Pat Perez dug himself a deep hole Thursday with an opening round 78 at the Barclays. A second round 71 proved to be a solid effort, but it was too little, too late for the opening round of the 2008 Playoffs.
Perez opened with birdie on the par-4 first hole, but it'd be twenty-five holes until his next birdie. Seven bogeys, a double and ten pars were the result after round one at Ridgewood Country Club. With the eventual cut at +1, a second-round 65 was needed to see the weekend.
PP hung tough on Friday, starting on the back nine and fighting back after finding himself +3 after six holes. From there, three birdies over the next five holes had Perez at even with six to play. A bogey on four and birdie on nine kept it even on the day.
Next up for Perez, the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston. After last year's WD, Perez is looking to make a deeper run this year and continue a run in the Playoffs. Tune in next week for more.
Par was the name of the game for Pat Perez in the opening round of the PGA Championship. 14 pars, to be exact. There were two bogeys and a double, but a late birdie brought PP back to +3 on the day and has him T48th entering Friday's round.
In an event where the winning score is expected to be over par, Perez is still in the thick of things if he can put together a solid second round.
Pat Perez is in Bloomfield Township, MI this week for the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills. This marks PP's fifth appearance at this highly regarded major.
Perez played his first PGA Championship in 2002, earning an exemption with three top five finishes by the end of July. The result, a 70th place finish.
After missing the 2003 and 2004 PGA Championship, Perez pulled his best major finish with a T6th finish in 2005. The 68-71-67-73 finish had Perez finishing three strokes behind eventual winner Phil Mickelson. (Note: Perez finished T3rd in the 2006 PLAYERS Championship, unofficially referred to as the fifth major.)
Perez missed the cut in 2006, shooting 73-73 but rebounded in 2007 with a T18th finish after shooting 70-69-77-68 in Medinah Country Club (IL).
PP enters this year's PGA Championship 58th in FedExCup point standings. In twenty events played, Perez has three top ten finishes and has missed five cuts - two coming in the past few weeks (British Open and RBC Canadian Open).
Thursday's tee time is 8:00am ET and Perez goes at 1:10pm ET on Friday.
InsideTheRopes.com caught up with Pat Perez after his final round at this year's John Deere Classic and talked with the PGA Tour pro about his travel plans and game plan for this year's British Open at Royal Birkshire.
Checking in from Silvis this week. Coming off a T12th finish down at the AT&T. Had a good week there, but could've done better. Working on some new things right now and it'll take some time to get it all straightened out. The confidence is coming along and I'm feeling like things are gonna start rolling soon. I'm not pulling off every shot, but it's getting easier to do what I need to do.
Took the train out of DC last Sunday and headed up to Philly to meet with (Pat) Burrell and (Mark) Mulder. The Cards were in town to play the Phillies, so it was a good chance to catch up with the guys. We don't see each other much during the season and it's pretty rare we're all in the same place at the same time outside of Scottsdale, so I had to make the push.
Crazy time to be in Philly. The whole town is in 'Burrell mode' as they're rallying to get him in the All Star game. Fun time to be up there and to check all that out.
I've gotten out to a few games there the past few years, so it's become a home away from home. I get to take BP, toss the ball around and hang out with the guys. Frank Coppenbarger runs the clubhouse and they hooked me up with my own permanent locker next to Burrell's. They gave me my own jersey and gear. It's a trip. The Phillies guys always take good care of me and are great hosts. Can't wait to get back.
I headed over to Silvis on Wednesday morning, played the Pro-Am and was ready to go on Thursday. I'm playing pretty good right now and hope to get everything dialed in for the British next week. Really fired up to get over there. I moved up to 51st in the World Rankings, so I was headed that way even before Luke (Donald) withdrew. I was first alternate, so odds are you're getting in for an overseas event like that.
Headed out Sunday night and hoping for a good week. Bringing my guy Joey (Diovisalvi) over so we can train and keep me loose all week. I'm also set up to play the practice round with Mark O'Meara, which is solid because he won at Royal Birkdale back in 1998 and obviously knows the course. Hopefully that helps me get a lay of the land going into next week.
Leaving the Mac home next week, so I'll drop a line when I'm back in the states.
It's oft been said that one man's misfortune can be another man's gain. Such is the case for Luke Donald and Pat Perez.
Three weeks ago Donald felt a 'pop' in his wrist on the 15th tee of the final round of the U.S. Open and has been sidelined since. His hiatus will continue into next week's British Open and beyond, opening the door for Perez - the first alternate, thanks to his climb in the World Rankings.
Perez jumped to 51st this week after T12th finish at last weeks AT&T National.
No stranger to injury, Perez missed the latter half of the 2006 season with tendinitis (elbow), opening the door for several others to play in his absence a few years back. This time around, the golf gods appear to be smiling on Perez, guaranteeing him a spot next week.
As first alternate, Perez was headed across the pond regardless. Today's news just makes it official that he'll be teeing it up at Royal Birkdale next week.
Congrats to PP and a speedy recovery to Luke Donald.
Pat Perez picked up where he left off after last week's T12th finish at the AT&T National, hitting the ground running at this week's John Deere Classic.
After an opening round of 67 on Thursday, PP got hot early on Friday with birdies on three of his first eight holes. A bogey on #18 had him back at -2, but an eagle on #3 had Perez -4 with seven to play. Two bogeys, a birdie and four pars would close out a solid round of 68.
Unless there are some major movers this afternoon, PP should enter Saturday in the top ten and no more than six strokes off the lead.
Pat Perez closed out this year's AT&T National at Congressional with a final round 68.
Birdies on #5, #8, #11 and #16 helped Perez get to -2 on Sunday, with bogeys on #2 and #10 being the day's lone setbacks.
Perez's average driving distance on Sunday was 301 yards, up from Saturday's round of 291. Perez average 28 putts per round, tying him for fourth amongst the field. He was also T4th regarding sand saves this week.
Next up for Double P, the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois.
Pat Perez dug himself a deep hole Thursday with an opening round 78 at the Barclays. A second round 71 proved to be a solid effort, but it was too little, too late for the opening round of the 2008 Playoffs.
