When Pat Perez headed for Mexico last November, he wasn’t going on vacation.
Perez, who turned 40 earlier last year, was trying to resurrect what had been a solid yet unspectacular PGA Tour. He was trying to regain his playing privileges on a medical extension after undergoing left shoulder surgery.
Even Perez has difficulty processing what has happened since.
Not only did he win the OHL Classic at Mayakoba at the El Camaleon Golf Club in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, he made it all the way through the playoffs, finished 15th in the FedExCup standings and last month claimed his third PGA Tour victory in the CIMB Classic at TPC Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
“I really can’t believe what’s gone on basically a year from this tournament last year because Todd (Rhinehart, executive director of the CIMB Classic) gave me a spot (last year), and I was so excited to come over and play to try and further my career,” said Perez, who hasn’t slowed down since his victory in Malaysia.
He tied for fifth in the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges in South Korea and tied for 24th in the WGC-HSBC Champions in China in his last two events to take the early lead in the 2017-18 FedExCup standings.
“And I played pretty good (in Malaysia), I think I finished like 33rd, and I finished seventh in Vegas and then I won Mexico. But if he hadn’t given me the spot, the funny thing is I don’t know if I would have started the tour until January.
“So, all those chain of events might not have happened. I really can’t explain it. It’s been an amazing 12 months. I can’t explain it, but I hope it continues.”
Perez, No. 333 in the Official World Golf Ranking before beginning his comeback last year, was up to a career-high 18th as of last week.
Not only did he win in Mexico last year, but he also recorded five other results in the top 10, including a tie for second in the Wells Fargo Championship, a tie for third in the SBS Tournament of Champions and a tie for fourth in the Farmers Insurance Open near his childhood home in San Diego.
“I guess I’m just one of those late-maturers,” said Perez, whose only other PGA Tour victory came in the 2009 Bob Hope Classic. “I know I was sort of a punk and all that early on, but I think I learned a lot about myself in the last nine, 10 months, and it paid off. I couldn’t be more excited about what’s going on.
“When you hit 40 and then you have surgery, it’s like, ‘Oh God,’ you know, ‘What are we going to do?’ I had sleepless nights, I had a lot of sleepless nights wondering, ‘What are we going to do? How are we going to do this? What’s going to happen here? What would happen here?’ Because all you do is sit around and think. That’s all you have time is to sit around. You’re just sitting in a sling doing nothing and you can’t hit balls for five months. I had a lot of time to think about a lot of things.”
Whatever he thought about, it paid off.
In his third start since returning to the PGA Tour following his surgery, Perez closed with a 4-under 67 in Mexico, after shooting 62 in round three, to claim a two-stroke victory over Gary Woodland on the Greg Norman-designed El Camaleon course, finishing at 21-under 263.
“I had an attitude that I can’t really repeat, but I had a lot of thoughts going on,” said Perez, who became the first player on the PGA Tour to win on a medical extension since Harrison Frazar at the 2011 St. Jude Classic. “The main one was I wanted to stay aggressive. I knew if I just stayed aggressive, I was seeing the line great on the putting green. … This type of grass and these greens, if you can get it on line, you can make them.
“I just saw the line, I thought I could make them all and I just had a confidence. I had an entirely different attitude than I wouldn’t have had a few years ago. It was definitely a different win than last time. Last time, I was a little more scared coming down the stretch. I didn’t really believe and this and that. This time, I really had like this calmness, kind of like a madness to get it done.”
Perez has always worked hard at his game and played hard off the course, which led to speculation he might have had a more successful career had he been in better physical condition.
He’s not going to change now.
“Everything is just going unbelievable,” said Perez, who played at Arizona State and lives nearby in Scottsdale. “It’s been a lot of work, and a lot of dedication, and it’s just coming together. I’m not getting ahead of myself, I’m not going to look in the past.
“I’m still not going to work out. I will still enjoy myself, have a bad diet. I’ve got my group of friends, and I’m not going to change anything.”
It simply took awhile for his approach to pay off.
–Story courtesy of The Sports Exchange, TSX Editor Tom LaMarre
