DORAL, Fla. — Many jokes and quips were made throughout LIV Golf’s inaugural year, but Pat Perez was the one who had the last laugh.
The 46-year old veteran is often the odd score-out for his loaded 4Aces squad that includes Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, and Talor Gooch. He couldn’t be happier after a final round 2-under 70 at Trump National Doral, which tied Johnson and Reed for the team’s lowest score of the day, at the LIV Golf Team Championship.
“All the pushback, all negative comments, all we’ve gotten, I don’t care at this point. I mean, I don’t care. I’m paid. Perez laughed with the media after the 4Aces took home $16 million in top prize. “My team performed amazing this year. It’s like being part of something I have never felt apart from me and my caddie. We’ve been just us all our lives. It’s like one big family to have these guys, their coaches, families, and coaches. It’s amazing. It’s unbelievable.”
Johnson, the captain of the 4Aces, stated that Perez should have felt pressure at the end. He always does.
I don’t want the team to fail. Perez said, “I want to play well every single day. Today I was finally able to show up.” “I birdied the first two holes and had a fantastic up-and down on the last hole. It was an incredible feeling to hit that last six-footer down the hill and have it go in.
“I thought we had one shot lead there, but P-Reed birdied his final hole and then Cap came down to make the four-footer. He said, “It was a great atmosphere.” “Cap and Cam are going down the final hole. It’s impossible to script it better. Two best players, just unbelievable.”
In six starts on the upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Perez struggled with finishes of T29-T31-T15-T31-40-46 in the 48-player, no cut events. Perez earned $961,000 as a result. He was one of 21 players to earn less than $1 million. Perez won four regular-season events with his 4Aces and was awarded the team title. He also took home $7,062,500 in prize money for his team. Perez walked away with an impressive $8,023,500.
Although the results were not great throughout the year Perez was there when his team needed him most. This is nothing to be proud of.
