Pat Perez endured a year of misery on the LIV Golf scene – with the American star just about avoiding relegation out of the Saudi-backed league by the finest of margins
A LIV Golf star, whose wife publicly slammed Tiger Woods after his high-speed car crash in 2021, is facing a tough battle to avoid being demoted from the tour next year.
Pat Perez has had a dismal year on the LIV circuit, narrowly avoiding relegation by the slimmest of margins. The Arizona-born golfer finished the 2024 LIV season in 48th place, just one spot and 1.56 points above the automatic drop zone.
If Kalle Samooja hadn’t shot a final-round 71 in the last LIV event of the year, Perez’s fate might have been sealed. However, assuming a team signs the former PGA Tour star during the free agency period, Perez will retain his LIV contract going into 2025.
But with his back already against the wall, defending his position could prove even more challenging next year if Perez’s form continues on a similar downward trend.
Perez is no stranger to controversy, having been embroiled in a war of words with Woods in the past. Woods, a vocal critic of the LIV project since its inception, has claimed that players who left the PGA Tour for the Saudi-backed league are only motivated by money.
Perez fired back at the golf legend, saying “that’s the stupidest —- I have ever heard of in my life” on an episode of the Son of a Butch podcast.
He remarked: “Now, next year you might; they finally got the perks. But last time I checked, he signed a $40 million deal right out of college, was flying on the Nike jet. He found incentive. He could have shut it down right then.”
Perez has struggled for form in 2024
Yet, Pat isn’t the sole Perez to take a swipe at Woods, as the LIV sensation’s spouse, Ashley, didn’t hold back either. Her dig came in the wake of Woods’ harrowing car accident in 2021, which many feared spelt the end of his career, with Ashley scathingly posting on Instagram: “Literally why driving under the influence is ILLEGAL. I don’t feel bad for him. Thank god he didn’t kill anyone. See ya.”
At the time, Woods was cleared of any allegations of driving under the influence, leading to a swift removal of the post by Perez’s wife.
Perez won three titles during his time on the PGA Tour: the Bob Hope Classic in 2009, the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in 2016 and the CIMB Classic in 2017. He finished in a tie for third at the Players Championship in 2006 and has one top-10 finish at the majors, which came in 2005 at the PGA Championship (finishing in a tie for sixth).
