For Pat Perez the F word is like a comma
He smokes, he bets, he drinks like his hero John Daly. And he swears. A lot.
PAT PEREZ is not one of your squeaky-clean Open contenders. He nicked his first pair of fancy trainers out of a rubbish bin, wears skull belt buckles, styles his hair like members of the 1980s rock bands he’s friends with and sings to Madonna in his kitchen. He smokes, he bets, he drinks like his hero John Daly. And he swears. A lot. Tour veteran Jason Gore says: “For Pat the F word is like a comma.”
He hired his caddie Mike Hartford as payback because he once gave him a job for £4 an hour landscape gardening and also because: “I drink, he doesn’t, I smoke, he doesn’t. I spend money, he doesn’t. I cuss, he doesn’t. I’m a motherf ***** , he isn’t.”
Perez only cut his hair this year because he couldn’t see the ball when the wind blew at a tournament and cost him three shots because he hit them blind.
Yet the 42-year-old wildman’s performance at Carnoustie to get within one of the lead at the halfway stage is just another step in a remarkable comeback.
Two years ago, left shoulder surgery put his career – which includes hammering Tiger Woods by eight shots with borrowed clubs as a junior – in jeopardy.
Sponsors Callaway told him their three-year deal was over and he responded: “Fine. You don’t believe in me, you don’t believe in my comeback, then f*** you. I couldn’t wait to put something else in the bag then shove it up Callaway’s ass.”
Perez made true on the promise when he won the CIMB Classic in Malaysia last October.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise considering this is the guy who battled back from suffering a snapped pelvis in a horrific car crash that left him bedridden for five months in 1994.
He said: “My friends and I were driving to the movies when a car ran a red light and nearly smoked us in the middle of an intersection.
“My friend swerved and we went tumbling down a 25ft cliff, where we came to a stop on top of a parked van.
“I blacked out during the crash and don’t remember anything about it except for waking up, with glass everywhere, unable to move my legs.”
But the Malaysian triumph added another layer to his hero status among those US golf fans who love a rebel.
He’s been dubbed the game’s angriest man. Partly for digging up the course at Pebble Beach in a rage after a bad slice and lobbing a club.
Perez has always had tongues wagging. As a young caddie aged just 16 at the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, he was asked to bag in Daly’s group after dogging school to attend.
He said: “He was my hero. Nearly midway through the round, something crazy happened.
“The amateur who I was caddying for mentioned I was a decent player and said that I swung the club just like John.
“Daly looked at me and said, ‘Huh, no s***. Take this.’
“He handed me his driver and said, ‘I want to see you hit it.’ I was trying to act all cool but my heart was racing. Please God, just don’t top it. “I smashed it. With Daly’s driver. Just completely smoked it. I hit it past John Effing Daly!” Perez’s attire stood out from the crowd too as he wore “high-top Reeboks instead of golf shoes” and played with “clubs that were too big”. He lost his scholarship as it was believed he might be a bad influence on youngsters, yet it turned out to be ideal. He was a 20-year-old amateur when a family friend offered to sponsor him in local events. After eight months of barely playing golf, he won the first event he entered. At the winner’s ceremony, the tournament director gave him the choice to stay amateur or take the winnings. Perez said: “Five hundred bucks. Without a moment’s hesitation I said: ‘F***! I’ll take the money!’” Perez is stealing the spotlight again at Carnoustie but disappeared straight to the range without doing media duties last night. When frantic R&A officials brought him back, he said: “The fans are so awesome here. They know a good shot. You don’t have drunk guys out in the bushes making fun of you. “When they clap, they mean it. That’s what makes it really special.” If Perez wins, it’ll be a night to remember. That’s why he’s staying away from whisky. He said: “That’s when it goes dark. That’s when bad nights happen!”