In praise of Pat Perez

I’ve always thought I’d like hanging out with Pat Perez.

He’s an unabashed bigger guy. I imagine protein shakes and Zumba aren’t part of his daily routine. He’s got the best golf mullet on Tour (sorry, Cam Smith). He’s a legendary sneakerhead. And his fellow pros will tell you he’s hilarious.

On top of that, he’s dedicated his spare time to helping combat veterans get involved in golf to rehab their physical and mental injuries.

Let’s also add ‘brutally honest’ to his list of admirable qualities.

Here’s what Perez had to say to Colt Knost and Drew Stolz about Phil Mickelson’s lengthy and heavily word-smithed apology:

“His apology was such horsesh-t, in the fact that he thought he was trying to make it better for the players. He was in it for one reason. If anybody thinks he wasn’t in it for his own pocket, and his pocket only, is f—ing high. They are f—ing crazy.”

“His apology was such horsesh-t, in the fact that he thought he was trying to make it better for the players. He was in it for one reason. If anybody thinks he wasn’t in it for his own pocket, and his pocket only, is f—ing high. They are f—ing crazy.”

As the fiasco was breaking, and before Mickelson issued his statement, I took a gentler look at the ramifications for Mickelson and DeChambeau (who was still uncommitted) should they jump to the Saudi Golf Super League.

I humbly tip my cap to Pat Perez – someone who will actually run into Mickelson on a regular basis – for saying what I was thinking but didn’t have the courage or editorial leash to say.

I’ve always appreciated people who say the things other people are thinking. Pat Perez is that guy in spades and the game is better for it.

Most Pros, if asked for comment on Perez’s comments, would demure – even if they agree. They have agents whispering in their ears, sponsors to abide, and perhaps just prefer not to sail into that storm.

Not Pat Perez. He’s standing on the bow of the Pirate Ship Perez, rigging in one hand, mead in the other, laughing as the seas roil around him.

That’s a guy I want to hang out with.

More importantly, Perez didn’t say the things he said about Mickelson’s self-inflicted wound to pump himself up. He didn’t even do it to zing Phil – something most Pros would love to do more often.

He said it because it was true. He said it because it needed to be said by someone on the inside of the Tour.

Perez had no motive except to point at the giant elephant in the fairway and say, “There’s a huge effing elephant in the fairway.”

Make no mistake, it was a risk.

Pro sports have become unbearably politically-correct. Professional athletes, the really big ones, make more money off the field of play than they do on it. That means their behavior, opinions, and reputations trump their athletic prowess in terms of value and earning potential.

That’s a weird thing, isn’t it?

I can’t predict how much Phil Mickelson was going to earn on the course this year, but I do know it wasn’t going to be anywhere near the tens of millions he’s already lost by his actions off the course.

Pat Perez may not have as many zeroes on his bank balance as Mickelson has – probably never will. He won’t be in the PGA Hall of Fame. He likely won’t have a Major Victory on his resume.

But in 40 years, when the old guys on the Champions Tour sit around the 19th hole and talk about the PGA back in the day, they’ll smile and toast to Pat Perez. They’ll agree the game could have used more guys like him.

They’ll toast to an original; a man who was true to himself, the game, and his fellow travelers.

Perez has something Mickelson found difficult to attain and now impossible to recover – his reputation as an honest broker.

For guys like Perez, you can’t put a price on that. The game, and all of us fans, are all the better for it.