One year into LIV Golf's divisive introduction to the sport, and it's clear emotions are still running high for certain players on both sides of the battle.
Pat Perez —who defected to the Saudi-backed breakaway in June 2022—appears to fall under that category after a couple of prickly moments in Mexico this weekend. The second season of the LIV Golf League teed off at the El Camaleon Golf Club in Playa del Carmen on Friday, with Perez suiting up for Dustin Johnson 's '4 Aces' team.
The dawn of a new campaign should be a happy occasion, though Perez appeared otherwise occupied when speaking to the press. When asked how it felt to be starting the new season at LIV Golf Mayakoba in Mexico, the 46-year-old took a roundabout route to suggest he was in high spirits.
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"I love it, because we're here and the [PGA] Tour 's not," proclaimed Perez before an awkward silence appeared to fall over the room. The American broke up the tension and made some reporters chuckle when he concluded: "End quote."
Some would interpret that as Perez's former employers 'living rent-free' in his head given the unprovoked nature of the jab. And it's not the only time the PGA Tour event-winner has demonstrated his frustrations in the early stages of LIV's 2023 opener.
Perez allegedly accused Alan Shipnuck of being 'snarky' when the golf author tweeted a photo of the LIV golfers and their caddies, remarking that they looked "cute in their matching uniforms." It wasn't long after that Shipnuck followed that update to say Perez had purportedly taken exception with his remarks.
“Pat Perez just got in my grill complaining that 'cute' sounded snarky,” he wrote. “(And he cautioned me to give Poulter a wide berth [because] of the below tweet lol.) Two days in, I would like to state for the record that the team unis are a clean look and I am, in fact, digging it.”
Perez opened the LIV Golf's Mayakoba by breaking even on the 71-par course, while Englishman Paul Casey and Jason Kokrak both set the pace on six-under. The first event of the season already seemed lost for Lee Westwood after he shot five-over, meanwhile, though he's still guaranteed a share of the £16.7million prize fund.
Upon parting ways with the PGA Tour last year, Perez commented that the move was "like winning the lottery." At least part of the player still appears to have thoughts about his former pastures, however, despite his insistence that he's 'loving' life on the LIV roster.
