On Thursday, Sergio Garcia made it official: was leaving LIV Golf to join the DP World Tourwith hopes of parlaying that in a PGA Tour return.
The irony of Garcia’s statement, in which he said he was “proud” to call the DP World Tour “home” again, was apparent to many who read it. You can count on DP World Tour pro Eddie Pepperell between them.
Shortly after Garcia’s announcement, Pepperell harshly criticized Garcia in a strong social media post of his own.
Garcia is one of the greatest European players of all time. He has amassed 16 DP World Tour wins in his career, and has played on a number of European Ryder Cup winning teams.
But in 2022, he chose to leave the PGA and DP World Tours in favor of big paydays at LIV Golf. He was suspended from the DP World Tour and later renounced his membership.
And he wasn’t exactly judgmental about the split. that year, he got angry the Telegraph“This tour is s-, you all f-, I should take the Saudi money,” after the DP World Tour fined LIV players and temporarily banned them from some events.
And that’s why the tone Garcia chose to employ in his announcement of the return of the DP World Tour does not sit well with Pepperell.
Pepperell took to X, citing Garcia’s own post, and leave him.
“This must be Sergio trolling us? Of course. Elite level s-housery, this. Or does he have dementia?” Pepperell asked X.
A few hours later, Pepperell followed his original post with anotherin which he acknowledged that Garcia brings more value to the DP World Tour than he does.
“To be clear, I think Sergio Garcia is still a wonderful player. He was my favorite golfer growing up, ahead of Tiger. And I can see the value he still brings, certainly ahead of me,” Pepperell wrote.
But he had not gone back on his point. He went on to say that Sergio’s announcement showed a “stunning” lack of awareness, given his previous criticism of the DP World Tour.
“But his statement today shows a remarkable lack of self-awareness,” Pepperell wrote. “Like, an amazing amount.”
To be clear, I think Sergio Garcia is still a wonderful player. He was my favorite golfer growing up, ahead of Tiger. And I can see the value it still carries, before me certainly.
But his statement today shows a remarkable lack of self-awareness. Like, an amazing amount.
— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) October 29, 2026
LIV player comebacks threaten careers of DP World Tour pros
Pepperell has been an outspoken critic of LIV Golf for years, but has also been remarkably consistent over that time. His primary concern for LIV was how it might negatively impact the DP World Tour.
Back in 2022, the first season of LIV Golf, Pepperell told GOLF’s Dylan Dethier that he never joined LIV and suggested that LIV was actively trying to destroy the DP World Tour.
“It’s like they’re trying to treat the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour a slow death by a thousand paper cuts,” Pepperell said at the time.
He is also worried about how his own career will be affected by a large group of former LIV pros playing the DP World Tour next year.
In a blog post last weekPepperell wrote that if LIV Golf professionals were to take their seats again at DP World Tour events, “it would be an absolute betrayal.”
But he also acknowledged that the DP World Tour needs some star power to help its dire financial situation. So while he agrees with the big stars getting special invitations, he thinks most LIV Golf pros should earn their way back through Q-School.
It’s important to note that none of this is hypothetical for Pepperell. The two-time winner made it through Q-School last season to claim his DP World Tour card. This year, he is 101st in the Race to Dubai ranking, which means that his status for next season is at risk.
He is also not alone in his opinion. At the beginning of the month, Six-time DP World Tour winner Joost Luiten criticized the DP World Tour for allowing LIV pros to return without going through Q-School. in an interview with Today’s Golfer.
“(The DP World Tour) should make it more difficult for the guys to come back. Four years ago they didn’t give as – on the DP World Tour. They made a decision to go after the money. And now, suddenly, the money is gone and they want to come back and act like nothing happened. I don’t think so,” said Luiten to Today’s Golfer.
He continued: “Why do you give them invitations? If I asked for an invitation if I am not in a tournament, I will not get it because everything goes to the LIV guys. There is only a certain amount of invitations. The invitations should be for the young talents who come and not the guys who took the weight against this tour and now they want to return, and they do not have a big fan.