Pepperell disqualified after running out of balls

England’s Eddie Pepperell was disqualified from the Turkish Airlines Open on Saturday after running out of golf balls during his third round. The 28-year-old was two-over par for his round but still level for the tournament when he arrived at the fourth hole. The two-time European Tour winner took on the green to the par-five with his second shot but found the water with his iron. He then had three more attempts to reach the green in two, with a similar result on each occasion in an increasingly bizarre situation at the lucrative Rolex Series event. His playing partners, Martin Kaymer and George Coetzee, watched on in amazement before Pepperell exited proceedings. “Eddie hit his shots to the green, then came over to tell us he had run out of balls,” Kaymer said. “Then he walked off. I thought he lost four or five. We are about 80 per cent sure it was five, 20 per cent four. He was quick, so it was hard to keep track.” It seems as though the seeds of his walk-off had been sown earlier in the round, with Pepperell clearly not in a good state of mind. “He did not ask if he could borrow one from me or George,” added the German two-time major winner. “It did not look like he wanted to play. He did not putt with his putter on the third hole; he putted with a wedge. So there was a lot happening.”