The Pat Perez Problem With LIV Golf

I’ve dubbed this the ‘Pat Perez Problem’ but its applicability isn’t singular. Since joining LIV Golf, it’s no secret the American has struggled to produce his best form. But it hasn’t mattered.

From the 48-man fields, he has finished T29, T31 and T15 in three starts, shooting four-over for nine rounds.The reward? More than $2.5 million in prize money and a reported eight-figure signing-on cheque. 

Standing alongside his three team-mates at the end of the latest stop on the Greg Norman-fronted tour, after 4Aces GC scooped the top prize for the third time running, the 46-year-old appeared to be basking in the relative mediocrity of his play.

And that’s fine. After all, he’s ‘served his time’ - as if earning a living on the PGA Tour can be compared to a prison sentence - and is also the first to admit he’s “lucky” to be able to play less, play worse, and make a shedload more cash. But it just makes the whole thing feel meaningless from a competitive standpoint.

What is LIV Golf?

I’m certain the players all want to win when they tee it up but there’s no denying there’s less on the line, as evidenced by the bizarre scene as Dustin Johnson secured his first solo success since leaving the PGA Tour for greener pastures.

Joaquin Niemann and Anirban Lahiri, debutants in the controversial series who were part of the three-way playoff at the LIV Golf Invitational Boston, almost looked overjoyed as the former World No. 1 holed from 40 feet for eagle to seal the deal. There were happy faces and smiles all round. It’s as if they all knew the consequences didn’t really matter.

Contrast that to events on the DP World Tour last week as Oliver Wilson won for the first time in eight years at the Made in Himmerland. The emotion was palpable as he broke down in tears; the enormity of the achievement almost too much to bear. Sport is supposed to evoke such a response, it’s supposed to be about more than money, yet golf’s civil war rages on because of just that.

Wilson pocketed €510,000 in Denmark, some than $4.25m less than Johnson in Boston and almost $500,000 less than Perez, but who could argue his victory didn’t mean a whole lot more?