Last week was a disappointing week for PP. Especially after playing so well in Hawaii, taking off the Bob Hope (to practice and train) and feeling like he was ready to go at Torrey Pines. Growing up in San Diego, playing the Buick is right up there with a major for PP.
His ball striking was very solid, apart from a few loose ones. The real issue last week was his putter, which let him down. In fact, it was two four-putts which really slowed him down and killed momentum.
Pat left town on Saturday morning and I joined him in Scottsdale on Sunday for a practice round. It didn't feel right playing a practice round at TPC Scottsdale on Sunday while Tiger was producing another master class a few hundred miles away at Torrey Pines. Such is life on the PGA Tour, though. You week either ends Friday or Sunday and it's back to business, gearing up for another week and hopefully another run.
PP's record at the FBR Open isn't very good, so he cancelled his annual Phoenix Open party to try and focus and change the dynamics of the week. The last few days of practice have been solid, so hopefully PP can string together a good week back "home" in Scottsdale.
The last two weeks have been fun, but there are lots of other distractions in San Diego and Scottsdale. Ticket requests, dinners with local friends... it all takes its toll and can distract from the task at hand. Playing at home is not always as easy as one might think.
A quick update from PatPerezGolf.com. Double P is back home for this week's FBR Open. He didn't make the cut at last week's Buick Invitational in San Diego, but he's back at work gearing up for this week. PP drove back home Saturday morning and has been working out and practicing since.
Many were expecting the would-be 5th Annual Phoenix Open party at Casa de Double this Monday night, but those plans were scrapped so Pat could focus on this week's tournament.
Thursday's tee time is set for 11:50am Arizona time and PP is paired up with good bud Tom Pernice Jr. and rising star Camilo Villegas.
Click here to follow this week's live scoring and tune in for more later this week.
Double P shot 76 on the South Course at Torrey Pines today in the opening round of this year' Buick Invitational. Holes 6, 7 and 16 were the difference-maker in what looked to be a solid opening round on an extremely difficult course.
Anyone doubting that, look no further than today's leaderboard where 55 of top-58 all did their damage on the North Course.
Tomorrow's tee time is set for 10:10am PT and Perez goes off on #10 North.
Ed Zieralski of the San Diego Union Tribune wrote a great piece on Double P today. Check it out below:
Perez due for first tour win By Ed Zieralski UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER January 25, 2007
Pat Perez looks fit, rested and is hitting the ball as well as he ever has, according to his swing coach, Michael Owen.
None other than John Daly says Perez's ball-striking ability is among the best he's ever seen on tour.
So why hasn't Perez won yet?
Perez didn't have to be reminded yesterday that another San Diego Junior Golf star, Charley Hoffman, a 30-year-old just like him, picked up his first tour win Sunday at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.
Perez had a fine week himself the previous week, finishing tied for 10th at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
"That was nice, but it was a real surprise," Perez said yesterday. "It was a lot better than I expected for the first time out."
Perez, who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., has seen Hoffman and Chris Riley, another fellow former San Diego junior golf star, win on tour. Perez has two seconds on tour, in 2002 at Pebble Beach and the Buick Classic. His best finish last year was third at the Players Championship. He tied for 39th at Torrey Pines.
He knows he's due for a win.
"I think so," he said. "For good players, it's only a matter of time before you get that first win. Everything is working right now. I'm playing well. I played good in Hawaii, and now it's good to be home, always good to be home and playing my favorite tournament."
Owen, a teaching pro at Torrey Pines, said Perez is excited and ready for 2007. The tendinitis in both elbows has subsided after limiting Perez to 19 starts last year. He still finished in the top 125 on the PGA Tour money list for the fifth time in his five-year career, earning $719,507. He's off to a great start with $137,000 from the Sony.
"He has some terrific goals, to finish in the top 30 (on the money list) and to qualify for the U.S. Open here next year," Owen said. "He's focused, and he believes he can do it. Seeing Charley Hoffman win was good for him, motivates him. Pat will win, and when he wins his first, I believe the flood gates will open."
Owen also has been working with Daly, who has become a friend and mentor to Perez. Daly thinks the world of Perez and, like Owen, believes he will win on tour soon.
"Pat is definitely ready to win," Daly said. "This guy is one of the best ball-strikers I've ever seen. It reminds me of the way Fuzzy (Zoeller) used to hit it. I don't know why he hasn't won...
"He wants everything to be just perfect when he hits a golf shot, and you can't. As good as he is around the greens, he should have won already."
Double P returned to San Diego this week for the Buick Invitational. Though he's lived in Scottsdale since early 2002, Perez grew up in San Diego and Torrey Pines is the course where he won Junior World (1993).
There's a lot of Perez history here. The only thing missing is a PGA Tour win. If there's one for P.P. to win, it's the Buick.
I had the chance to walk Tuesday practice round, where Double P parterned up with John Daly, Vijay Singh and Eric Axley.
Thursday's tee time is set for 9:10am PT and. Click here for live scoring.
Below is the PatPerezGolf.com 'inside the ropes' photo gallery. Check it out!
Check out our photo slideshow from this year's Tommy Bahama Classic out at Grayhawk in Scottsdale, AZ back on January 2nd-4th. Double P and Mark Mulder finished t-2nd.
What a great way to start the year after being sidelined for so long.
As frustrated as PP has been, H and I have felt the effects of the layoff as well. We've both traveled and worked with the kid for so long now that we pull for him the way other fanatics sports fans pull for their teams. It was a rough 2006 not having him out there competing.
Sunday was bittersweet for us. We were thrilled with the top ten finish and PP played great, but our beloved Chargers fell against the Patriots in a heartbreaker. I was on the course giving PP updates when I could and when we found out how it ended, we were sick over it. I had tickets to the AFC Championship game next week if it was in San Diego and I already scored my Super Bowl tickets.
I know PP was planning on heading to San Diego next Friday so he could see a match up with the Colts if the Bolts had pulled off the win.
Regarding last week, when PP arrived last Monday he was more than ready for the tourney to start. He seemed pretty anxious after such a long layoff. I was wound up as well. We were set to meet at the course at 9am and when I got there he was already on the range, hitting away. The best overall aspect of the week was the status of the elbow.
Through six days of play, PP still felt great right up through 18 on Sunday. This was a tough week of play and practice, so to endure that with more in the tank was very promising.
On Tuesday PP played a practice round with JD and Tom Pernice Jr. Both veterans got in the kid's pocket that day, but we all know who had the last laugh come Sunday evening!
Come Thursday morning, I was a little worried that PP would be "almost" ready to go, instead of all the way there - but a few good swings early on got him up and running. He played solid all week and to finish with a 66 on Sunday is always big time.
The west coast swing is upon us. We're playing a lot of courses the kid loves - Torrey, Riviera, Pebble, etc. Could that first win be in the cards? We'll see. Either way, top ten is a great way to kickoff 2007, so we'll take it.
There was confusion as to if P.P. was playing in this week's Bob Hope Classic. He is not. He'll take this week off to train and prep for next week's Buick Invitational.
HONOLULU, HI - Ask Pat Perez about 2006 and prepare to hear one word repeated over and over and over again.
Frustrating.
Anyone who knows PP will tell you, the sixth year Tour player can't sit still. This is an energetic, focused, driven individual who is most at home Thursday through Sunday on a golf course, playing to win. Down time at the casa for months on end? An absolute nightmare.
A seven month bout with Tendonitis, sidelined Perez from August through the end of last year. Insult to injury came in the timing of the elbow flare up. Perez was a week removed from a t-3rd finish at the PLAYERS Championship at Sawgrass when things went south.
A few holes into his Thursday round at the Verizon Heritage a week later, PP withdrew before the turn. The next half year was spent resting, rehabbing and longing to get back to action.
Thankfully for Perez, in the 19 events he entered in 2006 he saw a top five and three more top fifteens. Of those 19 events, he withdrew from three due to injury, yet still found a way to haul in $719,507 in prize money, keeping his Tour card for a fifth straight season. He earned just under 1/5 of that today as t-10th paid $130,000.
It'd be presumptious to say things have come full circle after only one tournament, but if after a season-opening top ten finish, Perez could finally go on the run many have been waiting for. Having played the Sony every season since 2002, Perez finished t-17th, t-20th, t-31st and t-20th, before today. Last year, he failed to even make the cut.
Today's round of 66 was Perez's best effort at the Sony since 2005. His lowest was a 64 on Sunday in 2003.
Next up for the Tour, a stop at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, where Perez went lower than low with an opening round 60 last season. As of now, an appearance in the desert is "iffy" as he might take the week off to tighten up his game before heading back to his old San Diego stomping grounds in two weeks for the Buick Invitational, where his best finish was t-6th in 2005.
One down, several to go, but a strong opening to the 2007 season. Congrats, PP.
Double P opened the 2007 season with a round of 68 at the Sony Open on Thursday. PP netted three birdies, three bogey and an eagle en route to -2 on Thursday.
This year's Sony Open is Perez' first tournament action since last September when he pulled out of the 84 LUMBER due to a nagging bout with tendonitis. Perez spent the off-season working out, resting and receiving treatment for the elbow. He's extremely optimistic about the 2007 and would love nothing more than to hit the ground running.
"I've done well at the Sony in the past, but I didn't make the cut last year," said Perez. "It's great to start the season in Hawaii and it always feels good to go well out here before heading over to the mainland for the west coast swing. Hopefully I'll get it done the next few days."
Friday's tee times is 12:50pm local time. For full coverage on the Sony Open and to follow Double P's live scoring, click here.
Check out footage from Tuesday's closest to the pin event at the Tommy Bahama Classic. Gary McCord emcees the event and busts balls on everyone who came up to hit. Put it in the drink and McCord was going to tattoo you with a water balloon.
Under the impression that Gary's aim sucked, Daly took over pelting folks who missed the green (and some who didn't) and went to town on PP. Mulder didn't get hit, but McCord busted on his getting hitched by playing "Biggest Mistake" by the Rolling Stones as he hit.
Off to Hawaii tomorrow, so wanted to blog again before things got hectic.
Mulder and I came in second at the Tommy Bahama Classic on Thursday. Had we made a few putts down the stretch, we'd have won by a few strokes.
We finished -14 on the tourney and -16 won the whole damn thing. I don't care if it's a major, a drunkfest like the Tommy Bahama or a game or racquetball - I want to win everything I play.
I'm headed out tomorrow to play a round with John Elway and Gary McCord. Hopefully I can bring it and take a few bucks off Johnny Super Bowl. I'm going decked out head to toe in my Chargers gear and will be in his ear all day about the Broncos. Definitely looking forward to that.
Was hoping to get some R&R after a long New Years week, but I guess I have to save that for the plane tomorrow. Everything's been a blur since the ball dropped.
Daly, Gore and some San Diego buds have been staying with me right up through today so our options were either to cram on to JD's bus or to invite the whole crew back here. On Saturday I have to pack for the Sony and also hit my bud Rick Weaver's wedding. Out of here at 6am on Sunday morning, so I have to keep things pretty low key.
Really looking forward to the Sony as I've done well there in past year. I didn't make the cut in 2006 and that pissed me off. I always want to start the season on a high note, so hoping to get back to form this coming week. The elbow is feeling solid, the putter is on fire and hoping to bring all aspects of my game together in Hawaii.
From there, off to San Diego to tie up loose ends for my charity tourney on January 29th. More on that later. For now, off to bed so I can take on the Super Bowl MVP in the morning.
Hey everyone, PP checking in here for the first time in 2007. Wanted to tell everyone, "Merry New Year." None of that Happy New Year crap. Ever since Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) said that in "Trading Places" it's been "Merry" instead of "Happy" so get used to it.
Playing in the Tommy Bahama Challenge this week. Talk about as easy as it gets. The event is literally in my backyard here at Grayhawk. I'm teamed up with my bud Mark Mulder and my caddy the Great H is teamed up with our pal John Daly, so the hijinx are in full force this week. We went -9 today in the scramble but should've done a lot better. I think everyone's still hurting from New Years.
The highlight of the whole week is Mulder's new Hummer cart we've been working on for months. It used to be Jason Kidd's cart and was yellow, but this thing has since been tricked out big time. Jet black, rims and a stereo system that'll make your teeth rattle. We've definitely made a spectacle of ourselves the past few days. We'll have some photos and videos up in the coming week.
That's about it for now. One more day of the Tommy Bahama but tonight the boys and I are headed out for dinner. I'll check in again before Sunday when I bail to the islands for the Sony.
Last week was a disappointing week for PP. Especially after playing so well in Hawaii, taking off the Bob Hope (to practice and train) and feeling like he was ready to go at Torrey Pines. Growing up in San Diego, playing the Buick is right up there with a major for PP. 
