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Latest > GP favourite Pat Perez joins European Tour
Jul 27th, 2017
GP favourite Pat Perez joins European Tour
As an affiliate member
Words: GolfPunk Photography: Getty Images
GP favourite Pat Perez has joined the European Tour as an affiliate member for the remainder of the 2017 season.
Perez is playing in this week’s Porsche European Open in Germany, and saw a return to winning ways in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in November.
Perez is ranked 42nd in the world, and has competed outside of the USA before, finishing tied tenth in the 2009 WGC-HSBC Champions in China, and competing in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2012 and 2015.
He has also played in four Open Championships, most recently last week at Royal Birkdale, and he will look to earn Race to Dubai Ranking points this week at the Porsche European Open.
We remember meeting Pat at the GolfPunk Clubhouse at Troon back in 2004, when he was making his first trip across the pond. He wasn’t too enamoured with the UK at the time, and British plumbing in particular, but he seems to have mellowed with age.
Perez said: “It’s probably the first time I have been in a position to do become a European Tour member in my career. I’ve always stayed in the US. So I figured, after I won and got to the top 50 in the world, I might try and travel a bit and see some new parts of the world and play against other great players. I wanted to play the European Tour and become more of a global player.
“I am going to try and broaden my horizons, go to places such as Dubai and Malaysia, and see where I fall.
“This time last year I was in a sling. I had surgery in March last year and I hadn’t played at all and I didn’t really know what to expect coming back, so winning my third event back kind of changed my second half of my career. So now that that has happened, I have a whole new position in the game and I am going to try and take full advantage of it and be part of the European Tour, like a lot of great players have from the US and Europe, and I am excited to do it.”
We’ve always been fans of Pat, and he will be a welcome addition to the European Tour.
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