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BUICK INVITATIONALFebruary 4, 2009Pat PerezSAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA MARK WILLIAMS: Pat, thanks for coming in and making the time. Obviously it's been a pretty good last few weeks for you. Just talk about coming back home, a victory under your belt and what that means to you and what you're looking forward to this week at the Buick Invitational. PAT PEREZ: The last couple weeks have been incredible. I've had a million phone calls and text messages and emails, just people out and about. You know, I've had more congratulations, and it hasn't gotten old yet, that's for sure. Now coming back here is home, really. I live in Scottsdale, but I've got a lot of ties here. I used to work here at this course. Torrey is where I grew up, and it's just great coming back. Q. I heard you were staying at the Lodge. Are you staying at the Lodge this week? PAT PEREZ: What, are you going to come over? Yeah, I am staying there starting tomorrow. Q. I mean, the juxtaposition of you picking up balls on the range and now you're staying at the Lodge, that's pretty cool. PAT PEREZ: It is. I'll be able to afford the room now. Q. Do you remember when that thing looked like a Motel 6? PAT PEREZ: I remember when the range was over here. The range was here where the Hilton is. You had to drive over, and it was a terrible range, and go back. Yeah. We used to park -- Jake, my buddy, was the starter, and we used to pull in and then just go right to the tee, say we're here, and go out to the tee. Then from 18 we'd go right to the car and leave. It was kind of a secret parking spot that nobody knew about. I remember what this place looked like forever. Q. Speaking of that, I think we talked about the South Course changes before. This new swing that you have, do you feel more confident about what you can do on the new South Course relative to what you've done the last few years? PAT PEREZ: You know, every shot is different for me now at every course. It's like playing a new course for me. Today was definitely a different look than in the past, and I'm really excited about the way I'm hitting it. You know, today was honestly a perfect morning. There was no wind, it was hot. I haven't played this course in these conditions yet, so it was just awesome. The course is set up just like the Open. I mean, the greens are firm, the ball is rolling, the rough is deep. You know, I'm looking forward to -- there's a lot of holes I had trouble swinging before because I hit such a big cut, and now I'm actually able to hold the fairway with it. Yeah, it's definitely different but it's a lot better. Q. Is 18 going to be a "go" hole for you pretty much every time? PAT PEREZ: I hit 2-iron today, yeah, so if the fairway is that firm, yeah. It was also kind of down off the right on that hold because of the Santa Ana. So if it comes off the left, maybe. I don't know. It's not really that much of a -- if you've got 3-wood it's a hard go because you're not going to hold the green anyway. Depending on where the pin is, hitting in the middle of the green and going over isn't necessarily the best bonus, either. If I can get a cut going at that hole, whether it's rescue or a 3-wood cut, the kind that comes in softer, then yeah. I don't know, like 13 is a hole that is basically a par-3 now. It's not really -- you can hit kind of anywhere. The rough is kind of long, but you can move something down at the bottom. I know they'll play that back tee. They did today. I just play it as a par-3. Q. I was just curious, all those phone calls and emails and texts you got, were there one or two stood that out that you were surprised, maybe people you haven't heard from since you were nine, or maybe one or two unusual ones? PAT PEREZ: No, I had a lot that I didn't have in my phone. A lot of people just say some congratulations with some phone number, and I don't know who they were (laughter). It was all text. I was trying to get back to everybody, but I don't know because I didn't know half the texts that came in. Q. Thanks for the message, who is this? PAT PEREZ: Exactly. I don't want to be rude, but who are you? Q. You didn't hear from a fourth grade science teacher or anything like that? PAT PEREZ: Maybe (laughter). Could have been. Q. It's been so recent, but how do you think being a TOUR winner now will change your life and how people look at you? PAT PEREZ: I don't know. You know, I know how I feel and I know how my wife feels and I know how my friends and family feel about it. I haven't changed with any of them and I know their perception of me hasn't changed since I've won. We've been a tight group for so long, it's just -- you know, hopefully people see that I'm not this crazy angry guy walking around and they can see that I can play and that I belong out here and I'm a winner now. I just hope people see that. Q. Was it a big relief for you to finally get that victory? PAT PEREZ: Oh, yeah. It was a lot of things. It was relief, it was excitement, it was, you did it and you proved yourself. You can play well on a Sunday, shoot 63 and finish fourth and think, okay, you did well. But when you finally win, you know you've accomplished something. You put it together for the entire tournament and you came out on top and you really know you've accomplished something. Yeah, it was definitely a different feeling. You know, relief as far as knowing that yourself you can do it, and for me that was the only thing I needed to know, that I can do it and I did, and now I have that confidence. Q. What do you think your chances are of winning here this week? PAT PEREZ: As good as anybody. Better than Tiger's; he's not here. Someone has actually got a chance to win now other than Tiger. Q. You talked the other day about The Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup. I'd be curious, when you started last year, was the Ryder Cup your goal then? In other words, how much has winning changed the way you look at some things as realistic? PAT PEREZ: Yeah, you always want to play on those, but my game wasn't good enough at the beginning of last year. I didn't swing it the right way, I didn't play the right way. I got a new coach, and I finally learned how to play. I can hit different shots and I can see different shots, not just putting Band-Aids on everything. Yeah, they're always goals, but now they can actually become a reality because I can play my way onto the team. I know Freddie real well. I hung out with him a lot in the off-season, and Corey's wife and my wife are very good friends. I know Corey very well, and he's a great guy. I've asked him for advice in the past, stuff like this. These two guys, I would love to play on their team. I wish I would have played on Azinger's team because he's an unbelievable guy, I just didn't have the game to get it done at the time. I think now I've got the confidence to do it, I know my game is ready to keep moving up, and I'd really like to play my way onto those. Q. I was at the Bob Hope, and was it playing with -- it just seems like you were in your own zone because you were playing with other amateurs or whatever, and it just seems like nothing was getting in there but what you had worked on to get to that point. It just seemed like you never lost your focus. PAT PEREZ: No, I didn't. I had four great groups. You know, the guys I played with were all guys I play with at home. We talked a little smack and we had a good time, would make fun of each other, tell jokes, the whole deal. It was great. I loved the Hope tournament. It was a great tournament. I like pro-ams, I like playing with amateurs. For once you actually have somebody in the group rooting for you, and the ones behind you want you to do well. They're not hoping your ball will go in the bunker and stuff like that. We have a good time. It keeps me loose. I like to talk, talk some junk. I had four great groups, and yeah, it was just a good time. Q. It just seemed like it made you come alive, whereas with the other ones you just can't have fun. It seemed like for you that really -- PAT PEREZ: It was fun, yeah. We had a great time. It was a great week from start to finish. I missed the cut on Friday, I jumped a redeye, and I got to San Diego -- I landed in LA at 4:50, got to San Diego at about 6:30, picked up my truck, went to the Hope, and I played 18 holes that day. I played every day, and I was ready to go on Wednesday. Q. How many TOUR guys were at your wedding? PAT PEREZ: Gore was there, David Arquette was there, Tommy was there, Corey Pavin's wife was there. It was the day after he got picked so he couldn't make it. I'm trying to think who else. I can't remember now. I don't remember much of that night (laughter). Elk was supposed to come, but he had to go to Australia for a while to see his dad. His dad wasn't doing that well so he couldn't make it. I can't remember. I think I invited about six. I want to say there was four. I can't remember the other guys. I know there was someone else there -- oh, Todd Fischer was there, Hoffman was there. We had all kinds of sports people there, baseball -- Mark Mulder was there, Burrell couldn't make it last minute, he pulled out last minute. Q. Do you have a connection there? PAT PEREZ: We play at my home course together. And Mulder was my partner at the Tommy Bahama, so we've become good friends. Danica Patrick was supposed to come, and she had a thing with her sponsor that weekend so she couldn't make it. You know, we had an unbelievable guest list, but there were only about 70 that came. It was a good number, though. Q. I think the irony about your image is that you have all this wide circle of friends who are extremely loyal to you, you're extremely loyal to them, and it's this wide range from the guys in Metallica to all the people you just mentioned. What do you think about you attracts them to you and vice versa? PAT PEREZ: I think I'm just real. You know, you're going to get what you -- you're going to hear the truth, you're going to get it straight from me. I'm pretty easy to get along with. I like to have fun, as most people do. I don't know, I just attract people somehow and become friends with a lot of them, and I keep in contact with them. I actually care about how they're doing. I think they see that in me, that I actually do care, that I'm not just, hey, how you doing, and walk away. I think that's what does it. I feel like I'm pretty generous. I don't want anything in return. I'll give you whatever I can and help you in any way I can, whatever you need, and I think people see that and maybe it makes them come toward me. Q. You're pretty hard on yourself, would you agree? PAT PEREZ: Yeah. Q. You're not the only one, but Ogilvy, for example, has always been pretty hard on himself and said he was going to try and go a little more easy. Do you have plans to do that, or are you just the type that has to be hard on yourself, that has to be demanding and that kind of thing? PAT PEREZ: That's the way I am. The thing that drives me the most is to never be where I was. I think that's why I'm so critical and hard all the time, because I always want to move forward. Q. I forgot the exact comment, but it was something like "I was tired of being a nobody." PAT PEREZ: Yeah, I was tired of being an average TOUR player. Q. Even though you've never had to go back to Q-school since getting out here, was there ever a point that you felt hopeless? PAT PEREZ: Not hopeless, but just definitely not where I should be. Q. When was that would you say? PAT PEREZ: It's pretty much every year that I didn't win (laughter). You know, I've had some pretty good years. I've had some good tournaments but never really consistently. My goal is to be consistent player. If someone writes an article and they mention something that's consistent, I'd like to be in that group. That's what drives me the most. Q. We once heard John Daly predict you were going to win on this TOUR. Considering what's happened to him and how his life has unraveled, have you talked to him? PAT PEREZ: He called me after I won and he said, "I'm happy for you; I always knew you were going to do it." I haven't spoken to John much in the last year or so because he's been in Europe and all that stuff, and he's obviously gone through some hard times. But the bottom line, he knows he could call me at any time of day in any spot I'm at, and I'm there for him for anything he needs. He's been like an older brother to me. I think he's just one of the greatest guys in the world. He's just kind of going through some hard times now. I think he'll come out of it. I really hope he does because he's just so unbelievable. I hope to God he gets it together and comes back. I know everybody wants him to because he's great for the game. He's America's guy. He's your regular America's guy. He has some drinks, he smokes, he doesn't work out, he's kind have a weekend golfer, but he's unbelievably talented. You know, bottom line, John knows that he can call me for anything he needs, and I'm behind him about anything. If anyone has any stuff to say about him, he knows I'm going to back him and tell him what I think. Q. When I asked you what your chances are of winning, you said, "Just as good as anybody." What would it mean to you now, and do you think your chances are better now having won before to win this tournament, and what would it mean to you? PAT PEREZ: I think the only reason my chances are better this year is because my game is better. My swing is better, my confidence is higher, my putting has come around. That would be the only reason that week in and week out I might perform consistently better, because my swing is better and I have a pretty good idea of where the ball is going now. Q. Based on the personality that you described about attracting people, how do you like the pro-am? It seems like you have a lot of fun out there, but is that kind of one of those situations where you're kind of attracting the average guy? PAT PEREZ: Yeah, the pro-ams are important to the tournament. These guys pay a lot of money to play, they look forward to it. They're up early, they get to the range early, they can't way to play. The guy I played with today, I'm not going to mention -- he's a name, but he played with a guy last year, and he said it was the absolute worst experience he ever had his entire life. You know, those things reflect -- the way the economy is going and everything, that reflects on the TOUR. I always try to have a good time. Wednesday is a fun day. You make sure the guys have a great time and they enjoy themselves so they want to come back. They may tell someone they know that, hey, you've got to be part of this tournament. You may pick up another sponsor, you never know. But I always have a good time. We do a little gambling, we talk, kind of -- you've got to get them at ease off the start because they think that you're all focused and they get nervous and they kind of don't want to say anything. I like the pro-ams. I think they're great. My old coach told me, and he was right, he said pro-ams are a status symbol. They don't ask everyone to play in the pro-am on Wednesday. You've got to have a certain amount of status to get in these things. These guys have paid a lot of money to play, they want to have a good time, they want to leave and tell everyone they had a great day, and that's our job. Q. Do you ever run into someone who thinks they can beat you? PAT PEREZ: All the time. Q. Give us an example. PAT PEREZ: I made a hundred bucks today. Chris Leggio from Mark Christopher Chevrolet, he's a great buddy of mine. He actually sponsored 18. On 8 I hit it 15 feet, and he says, "Do you want to bet a hundred?" I get excited. "A hundred thousand?" He said, "I'll bet you whatever you want." He hit this shank up the right, fast payment, fast friends, and -- you've got to be fun. This is how you have fun with these guys, and they enjoy it. I love it. They talk a little smack, I talk a little back, and we just have a great day with it. Q. You mentioned Corey Pavin a couple times. I'm wondering how that friendship evolved. I wouldn't normally think you guys would be hanging out because he seems so low key -- PAT PEREZ: You wouldn't think I'd be friends with a lot of guys. Q. Maybe so, but he just seems a little more reserved, almost a different generation. PAT PEREZ: These are the guys you learn from. Elk is a very good friend of mine. We're complete opposites. He was at my house Tuesday; we had a great time. I hang out with Elk all the time. You've got to hang out with guys that can make you better. Corey has won majors, Elk has got a major, a PLAYERS Championship. If you can't learn from those guys you can't win. These guys are knowledgeable about the game; they know what they're talking about. These guys truly want to help you. Tommy Armour is the same way. He's been out 27 years. These guys you can learn from. They've been around a long time. I've really gotten to learn that people who have been around a situation long enough, they've got to know something. I'm not saying that's why I'm friends with them. It just happens that they kind of took me in, and this, how about this, how about this, and just kind of slowly became friends, and they're like mentors really. Q. What's the Danica connection? PAT PEREZ: I met her through Mulder. She was at my house Tuesday. I had a big party. We're kind of in the same boat because they think she's kind of a hothead in a sense. We were talking about it at my house, saying, "Isn't it nice you can shut everybody up, you've got your win and I've got mine and now we're there?" And she's like, "Yeah, it's just awesome." Q. Tuesday as in yesterday? PAT PEREZ: No, last week. MARK WILLIAMS: Appreciate your time. Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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