Is Pat Perez “Good for Golf”?

Very early Sunday morning, Pat Perez won the CIMB Classic in Malaysia. He finally took the crown from Justin Thomas, who won the tournament the past two years, en route to two very solid seasons. Perez’s victory at the CIMB is his third victory on the PGA Tour, and it comes at the ripe age of 41.

So Pat Perez is not the most athletic of golfers on Tour. Run across him outside the ropes, and you’re more likely to confuse him as an out of shape dad than you are to guess he’s a pro golfer. He’s been very blunt with his physical shape, saying in a press conference that you’re much more likely to see him sitting on the couch than you are to see him inside a gym. In fact, after his win at the CIMB, when asked if he planned to change anything to try and keep winning, he was quoted saying “I’m not gonna work out. I’m still gonna have a bad diet and I’m gonna enjoy myself”. I’m not kidding. You can’t make this stuff up.

What does this mean to every other out of shape golfer in the world? Perez is proving to them that you can be very out of shape and still win on golf’s highest stage. On one hand, you have players like Rory McIlroy and Jason Day, who are some of the most elite golfers and essentially live in the gym, focus on nutrition, and only eat healthy. On the other hand, you have a guy like Perez, who probably gets winded walking to the first tee, yet still has more wins this year than McIlroy and Day combined.

Granted, Perez has put in countless hours of range work, endless reps, and has gained tremendous control over where his golf ball ends up. That’s something that you just can’t learn by playing 18 holes twice a week. However, to all those weekend warriors out there, if you really put your mind to it, ramp up the rounds played, hours spent practicing and focus on getting better, Perez is showing that you don’t have to be in shape to be successful on the course.

Overall, Pat Perez does not make a good case for the “Is golf a sport?” argument. He’s probably the furthest thing from an athlete to ever play a professional sport. However, he is defying the odds and making his mark on the game regardless. Combine that with his unrestrained, boisterous character, and you have a wonderful personality that will continue to draw many fans towards the game of golf. Therefore, while he’s probably the furthest thing from an athlete, he still is very good for the game of golf.

Written by Paul Choma