Last Laugh

AT 41, THE OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC DRAW CARD IS PLAYING BETTER THAN EVER WHILE PLAYING BY HIS OWN RULES

- Dave Shedloski

FIFTEEN MONTHS AGO,, Pat Perez had one PGA Tour title, one surgically repaired left shoulder, a chip on the other, an aversion to healthful habits and about a hundred doubts in his mind. Whir it in a blender and you have one man’s recipe for success. After cruising to a four-stroke victory at October’s CIMB Classic in Malaysia, Perez is more than just a comeback story. He’s a throwback story, too. Four of his favourite things are eating, drinking, smoking and swearing, and perhaps his least favourite activity is exercising. He’d have fit right in with Ben Hogan and Tommy Bolt and Lloyd Mangrum, but he plays in an era with fit, young bombers like Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele, the PGA Tour Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively, who were in the field Perez pummelled at steamy TPC Kuala Lumpur.

Even Perez is amazed at what he’s accomplished of late after his third career title and second in less than a year. It took him 182 starts between his first win and his second, at last year’s OHL Classic at Mayakoba. The wait for No. 3 was 24 events.