SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Pat Perez is driving it better. And he’s driving in style.
The former Arizona State standout started the PGA Tour season with a missed cut, a withdrawal, and a T-44 before three straight missed cuts at Mayakoba, Houston and La Quinta.
That skid ended after back-to-back top-10 finishes: a T-6 at Torrey Pines and a T-9 at Pebble Beach. He’s back at it again this week, playing a “home game” in Scottsdale, although on a course where he’s seen limited success.
“I’ve never played well here so I don’t expect much,” Perez said Tuesday. This will mark his 21st appearance. Over the years, he has seven missed cuts, a disqualification, and a withdrawal. His best finish is a tie for 11th in 2014. After 16 consecutive appearances, he didn’t even play three years in a row (2018-20).
He says he mostly plays nearby Silverleaf but TPC Scottsdale is close enough for him drive. Tuesday, he got there in one of his favorites, a 2009 GT-R. He says after ordering it he waited nine months for delivery from Japan following a tsunami.
Over the years, he’s invested heavily into the vehicle. The body is a dark gray carbonfiber. The hood has a see-through panel that shows off a maroon engine block with gold ASU pitchforks.
“I got about almost 400 into it,” he said, meaning $400,000. The hood was a no-brainer. “If I spend that much on the engine, might as well be able to see it.”
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Lightly driven for a 13-year-old car, “it’s only got 20,000 miles on it.
“But it’s been in the shop more than I’ve driven, getting it upgraded, making it as fast as I want.”
How fast?
“It can go up to 3,000 horsepower,” Perez said, “but that’s a little much.”
The souped-up GT-R isn’t the only motorized toy in his garage.
“I’ve got seven cars, four scooters, two quads, a can-am, just a bunch of stuff to drive around.”
Is the GT-R his favorite?
“It is. This and my Hummer,” he said. “I have a convertible H1 Hummer that I love. I’m going to bring that tomorrow. These are my two favorites to drive.”
Meanwhile, work on his golf swing continues, particular with the driver, which started getting better at the Farmers Insurance Open.
“I worked with Claude [Harmon III] a lot at Torrey. I just made some minor adjustments. I have to try to not hit it far. I shortened my swing. You gotta hit it far out here but the way I do it is wrong, so I have to change my action and try to hit it down and running,” Perez said. “Fortunately, the last couple of courses have been running fast so I can get it down and running and this (TPC Scottsdale) is no different so. I feel like if I can hit it straight here I should be able to play well.”
As for the short game, he said that’s dialed in.
“Putter’s been good. I didn’t make a lot of putts last week but yeah, chipping’s great, putting’s great.”
