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BOB HOPE CLASSICJanuary 19, 2010Pat PerezLA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA DOUG MILNE: We'll go ahead and get started. Like to welcome defending Bob Hope Classic champion Pat Perez in. Pat, thanks for joining us for a few minutes. Especially considering the weather. Hopefully we'll get a break after Wednesday or Thursday. Weather notwithstanding, just a few comments on coming back to defend and you obviously just had a couple tournaments under your belt so far, maybe just touch on what you're feeling good about as you head into the defense of your title. PAT PEREZ: Well, I played a lot in the off season, which is pretty similar conditions to this. It was cold and rainy and pretty miserable and then to go over to Hawaii it was a complete change. It was warm and the Bermuda grass was completely different with the new grooves and wedges and that stuff. But it looks like the weather will put a damper on things. And it should be, you know, it won't be exactly like last year, but we'll just make the best of it. Q. You said at Media Day that you didn't know what a defense was going to feel like because you had never defended before. Now that you're here on the ground and it's Pat Perez, defending champion week, does it feel a whole lot different than just going in to any other tournament? PAT PEREZ: It doesn't actually at all. Because I've only been here a day now. So I got in yesterday and coming from Hawaii and really with four courses and everybody kind of everywhere and that it doesn't feel any different because not everyone is in one spot. So there's not a lot of focus on me, really. The conditions are going to be different, we got a new course in play, it just feels different all together. I don't really feel any added pressure, I don't feel really anything. Q. You mentioned a new course, obviously one of the challenges of the tournament is the courses change every year. But you got some experience at La Quinta. More so than you had at maybe SilverRock or the other courses? PAT PEREZ: Yeah, I only played SilverRock once and I played La Quinta like three times now and I probably played that course probably 10 times in my life. So it's definitely the hardest one, I think, of the four. You got to really hit it good. To make birdies on the par-5s you got to hit the fairway, I think. You got to drive it well there. The par-3s are a little longer, they put, if I remember right they put the pins in some challenging spots. I told my caddie, if I can get to 10-under for the first two days being at La Quinta and SilverRock, I think that will be a good start. Especially in the rain. Who knows. I don't even know if we're going to be able to get it in or not anyway. I don't really have a whole lot of expectations, just try to hit some good shots. This tournament's really just about putting anyway, so. Q. Obviously there's a lot of rain during the summer when you're playing different situations with the humidity. I'm just wondering, here when you come, you expect good weather, are these courses built, will they handle the wet, the sand base, or is it different than say playing someplace in Carolina in the rain? PAT PEREZ: I don't really know. I don't think they get a whole lot of drainage here. So we played La Quinta today and there were spots you could tell there was a lot of water sitting in one spot. So I don't know. This really isn't going to help. I don't think it's going to stop soon. I don't know what really tomorrow looks like. I don't know, it's going to be -- I don't know. When it rains in the desert I don't go outside, so, because you only get it about four days a year so you don't have to worry about it a lot. I don't know. We'll see. Obviously the grounds crew and everyone is great so they will do their best. The greens are in phenomenal shape. That's not going to be a problem. It will just be a matter of standing water in the fairway. Q. I asked Ryan, I was in L.A. for the Tiger tournament as I always am, when all this stuff happened. And the TOUR was finished. Now you guys have gathered again, was there much discussion among the players about Tiger or do guys say, hey, did you hear this or did they just go out and play their own games? PAT PEREZ: It's like everything else. You always hear, did you hear this. The whole world is, hey, did you hear this. I heard Tiger's been in the Bahamas, in Trump Tower, I heard he's been in, I don't know where the hell he is. Q. Mississippi. PAT PEREZ: No one knows where the hell he is. No one's talked to him. But the focus is golf and tournaments and sponsors and making sure the TOUR's run the right way. There hasn't been really much talk. I played with a lot of guys, I seen a lot of guys and actually we haven't even talked about it once. Q. Do you think the media has been too much emphasis Tiger, Tiger, Tiger, at least? PAT PEREZ: I think it is. But that's only because you guys haven't come out and said anything, really. But it's like I said, I was telling the guys in Maui, the focus needs to quit being on where Tiger is and when he's coming back; and to who is here and who is playing well and who is doing well and that stuff. Tiger will come back. Tiger's Tiger. He's going to do what he wants when he wants to and when he comes back he's still going to be a phenomenal golfer. His golf record is never going to go away. He's just in a bad spot right now and he'll get it cleaned up and I think the focus needs to be on the other great players that there are in the world. That's my opinion on it. Q. Does the rain put a little bit of a damper on this week for you, getting a chance to come in and defend your title. It's not going to be a normal week, obviously, and who knows what's going to happen with the forecast and stuff. But does that put a little bit of a damper on this for you? PAT PEREZ: Not at all. Just the rain itself is a damper. I don't like playing in the rain anyway. It's cold and I don't like being wet. It's just a damper. No, it doesn't do anything for me as far as defending, because I'm still here and the tournament's still going to go on. And I just have a lot of great memories from last year and it will be a good week. It would be a better week if I won again, so. Q. What did you think of your two weeks, your first TOC in Hawaii, SBS, and then Sony. Did you like the way you started the year? PAT PEREZ: Yeah, I started -- I had a bad Sunday in Honolulu. So that wasn't very good. But I didn't get much sleep there. The hotel that I was in was terrible. But Maui was unbelievable. It was everything I thought it was going to be. We got there nice and early. I was so tired of freezing and being in Scottsdale I couldn't wait to get over there and be warm and thaw out and wear shorts and a T-shirt. We played golf every day. It was everything I thought it was going to be. It was just awesome. I could definitely start there every year without a problem. But Honolulu was great too. It was nice and warm. We didn't get a lot of wind really. It was awesome. The conditions were so different with the Bermuda grass, that I was more worried about how I was going to play because the new grooves and wedges and all that stuff. Q. Could you talk about, you brought it up, could you talk about the new grooves. Did you notice any affect on your game at all? PAT PEREZ: A huge difference. It's not even close. I've always played square grooves so I never dealt with that. I was hitting 7-iron from 210, hoping it comes down. It is way different. The chipping for me has just been a nightmare. Because I haven't been able to -- I can't stop it out of a bunker. You play with a certain wedge for so long you know exactly what you're doing. You look up and it's 10 feet farther than you think it's going to be. It's a lot different. I'm not real excited about it. Q. I would imagine that wet conditions isn't going to help that much. PAT PEREZ: No, but at least it will be softer so the ball will stop a little faster. The ryegrass, I'm used to that, so I know how it goes through the grass. Bermuda for me it was like hit and hope. Hit it and just hope that it stops somewhere near the flag. And it didn't. But the soft conditions will definitely help it out here. Q. You mentioned you thought they got the west coast right this year, at least in terms of travel. How do you will feel about your chances out here on the west coast knowing that you come in having felt like you were ready to start the season, and that things seemed to fall the way you wanted them to fall. PAT PEREZ: They did. I wish this tournament was actually a week later. I wish that after Hawaii that the tournament started on Thursday instead of Wednesday. Really, I just got here. The tournament starts tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock. So it wouldn't be bad if the tournament was started Thursday and then came here. But it's not, obviously, it doesn't matter. I'm looking forward to a good four days here. We got great courses to play and it's a great tournament. And I'm just looking forward to trying to do something right. Q. You're at SilverRock tomorrow, right? PAT PEREZ: Yeah. SilverRock, number 10. Q. So you're with the celebrity field? PAT PEREZ: Yeah. Q. Do you know who your celebrities are this week and how do you feel? PAT PEREZ: I got Evan Longoria tomorrow, who is my, I basically talked him into joining where I play. So I play with him all the time and I hang out with him. Good kid. I guess Sterling Sharp and Bruce Smith, I played with Sterling today as well. I got Don Felder, the Eagles guy. And I can't remember who I got the other day. I spaced on it. But, yeah I got good groups, some friends in there and should be a great week. Q. Take us back to last year and just kind of tell us how special it was to win this tournament. PAT PEREZ: Obviously it was very special. No matter where you win your first it's going to be really special. Here it was special, really special for me because I grew up in San Diego and it's basically halfway between here, here is halfway between San Diego and where I live. So it was, I had a lot of friends, a lot of family, plus I've been on this course so many times. I won the member/guest here in '93 with my buddy. And I think that's a stat that people don't know about. I wonder if anyone as ever won a member/guest and a professional tournament on the same course. You might want to look into that. DOUG MILNE: Could you go give me a few months. (Laughter.) PAT PEREZ: But, I love coming, I love coming to La Quinta. I got a lot of friend here. It's such a great area. The winners are just phenomenal. And it's just like Scottsdale and San Diego is right up the road. It was a day that I'll never forget and I'm just, I'm glad it happened here. Q. How much did life change or career change at all after that? PAT PEREZ: Not are really much. I had to change my schedule a little bit because I was in the WGC's and a couple Majors and stuff like that. It didn't really change my life other than the fact that I was a winner now. Because I have been out here eight years already, so I don't know, it just basically gave me the confidence knowing that I could do it. Q. On a different note what was it like to see your little brother win big break? PAT PEREZ: I thought he was putting me on. I can't believe he won it. I said, you were three down with two to go, there's no way you can win this thing. So it was fun. I got to see him about halfway through and they wouldn't let me talk to him, because they thought I was going to give him some advice or something. I went and hosted a show for three and a half hours and I was on the show about 40 seconds. So it was fun though. It was great to see him go through the emotions and the trying to win and each challenge and not be eliminated and all that stuff. It was cool. I was happy for him. DOUG MILNE: Lastly, real quick, in two days Jack Nicklaus hits the big 7 0. We have just been asking players to maybe share some experience you've had with him or some fond memory regarding Jack that stands out. PAT PEREZ: You know, funny enough, I haven't really talked to Jack that much in detail ever. He probably doesn't know who the hell I am, to be honest with you. I don't really know him at all. I've never been in a social setting with him. I kind of sat at the same table with him at the Memorial for about a second. And I think I told him -- I never played well in his tournament. I love his tournament. There's only 102 players and I'm usually about No. 100 in the field. I don't know why I cannot play that course. And I love it. I shot like 78 the first day and I was sitting there at lunch and he walks in and he goes, "How you doing?" I said, "Well I have one more day left and I'm out of here." And he looked at me like, you know, what the hell are you talking about? How do you not think you can make the cut. I said, "Jack, I've been here six years and I've never made the cut, I never been close." I said, "78 is about average for me here." And that's about it. That's about all I ever talked to him about. (Laughter.) So obviously he's a phenomenal man. He's done a lot for golf. Him and Mr. Palmer. I wish I would have gotten to know those guys a little better, but obviously the age difference is a little much. But I just never, I didn't get to play on a Presidents Cup team and I haven't been on a Ryder Cup team and I haven't been in things that he would be involved in. So, unfortunately, I don't have much of a story other than that. DOUG MILNE: Okay. We know it's nasty out, so thanks for coming in. PAT PEREZ: You got it. End of FastScripts |
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