Pepper, who said her debut will mostly feature segments about Tiger Woods, is excited to cover and analyze the best of the best.
“Taking this position got me back into television and it’s only major championship golf,” Pepper said. “I’ll work eight events next year and the only one that’s not a major, it might as well be. It’s the first day of the Rider Cup. So it’s only the best events and it allows me to stay on while still having a life. It’s a pretty great opportunity.”
Pepper will be on the road for six weeks with ESPN, a schedule she said she’s looking forward to. Pepper will be an on-course reporter and analyst. With so much going on, she will also have the opportunity to anchor on various platforms.
“All you’re trying to relay to the viewer is what you experience as a player, and that to me is what analysts and what a reporter does in the most distinct way,” Pepper said. “It still gives you a chance to be connected to something you really love and still feel the competitive juices flow.”
The job opportunity at ESPN was not something that has been planned for Pepper. The recent job offer also marked ESPN as the first company to ever offer her a job on television, which is actually taking her back to where it all started.
In 1999, ESPN had Pepper cover the U.S. Women’s Amateur, which “got her feet wet.” Her LPGA playing career stretched 17 seasons from 1987 to 2004.
At Furman University, Pepper majored in physical education and minored in marketing and business. She never planned on specifically translating her playing career to television, but at the same time playing golf was her only focus back then.
“I had hoped that there would be another career beyond playing, but you’re not really thinking about that when you’re trying to win golf tournaments.”
After her playing career, an immediate transition was made to work with the Golf Channel and NBC Sports. With her second career coming full circle, Pepper is contracted to begin coverage of the U.S. Open starting June 12 for the event in Ardmore, Pennsylvania at the Merion Golf Club.
The current Saratoga Springs resident has a lot on her plate being a member of multiple year-round national boards, including the PGA of America Board of Directors.
