The Irish Open is one of the biggest events on the DP World Tour with a $6 million purse. But right before the event got underway at Doonbeg, there was a late change in the field. Eddie Pepperell, who was returning to the Amgen Irish Open after missing the event last year, was forced to withdraw. This opened a spot for a fellow Englishman.

The Scotsman writer Martin Dempster shared the news via an X post: “Eddie Pepperell withdraws from @IrishOpen_ due to injury and is replaced by fellow Englishman James Morrison, last year’s @HPlanner_Tour Rolex Grand Final winner in Mallorca.”

Pepperell’s name was there in Round 1 tee times. He was to tee off at 10:45 local time on Thursday along with Marcel Schneider and Ugo Coussaud. This indicates a very late withdrawal. For Pepperell, this means his long wait to get back inside the winner’s circle will get longer. He last won a tournament in 2018 at the Sky Sports British Masters. The English pro appeared to be slowly recovering his momentum after securing his DP World Tour card through Q-School last year. But the injury throws a monkey wrench in his plans.

No details are currently available about his injury. However, he does have a history of injury-related withdrawals. For instance, he was tied for the lead after 54 holes at the 2025 Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge. He had carded rounds of 70-67-66 to finish 13-under after three rounds. But he withdrew before the final round because of a back injury. Besides physical injuries, he has a history of mental health challenges, too.

While playing at the Turkish Airlines Open 2025, he walked off mid-tournament. Multiple reports linked it to frustration and mental strain. He had entered the Turkish Airlines Open after three consecutive missed cuts.

“I’m kind of surprised in myself that I haven’t walked off (before now)—that’s the first time I’ve walked off a course in a good few years,” said the 35-year-old golfer in the Chipping Forecast, a podcast that he hosts. “In fact, Turkey was probably the last time in 2019 after throwing balls and hitting balls into a lake. It’s not really my happy place—I’m not sure I’ll ever go back there again.”

The English pro, however, returned to the greens a month later but missed the cut. He had to play in Q-School to earn playing status on the DP World Tour and was in tears after securing his card. This year has been a rollercoaster ride for the 35-year-old.

After a fairly decent start with multiple top-25 finishes, he missed three consecutive cuts and then managed a T62 at the British Masters. Another missed cut followed last week, and now he has pulled out of the tournament due to injury.

Pepperell’s withdrawal, however, has opened the doors for James Morrison. The 41-year-old has had two wins on the DP World Tour. He won the 2013 BMW International Open and the 2014 BMW International Open. But the veteran pro spent most of 2025 playing on the Hotel Planner Tour. After some excellent performances at the Blot Play9 and the Dutch Futures, he went on to win the Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A.

The Englishman carded rounds of 71-67-65-70 to finish 15-under 273. Across the four rounds, he hit 9 bogeys and 24 birdies. He was three shots better than the runner-up, Stefano Mazzoli. This helped him move from 36th to 6th position in the HotelPlanner Tour rankings.

Neither the injury nor the mental pressure is new for Eddie Pepperell. He has faced many ups and downs in his career.

Eddie Pepperell opened up about his ‘darkish period’

“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,” Eddie Pepperell told the DP World Tour at the Husqvarna British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo.

Pepperell graduated from the HotelPlanner Tour in 2012 and posted 12 top-ten finishes in his first three seasons. However, he couldn’t convert that momentum into a win, as he lost his card by a very narrow margin. But he came back strongly and became a two-time DP World Tour champion by winning the Sky Sports British Masters and the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in 2018. This helped him enter the top 50 in the world rankings. But things derailed from there.

He secured only limited status in 2021 and then lost his card in 2024. Last year, he finished 166th on the Race to Dubai and 79th on the Road to Mallorca. This was his least successful campaign throughout his career.

“Last year there were some really quite dark times on the course if I’m being frank,” he said.

However, he is not there this year. He said that he worked with psychologists to improve his mental state. According to him, he is now in a much better position; his game has improved; and he has come through that dark period.