Tour star says PGA Championship should be stripped of major status – and he has just the replacement
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DP World Tour winner Eddie Pepperell would ‘do away’ with the PGA Championship after a forgettable week at Quail Hollow.
Eddie Pepperell has been left so unimpressed with the PGA Championship as a spectacle that he has called for it to be replaced as one of the game’s four biggest tournaments.
This year’s battle for the Wanamaker Trophy at Quail Hollow was, to say the least, a slow burner, and it only really caught light late on Saturday and then for about 20 minutes around the turn on Sunday.
On both occasions the drama was caused by Scottie Scheffler. The World No. 1 scorched the closing stretch on Saturday to open up a three-shot lead and then labored early on Sunday to give his challengers a brief chance.
However, over the back nine of the final round, he once again showed why he stands alone by some distance atop the world rankings, eventually sealing his third major title by five shots.
It was a tournament that won’t live long in the memory for most and seemingly strengthened the argument that the PGA Championship is the weakest of the four majors.
To spice things up, Pepperell would rather see it become a global event but admitted that is unlikely, so offered up an alternative solution.
Speaking on The Chipping Forecast, which he co-hosts with Iain Carter and Andrew Cotter, Pepperell said: “Moving it around the world would also be my preferred option, but that’s not going to happen.
“So maybe the next best option is to make The Players Championship the fourth major, and just do away with the PGA Championship, because Sawgrass is a fantastic golf course.”
The Players has, of course, long been referred to as the “unofficial fifth major”.
One of the main critiques of this year’s PGA Championship was that it was played over a regular PGA Tour venue, with many of the belief that the majors should be completely distinguishable in all regards.
It was always going to be hard to live up to the drama of last month’s Masters, but the action at Quail Hollow did feel very unlike a major at times.
The cream did eventually rise at the Charlotte layout, however, as Scheffler claimed his first major away from Augusta National.
After a slow start to 2025 on the back of a hand injury, the American’s triumph was as ominous as it was straightforward.
In fact, the 28-year-old never really appeared to have his A-game and still got over the line at a canter.
It left many wondering who, out of himself and McIlroy, would finish their careers boasting more victories in the game’s showpiece events.
That question was put to Pepperell.
“On balance, I do think Scottie Scheffler,” he said. “Rory will end up with more than five, but what’s most ominous for the golfers to look at with Scheffler is he’s had a two-year period where he’s played imperious golf and become the best player in the world by some margin.
“But the last few months, his performance has fallen away a little bit, but he’s rediscovered it, and he’s now winning in quite dominant fashion again. And that goes against the whole two-year purple patch, which we do see.
“I think it’s wise for Scottie not to reflect too much on his successes, because I think he knows that these purple patches are important and you just keep your head down and you keep focusing on the process and keep doing what you’re doing really, really well.
“But there seems to be no stopping him at this point, and there’s no stop in sight, which is exciting.”
