‘I played golf with Andy Murray – he showed his true colours with private comment to me’

English golfer Eddie Pepperell revealed just how genuine Andy Murray is after the pair teamed up at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. The tennis icon made his debut at the golf event this past weekend as he competed in the Amateur Team Championship event, where 168 professional golfers are paired up with an amateur.

The three-time Grand Slam champion participated alongside Pepperell, eventually finishing on a total of -23 after three rounds of the course. Murray, 38, came in for widespread praise for his performance in the pro-am competition with his putting ability, in particular, impressing viewers.

Pepperell, who has won two events on the European Tour, spoke of his experience playing alongside the two-time Olympic gold medallist during his appearance on theChipping Forecast podcast, revealing how a five-word comment from Murray showed just how authentic the Scotsman really is.

"I've never been particularly high-octane on a Thursday or Friday, even a Sunday at times," the 34-year-old said. "Andy did say something really nice, we came off at Kingsbarns and I was bit disappointed with my two-under-par and he said, 'How did you think that went', and I said, 'Oh it was okay, some good, some bad', and he just looked at me and said, 'I thought you were awesome'.

"It was a really genuine, sweet moment and he was a great partner honestly, it was an unusual partner because it actually felt like I was partnering up with a professional. His level of focus and concentration and his standard too, he was very good."

Murray has competed in several pro-am golf events since retiring from tennis last August and previously admitted his lofty goal of qualifying for The Open Championship in 2027. He did, however, admit that achieving such a goal can only become possible if he improves his skills on the links enough by then.

Speaking to The Times last month, he said: "A couple of my friends who are very good golfers have done it," he said. "If I can improve enough, I think it would be a fun thing to do. "I played in the club championships at Beaverbrook a few months ago and I loved it.

"It was the most fun I’d had playing golf and the more I play, the less I enjoy just playing socially. I don’t know if I’ll be capable of entering, but I want to try and play in a few more events. I’ve been pretty amazed at how willing the pros are to help because spending five hours with people who are hacking it around probably isn’t that enjoyable."