Pernice passionate about his career, family and TOUR pals

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Tom Pernice Jr. will turn 50 on September 5 but will be able to play on the PGA TOUR next season.

Dec. 12, 2008
By Lauren Deason, PGATOUR.COM Editorial Coordinator

Tom Pernice Jr. likes to talk.

Off the course, that trait has gained him some notoriety as one of the TOUR's most outspoken players. On the course, however, it has helped him win two tournaments.

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Tom Pernice (left) won his second TOUR event while paired with pal Vijay Singh.

The Basics

NAME: Thomas Charles Pernice Jr.

HT: 5-10 WT: 170

BIRTHDATE: September 5, 1959

BIRTHPLACE: Kansas City, Mo.

RESIDENCE: Murrieta, Calif.

TURNED PRO: 1983

TOUR WINS: 2

Related video

Click here to watch Pernice capture his first title.

When he won the Buick Open in 1999, he was paired with his pal Joey Sindelar. He and Sindelar both like to chat during a round, and Pernice said that helped him win his first TOUR event.

"Joey and I are great friends. Joey likes to talk. That's the best thing for me, that I can just keep my mind away from the game a little bit, just kind of socialize like I'm playing in the pro ams on Wednesday, get my numbers, get my clubs and go play," Pernice said, who said he'll talk to the walking scorers or marshals if he's paired with a quiet player. "I seem to do the best."

During the final round before his second win at the INTERNATIONAL in 2001, Pernice was paired with one of his best friends on TOUR -- Vijay Singh. Pernice only recorded one point on Sunday in the Modified Stableford format, but it was enough for him to earn victory No. 2 and eclipse the $1 million mark for the first time in a season.

"(Vijay)'s one of the greatest guys. He's been great to me. We play practice rounds together, work out together in the gym at night. He's just been extremely nice. It's a comfortable atmosphere being out there with one of your best friends," Pernice said.

So Pernice will likely find that he fits right in on the Champions Tour, where the golfers come to play golf but also come to play and have fun. In fact, Pernice said that his dream threesome in golf would include two Champions Tour members.

"My ideal pairing would be Peter Jacobsen and Joey Sindelar if I could have it every week," he said, referring to two of the Tour's most talkative characters.

Pernice also likes to talk about the TOUR. Never one to shy away from sharing his ideas, Pernice famously voiced his opinion on the FedExCup and Tiger Woods at THE TOUR Championship in 2006. Still, he also cares passionately about his craft and the sport as a whole, and served on the TOUR's 16-man players advisory council and also the Policy Board from 2002-03.

He's one of the TOUR's journeyman, and he's especially thankful for the opportunity to compete on the top tour in the world. Pernice spent time playing around the world and on the Nationwide Tour after failing to keep his PGA TOUR card the first time around in 1986. Once he regained his card in 1998, Pernice has only finished outside the top-125 on the money list once.

He ended up 80th on the money list this past season and held the 54-hole lead at the AT&T National before winding up tied for ninth. That was one of six top-10s Pernice had in 2008.

As much as Pernice likes to talk and is passionate about the TOUR, there's something that matters to him more. His family, which includes his wife Sydney and daughters Kristen and Brooke, is extremely special to the devout Catholic. Brooke, 13, has a genetic disease, Leber's Amorosis, which causes blindness. Despite her handicap, Brooke released a Christian and Country music CD in 2007 called "Help from Above".

Brooke and her caring older sister have had an impact on Pernice and his career. They were there for an emotional celebration when he captured his second title at the INTERNATIONAL. Though they don't travel as much with him now, Pernice enjoys watching Kristen do gymnastics and Brooke sing in front of huge groups of people.

"She's so unbelievably motivated and spiritual and unbelievable faith in what she's doing. We feel like it's a blessing," Pernice said. "She's just an unbelievable person and tons of faith, and luckily enough, her older sister makes sure and watches out for her and nothing ever happens to her."

Five things you may not know -- or may have forgotten -- about Pernice

1. One of Pernice's closest friends on the PGA TOUR is Vijay Singh. "We played together on the Asian Tour before either of us got out (on the PGA TOUR). We were over there for three or four years before either one of us got our card. Vijay went over to Europe for a while and then he came over here. He's obviously blossomed a little bit more than I have," Pernice said. Their caddies are also best friends and they both have worked with trainer Joey Diovisalvi (Pernice has been working with "Joey D" for over 10 years).

2. Pernice is a big devotee of Jim Hardy's one place swing theory. In fact, Pernice credits Hardy for helping him finish inside the top-50 on the money list from 2004-2006. "That's been the turning point for me. I've always said to (Hardy), I feel like he saved my career," Pernice said.

3. Being small in high school had its advantages for Pernice. He became an all-conference wrestler and says wrestling carried over into his golf career by teaching him to be disciplined, focused and fit. "All of the football players and the football coaches said up to me and said we don't have anybody wrestling 98 pounds and we need you to wrestle 98 pounds. They talked me into it and I started in my sophomore year. Growing up in Kansas City, I didn't play much golf at that time of year and did a lot of weight training and learned a lot," Pernice said.

4. Before Pernice even made it onto the PGA TOUR, he had several friends in the professional ranks. Pernice was a two-time All-American at UCLA, where he was also teammates with Jay Delsing, Corey Pavin, Steve Pate and Duffy Waldorf. Pernice was selected as the Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1981.

5. Pernice has developed a relationship with Major League Baseball player Derrek Lee, who has a daughter with Brooke's same genetic disorder. "Brooke is trying to help Derrek and we are trying to help Derrek Lee with his charity, Project 3000 to bring awareness to these people that have this disease that thought there was no possible cure; and there are, and all we need to identify is the gene and his charity will pay for the blood work," Pernice said earlier this season.