited status in 2021 and losing his card in 2024 before missing a seven-foot putt for eagle on the final hole at Qualifying School that would have seen him once again gain it straight back.
That brought him into a 2025 season that saw him finish 166th on the Race to Dubai and 79th on the Road to Mallorca - his least successful campaign of his career.
He revealed in his personal blog earlier this year that his frustrations had led him to self-harm but now back on Tour and on course for his best Race to Dubai finish in four seasons, he is happy to put that "darkish period" behind him.
"Last year there were some really quite dark times on the course if I'm being frank," he said.
"I brought that up not to try and invoke any sympathy in any way shape or form and it was all true what happened last year but it was just that I was so, so frustrated.
"When you're that frustrated, the psychological, I found to replace it with the physical pain was much more comforting than the emotional suffering I was feeling on the golf course and it was mostly just a derivative of feeling so, so frustrated.
"But I haven't been there this year. I think I've been in a generally better place, my form has been better and I think I've come through that darkish period."
The start of his on-course renaissance came at the scene of his heartbreak 12 months earlier - INFINITUM and the 108-hole marathon that is Qualifying School Final Stage.
"On the 15th green at Q School I was resigned to my fate of being on the HotelPlanner Tour again for another year and then I had a great finish and things changed quickly," he added.
A four-birdie finish had him back on Tour and two top tens and just three missed cuts in his first 14 events represented a successful return.
His form since July may not have been as impressive but he is still in a good position to keep his playing privileges and is clearly relatively satisified with his season so far.
"I've used driver this year for the first time since 2019 so that's the obvious thing," he said. "In the modern game, to not use a driver is kind of crazy but I've improved my driving a lot and use a driver.
"I think I've done a fairly decent job of staying on top of a few fundamental things for me in my swing. I think I've lost sight of them a little bit lately and that's why I'm struggling a bit to grapple with that and get it back.
"Generally, from Q School last year all the way through to May, I think I did a fairly good job of keeping on top of a lot of stuff.
"I also had weeks where I finished them off well. In China I had a good finish to finish ninth, South African Open I had a good back nine to finish in the top five where I wasn't doing that last year.
"This year I've had a few better finishes which I would point back to the finish at Q School being the real fuel for that. Those finishing moments on a Sunday can really make all the difference.
"When you look back at a year, the reality is the level of golf might not be much different across a 12-month period but the way you finish a tournament off, which can be a reflection of psychology as much as anything, I think I've been on the right side of that this year, generally."
Of course it can not always be plain sailing and at last week's Nexo Championship, after missing his last two cuts on the DP World Tour and dropping six shots in four holes, Pepperell walked in after eight holes of round one.
"It wasn't so much protecting my mental side as it was a confidence thing," he says. "I knew I was struggling, I felt quite lost and I didn't want to spend that much longer in that frame of mind."
So within 24 hours a call went into a familiar face - DP World Tour player turned coach Robert Rock.
Rock played 468 events across a 20-year DP World Tour career that includes two wins, but was already coaching a host of players while still playing.
"I saw Robert Rock on the Friday morning when I got home and I feel like I've made a bit of progress and have a bit more clarity at least and conviction in what I'm working on which is a good thing," said Pepperell.
"I hope it would be a fairly permanent thing. I think it would be good for me to work with somebody for an extended period of time and Rocky's a good guy.
"I've played with him a number of times out here and he's obviously a wonderful swinger of the club. It's just good to have somebody to bounce ideas off, really, and I would see it more that way.
"Rocky obviously knows an awful lot about the swing, I would say I know less, although obviously I know a fair bit about my own swing. We're both pretty curious and experimental so that's kind of nice."
With the driver back in the bag and hope of a long-term coaching relationship, Pepperell is seemingly here to stay, something that will delight his legions of fans after his recent struggles.
In recent years he has branched out into media, a perhaps natural trajectory that has shown him mature from his early dabbles with social media.
His podcast with sports journalists and broadcasters Andrew Cotter and Iain Carter - The Chipping Forecast - has a healthy audience and Pepperell admits for the first time he may have an alternative calling to golf, although he is unsure whether thhat will help or hinder his game.
"Historically I've had nothing else to do," he said of his life in golf. "I think that's the unfortunate reality for a lot of folks: you have no other option so you just keep doing it.
"It's a nice story to try and tell that it's about resilience and character and of course it is to some degree but at the same time it's also about that you do something because there's nothing else to do and if you stick at something long enough, the law of averages determine that some good will happen and some bad will happen.
"As the last 12 months have gone on, doing other things like the podcast which is going really well, it's probably the first time in my life where some sort of Plan B is beginning to maybe emerge and that has its positives in some respects but also negatives in others.
"Optionality isn't the best thing for motivation, necessarily."
Through both golf and the podcast, Pepperell has recently struck up a friendship with former tennis World Number One and two-time Wimbledon and Olympic champion Andy Murray.
Since retiring from tennis, Murray has become a keen golfer, playing alongside Pepperell in the Sunningdale foursomes, and the latter is full of admiration for his Grand Slam winning playing partner.
"Andy's great and I really like his family," he said. "I've spent a bit of time with Judy and I met Jamie for the first time. I think they're a really great family and I think that counts for an awful lot.
"He's a hard worker, that goes without saying. I think he's probably a simpler character than me but then I suspect most are and that's to my detriment. I think he's better able to do what he's told or not get so lost in silly ideas the way I have done historically in my career. He's ultra disciplined like all top, top sportsmen.
"I have huge amounts of admiration for just the level of application that I think would have been present in his career, it's second to none, I'm not sure I would say that of myself over the last five to seven years.
"I would have said that of myself in my twenties and teens, I think I sacrificed an awful lot, then again golf is a different sport to tennis with longevity aspects and things.
"He's good company and I hope to play the Sunningdale foursomes with him again next year, I think he's keen on that. It was a really good experience to play Sunningdale with him because I felt like he wanted to get himself in that competitive spirit again which was good for him."
Back to the day job and Pepperell currently sits 83rd on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delievered by DP World, less than 75 points from making the Play-Offs but more than 100 clear of losing his card.
On what will happen over the rest of the season, Pepperell, as he often is, is philosophical.
"I'm really trying to just hit better shots," he said. "I know that if I get it right for a week or two then I'll have a decent enough result somewhere along the line that will pretty much secure my card and probably get me a few more opportunities between now and the end of the season.
"If that doesn't happen, it doesn't happen, it will be what it will be."
Peperell's fans around the world will be hoping it will be many more years of Plan A on Tour.
