For most players their earning potential diminishes as they go beyond their peak years. However, thanks to his LIV Golf move, 46-year-old Pat Perez has just enjoyed by far the most lucrative season of his career to date.
After signing for the LIV Golf in time for the second event of the season at Pumpkin Ridge in Portland, Oregon, the American has won over $8 million for his efforts - almost one third of the earnings of his entire career. Not only that, but the figure doesn't take into account the money he was offered to join the Greg Norman-fronted venture, which was reportedly in the region of $10 million.
Perez played an important role in helping 4 Aces GC clinch the season-closing Team Championship at Trump National Doral in Florida to win $4m as his share of the $16m first prize. That brought his winnings to $8,024,167 over the seven tournaments, which would have been enough to leave him sixth behind Rory McIlroy on the 2022 PGA Tour money list.
Perez’s best year before his move to LIV Golf came in 2017 when he finished 11th on the money list with earnings of $4,361,400 thanks in part to his third and most recent win on the Tour in the CIMB Classic. Overall, his PGA Tour career earnings are $28,830,160, which he claimed over the course of 515 events in a 25-year career.
Pat Perez made $8,024,167 in 8 events on LIV. This doesn’t include any upfront money he received. His average finish was 32nd in a 48-player field. At 46, with his best golf prob behind him, he made nearly 1/3 of his 20-year pga tour career earnings, in 8 LIV events.October 30, 2022
Despite some indifferent form in 2022, where Perez had a highest finish of 16th in Boston, his success as part of the 4 Aces GC team, which won four tournaments leading up to the Team Championship, helped ensure his impressive earnings. After joining LIV Golf, Perez described the move as like winning the lottery and he clearly feels it has been a good move. Following the Team Championship win, he said: “All the push-back, all the negative comments, everything we've gotten, at this point I really don't care. I mean, I don't care. I'm paid. I don't give a damn.”
Nevertheless, the figure Perez earned still fell well short of the amount won by 4 Aces GC captain Dustin Johnson. The American, who reportedly signed for LIV Golf after an offer of around $125m, was the top earner during the season, claiming over $35m.
