I'm writing this blog whilst sitting on the plane headed out to West Palm for the Honda. With the west coast having just finished, it seems like a good time to go over the beginning of PP's season.
When 2007 began it was almost like starting over with having missed so much of last season. Even though the elbow felt fine for the last few weeks of 2006, it was a very different matter of whether it could stand up to the rigors of playing and hitting balls on a daily basis. For me, the highlight of the 2007 season thus far has been no injuries. Both PP and Jeff (Banazak) have worked hard getting him back to match fitness and touch wood, the elbow is feeling fine.
A top ten at the Sony in Hawaii was the perfect start to a new season. PP realized he was not that far away from being back to top form. Unfortunately, this was followed by two poor weeks at the Buick Invitational (Torrey Pines) and the FBR Classic (TPC Scottsdale), where PP has never made the cut. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, playing home games at both Torrey and PHX are can be very difficult with so much off-the-course stuff to take care off, so the Florida swing always seems to come at the perfect time.
After PHX it was quite important that PP made a cut and he played nicely at Pebble, but really didn't score as well as he played. However, I know he enjoyed playing with Kelly Slater, Jason Gore and Carson Daly. He felt good about his game coming to Riviera, a course where he has played well in the past. The 8th place finish was solid and I think it shows PP's class as that leaderboard in LA was full of blue chip players. It was the strongest field to date.
PP's confidence in his game was shown to me last Sunday night as he told me he was "disappointed" with his t13 finish at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. A very good sign.
As we get to the Florida swing, the players will feel the changes to the schedule as Doral is a World Golf Event and was moved to late March. Tampa has moved from October to March and the PLAYERS Championship at Sawgrass has moved from March to May. As for the Honda, it's being played on another golf course, but PP has always played well in the Sunshine State. From his Q-School victory in late 2001, right up through four top ten finishes since 2002 (two of which were top five).
Most west coast boys struggle on the Bermuda greens in Florida, but PP loves them so look for some strong golf in the next few weeks.
Double P's Saturday round of 65 was the difference maker this week, propelling him to a top-15 finish and one birdie putt from his third top ten of the season.
PP went 71-69-65-69 at Mayakoba and earned him a $63,700 paycheck for the effort. He is currently #31 in FedEx Cup points with the Florida swing kicking off this week.
Once the west coast swing is in the books, Pat Perez tends to get hot in the Sunshine State. Since his rookie season in 2002, he has four top tens in Florida; 3rd at PLAYERS (2006), 4th at the Honda (2005), 10th at Bay Hill (2003) and 9th at Bay Hill (2002).
Last year's t-3rd finish at Sawgrass came one week before Double P's tendonitis flared up at Hilton Head and forced him to the sidelines for the duration of 2006.
Here's hoping a few more top tens are in the cards and maybe even that first win.
Last summer (before the elbow tendonitis), Double P took batting practice with the Philadelphia Phillies. In the offseason, PP spends a lot of down time with neighbor, gold bud and Scottsdale pal, Pat Burrell of the Phillies.
Burrell extended the BP invite and when the PGA Tour pulled in near Philly, Double P took him up on the offer to hit batting practice and hang with the squad.
We've had this video for a few months now and had trouble encoding it for the site, but we finally got 'er up and running. Check it out.
Throughout the course of the season, Double P plays a slew of Pro Ams. That's what Wednesdays are all about on the PGA Tour.
This last Wednesday PP played the Pro Am for the Mayakoba Golf Classic and was paired up with an individual named Alberto Vidaurri. Mr. Vidaurri wrote in to PatPerezGolf.com this week to talk about his Pro Am experience with PP and we wanted to post it here in the blog. Thanks for writing in, Alberto and thanks for the kinds words about Double P:
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to share with you that I had the lifetime opportunity to play the Pro-Am in the Mayakoba Golf Classic here in Mexico and I was even more fortunate to be paired with Pat Perez. Truth to be told, it was not only the first time that I played in a Pro-Am but also the first time I heard about Pat. The other two guys I was with and I had the time of our lives!
Pat was extremely friendly and extremely patient with us when we didn't hit the ball well. He has an impressive game. He was hitting 300+ drives easily and straight as arrows, he was a little bit off with the putter but upon talking with him about the conditions on the course, he said "greens are a little bit big and slow..." compared to what he is used to playing on Tour.
I live down here in Playa del Carmen and I have played every single course there is to play here, and I can tell you for us El Camaleon has really fast greens! As they said yesterday in the Golf Channel coverage of the tournament, the greens are slower than the ones on tour but they are really true.
Summing up, Pat is an outstanding golfer. He is a guy really down to earth, very friendly and above all, very professional. Meeting him and pairing up with him in the Pro-Am has made me a true fan of PP. I wish him the best of luck in this tournament and in his career.
Thank you Pat for making that round the most memorable for me! If you ever come down here again, don't hesitate to give me a shout.
After rolling into the weekend paired with Sergio Garcia in the second to last group, an 8th place finish would've been considered commendable.
Doing so after shooting a +4 round of 75 on Saturday and rebounding with a 65 on Sunday? Double P's round of -6 was a tremendous feat. On a day where some would've thrown in the towel and gone through the motions, PP went balls out on Sunday with a flawless, bogey-free round.
The average golf enthusiast will obviously remember this event for Charles Howell III's dramatic third hole playoff victory over Phil Mickelson as the ultimate storyline.
Those of us in Double P's camp will remember it as a stellar bounce back round after Saturday's struggles. PP's round of 65 matched Howell's and was three strokes better than Lefty.
A helluva round of golf no matter how you slice or dice it and the only bogey-free round for any pro on Sunday. Take away the 75 on Saturday and PP was 13-under in his other three rounds.
Up next, the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Cancun, Mexico. After that, the Florida swing, where Double P has had great success the past few seasons.
#30 in FedEx cup points and two top ten finishes on the west coast. A nice start to this young season and a nice position to be in late February and heading east.
Click the images below to check out PP's recent interviews on PGATour.com after's Friday's round of 69. The first video below features the birdie and uber long put on #13:
Like the front page of PGATour.com says, Double P is in the 'thick of it' entering this weekend at the Nissan Open. Thursday's round of 66 was followed up by a Friday round of 69, fueled by 17 bogey-free holes (19 if you go back to Thursday) and three clutch birdies.
Photos and interviews coming later today. Stay tuned.
Click on the video below to see Double P's interview after Thursday's round of 66 had him sitting pretty, tied for second place:
Here are the transcripts from PP's post-Thursday interview:
"I wasn't even worried about the score today. I was working on so many things I didn't even concentrate on what my score was. It was actually nice. I didn't expect much coming into today. I expected to play well... but I was occupied with other things."
"I basically had three coaches this week. I played with (Steve) Elkington on Tuesday... We worked on getting a little more inside and focusing on the spot of the ball to hit and releasing it, letting the club come through."
"Then I worked with Pesci on my putting, Joe Pesci. He's always in my ear, but yesterday he actually made sense, for once. He's saying 'just barely hold the putter.. you're killing it. You're choking it, you're hitting it hard, you're popping it, you're doing this, etc.' and he's got some other words in there too. Basically it was, 'just hold it, let it swing and feel how far you want to hit it.'"
"Today was awesome. The course is is perfect shape. Fairways are awesome. The greens are rolling great. They're firm. They react the same on every hole. The course is in great shape.
On Sunday, they're (the greens) gonna be hard. We haven't see the rain coming and if they keep cutting them they're gonna be fast and hard. They've gotta be careful on some of the pins. They're good right now but they're gonna be really hard on Sunday."
Double P played this week's practice round with long-time tour veteran, Steve Elkington. Elk won the 1995 PGA Championship at Riviera and had the boys in stitches with his witty banter. By the end of the round, he was working with PP on his swing and helping the kid gear up for a run over the next few days.
Check out our "Inside The Ropes" photo gallery from Tuesday:
Hey Everyone. Double P checking in from the road here. Been a hectic few weeks and I haven't been online much, but posted up at the W here in LA and have some time to check in on a laid back Wednesday.
Got here Sunday night and caught up with some San Diego buds. Was supposed to head over to Carson Daly's show on Monday, but plans fell through. Carson played with Gore, Kelly Slater and I up at Pebble last week and invited us over, but it was the five year anniversary of his show and things got too hectic, so we bagged it.
Ended up at my bud's spot Katana on Sunset and then trekked it to the Key Club to check out Metal Skool. They're a hair metal cover band. Thought we were in the catbird seat, up front early on but didn't know there were three bands before them.
That place filled up quick and Metal Skool wasn't hitting the stage until after midnight, so we bailed before we got to hear some Cinderella covers. My streak for missing shows and bands continues, but I wanted to be well rested for the practice round on Tuesday.
Wound up playing with the the world class Aussie himself, Steve Elkington. I need to get in the mix with that guy every week. One of the better Tuesday's I've had. Elk was solid. Telling stories, cracking us all up and gave me some solid pointers regarding my swing. I now know what a 'sticker' is, I was told I could buy my clubs at the mall and was informed that if I stood too close to a stove, my shoes would melt. Absolutely classic.
On a serious note, it was cool to talk to an old school guy like Elk. Hearing about two decades on the Tour, him winning his lone major at Riviera (1995 PGA Championship), re-enacting his clutch playoff putt to beat Colin Montgomerie, his respect for the game, his respect for the sponsors... it was pretty cool. Elk is a real stand up guy.
Wrapped up the round, headed to the range for a bit and then to In & Out for a feast before then heading over to some joint in Venice for Slater's birthday bash. Needed to get my fill of meat as I'm not a seafood guy and it was nothing but sushi at that spot.
I spent the majority of the night hanging with my buds, some of the Taylor Made guys and Benji Weatherley, a pro surfer from down in San Diego I've been buds with for a few years. Much more my pace, hanging with my close-knit crew. I'm not one to really 'make the rounds'.
Headed back out to practice more in a little bit. Not in the Pro Am, so I can work with O on certain aspects of my game before tomorrow's tee time.
Not sure the next time I'll check back in, but my guys will keep the site updated for you. Playing the next few days and then headed to Cancun for the Mayakoba Golf Classic, so not sure the Internet access down there. I'll check back in the end of February as I'm off a week before heading east for the Florida swing. Really looking forward to that.
Gotta head to the course. Time to get moving. Catch everyone later.
Someone snagged this shot with their cell phone and sent it to us at PatPerezGolf.com.
It was taken at Kelly Slater's b'day gathering. I believe the attempt was to get a shot of Pamela Anderson, but the amateur Ansel Adams also seems to capture Double P sneaking a peak at Ms. Anderson Rock Lee's two most prominent assets. Not that you can blame the boy. Any red blooded male would find himself doing the same...
2006 was an eye opener. It helped us all realized just how demanding life on the Tour is. Especially when you practice and play as hard as Double P.
I am proud to be apart of Team Perez and want to assure everyone Pat did his homework this off-season. He's been in the gym, training hard and is medically sound and ready to go as evident by the early top-10 finish.
Unfortunately, the injury P.P. sustained in 2006 was only going to heal with time and rest. I think the time off and the frustration of not being able to perform will equal big things in 2007. The elbow is ready to go. Let's get this thing started.
Tour pros on average sustain two injuries per year. As a result, more and more touring pros are traveling with a performance team that includes medical and conditioning professionals. I am proud to head up this aspect of Team Perez.
I look forward to keeping everyone updated on Pat’s physical progress as well as helping keep him in shape to endure another grueling Tour season. It should a fun year!
Double P is back in Pebble Beach this week, gearing up for the annual Pro Am. Over the years PP has been paired up with some solid partners. Last year it was Samuel L. Jackson and a few years back, Joe Pesci. This year he's teamed up with world surfing champ, Kelly Slater.
Check back this week for more news and info on this year's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am.
Double P shot an opening round 78 in Thursday's round of the FBR Open.
Darkness suspended play, so the Friday's tee times are yet to be released. Click here to follow PP online Friday as he attempts to bounce back and make the cut.
On a side note, we found this shot on the wire today. It seems playing partner Camilo Villegas took a liking to the authentic, white, limited edition Double P Boxing Glove Head Cover.
Hey Camilo, $29.95 online and you can have your own, brother...
