BOLINGBROOK, Ill.—Pat Perez never danced around the subject. He made clear from the start that joining LIV Golf was a financial boon, that he no longer felt competitive against the younger players on the PGA Tour and the opportunity to make more and play less was too good to pass up.
Now he faces the possibility that it could be over for him.
Perez, 48, who called LIV Golf “hitting the lottery,” entered the week 48th in the season standings and hanging onto the final spot for a place in the 2025 season as the last individual events plays out this weekend at the LIV Golf Chicago tournament at Bolingbrook Country Club. He shot a 4-over 74 in Round 1 and was tied for 46th place, which if he stays there would keep him perilously on the bubble.
He faces the prospect of “relegation’’ if he is unable to stay among the top 48 players, a fate he says is of his own making.
“I’ve haven’t played well this year; I’ve played terrible,” Perez said on the driving range while searching for his game. “But I’ve also had a lot of s--- in my life this year, too. It hasn’t been the easiest year for me. It’s been a nightmare, really.
“That’s where without enough events, and you get off to a sh---- start, it’s hard to catch up. There’s a lot of good players. Back in the day when I always fought for my card (on the PGA Tour), I always had enough events to get it in. There’s just not enough out here and that’s how it is.
“And this happens to be a very mental sport. When I’m home I have a lot of stuff going on, so I haven’t practiced as much. I have the (two) kids. I don’t have all day to go practice and then it’s 1,000 degrees on top of it. I haven’t had the clearest mind, to be honest. Hopefully I make it to next year. I’d love to get a fresh start and try again.”
As is often the case with Perez, there’s a good bit to unpack after a conversation with him. He rattles off a stream of consciousness faster than his swing.
Understandably not going into detail, Perez and his wife, Ashley, split up earlier this year, an occurrence not difficult to deduce from social media. They have two young children and live in Arizona, hence the heat reference.
Perez won three times on the PGA Tour and was always proud of the fact that he never lost his card in more than 20 years, having amassed more than $28 million in career earnings.
Lost in his comments about the shorter LIV schedule is irony that he viewed fewer tournaments as a benefit when he first joined the circuit. Perez signed on after the first event in 2022 and played seven times. LIV has played 14 events in each of the past two years.
In the LIV format, only the top 24 players in the standings each week earn points, so it’s possible that Perez plays poorly and still avoids relegation. Scott Vincent trails him by less than two points but would need a least a 20th place finish to catch Perez, with numerous other scenarios in play.
Even if Perez survives the relegation zone, there is no guarantee he will be back in 2025.
After originally signing a two-year deal with LIV Golf in 2022 (believed to be in the $10 million range), Perez had to negotiate a deal with his team captain, Dustin Johnson, of the 4Aces in order to have a place to play this year.
The same scenario would likely be in play for 2025. The only way he guarantees himself a spot next year is to finish among the top 24.
“If I play well … in order to get into the top 24, I’d actually have to win,” he said. “I feel better than I did a week ago but I it is what it is. It’s a short season and if you don’t play well, it’s hard to get up there. That’s the way it is. It’s not that I don’t care. But I won’t be heartbroken. If it happens, it happens. If I stay in the top 48, DJ might keep me. Who knows?”
Perez was 15th at LIV’s Las Vegas event and 14th in Nashville, his best finish of the year. But six other times in 12 starts he’s finished outside of the top 40 in a 54-player league.
Don’t feel bad for Perez, however, when it comes to the financial rewards.
In the first year of LIV, despite finishing 49th in individual earnings with $961,000, he earned another $7 million as part of the 4Aces team—the first year, the team earnings were shared among the players. Perez never made more than $4.5 million in any season on the PGA Tour.
Last year, finishing 28th in points, he added another $4 million. Despite his struggles in 2024, he’s earned nearly $1.8 million.
“I want to play as long as I can,” said Perez, 48. “I’d like to keep going. But we’ll see. I came here thinking it would take me all the way to 50. And I’d play the Champions Tour if I wanted to.”
That is far from certain at this point.
So far, nobody who has competed for LIV Golf has been able to return to any of the PGA Tour-sanctioned events. The current rules require at least a year for non-members, and as a former member, Perez would likely face some sanctions if he’s allowed to return at all.
Of course, perhaps some of that would be worked out if the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia ever come to some sort of deal.
“I’ve never figured out how a deal could get done between the two,” he said. “I just don’t know how you can get the two together. We all love it out here. It’s phenomenal. Personally, I wish it was 18 events. As opposed to 13 individual and one team. It’s a lot of time off.
“I think it’s kind of what I thought it would be, I knew there would be a lot of great players over here. You’ve got Bryson (DeChambeau) winning a major, Brooks (Koepka) won a major, you’ve got (Richard) Bland winning two majors on the Champions Tour. Guys have competed. These guys can still play.
“I think the stigma of these guys took the easy money and don’t try any more ... I think that’s gone.”
Perez said his lack of success is not for lack of trying. He’s got a couple of more days to try and make it right.
“I can’t believe it’s almost three years out here,” he said. “It has flown by.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as After Season of Struggles On and Off the Course, Pat Perez Could Be Relegated Out of LIV Golf.
