EDDIE Pepperell admits there was a moment on Sunday where he contemplated being involved in a play-off for The Open Championship.

The Abingdon golfer carded a four-under-par 67, the low round of the day, to rocket up the Carnoustie leaderboard.

His five-under-par total made him the clubhouse leader – and he was asked by officials to remain onsite, just in case.

Although he ended three shots behind champion Francesco Molinari in a share of sixth place, alongside Tiger Woods, there was a point when the wind was increasing and the leaders were going backwards.

And the Frilford Heath member stayed in the mix for an increasingly tense couple of hours, until Justin Rose finished on six-under.

“When I came in I saw I was four shots back but I knew it was getting really windy,” Pepperell said.

“I felt it wasn’t enough to win, but someone said stranger things have happened and you never know.

“I can’t say I enjoyed watching, thinking ‘oh God, this could be a play-off’.

“I don’t like watching when I’m done.

“I was disappointed when Justin beat me, because up to that point it really felt like no one could necessarily beat my score.

“Obviously things changed after that.”

It was an eventful end to a day which had begun hazily.

Pepperell had played some excellent golf in the third round but struggled to hole his putts.

A level-par round saw him lose ground on a day when many players shot low scores.

It meant an extra glass of wine in the evening, which led to him saying after the round that he was “a little hungover”.

But the 27-year-old said: “I didn’t do anything massively unusual to what I normally do.

“When I’m at tournaments, most nights I’ll have a glass of wine or two – I wasn’t drunk.

“I was just a little groggy in the morning.”

What he needed was inspiration, which came in the form of his playing partner, Phil Mickelson.

Pepperell said: “Off the back of Saturday when I was frustrated, I needed a draw like that to give me something to look forward to.

“When I saw I was playing with Phil there was a renewed sense of potential.

“It was a really great four or five hours. He’s one of those golfers who if you give him plenty, he will give you plenty back.

“I asked him about his career and all sorts of things. It’s nice because not many golfers are like that.”

Pepperell’s exploits lifted him to a new best world ranking of 57.

After a brief rest his next outing will be in another major – the US PGA Championship at Bellerive, Missouri, on August 9.