Perez full of praise on first visit to Dubai

Recent success has brought Pat Perez for the first time to Dubai. The popular American, 41, has enjoyed a relative renaissance these past couple of years, underlining a fine 2017 campaign by winning the CIMB Classic in Malaysia last October.

He followed a third PGA Tour victory with a fifth-place finish a week later at the CJ Cup in South Korea, part of a run that has taken him to 17th in the world rankings.

That has opened a few doors. “I haven’t really been in a position in my career to go out from the PGA Tour because I’ve had to struggle,” said Perez yesterday, as he prepares for this week’s the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. “Not struggle, but the main focus for me was to keep my PGA Tour card once I had a job.

“But once you get inside the top 50, you can go that route and try to play some more world events and play against different players and see how you really stand up against everybody.”

His Dubai debut provides the opportunity to test himself against 10 former major champions and four former world No 1s, including two-time Classic champion Rory McIlroy. The tournament represents Perez’s fourth regular European Tour event in 17 years as a professional. His position in the game will allow him to take in a few more, but for now at least the focus is on Dubai. “A lot bigger city than I thought it was,” Perez said. “But it’s been great. Weather’s fantastic. Course is fantastic. Just I’ve always wanted to come here.

“It’s been exciting to be here so far and I look forward to a good week.”

Asked if he will become a more regular participant on the European Tour, Perez said: “I was going to try to play maybe five in total. My main goal is still the PGA Tour and FedEx Cup.

“You really have to play incredible on both tours to manage both.”