Top 100 TOUR Players to Watch in 2010: No. 42

text size

Dec. 15, 2009

MORE TOP 100 PLAYERS: BACK to Player No. 43 | FORWARD to Player No. 41 | Top 100 archive


Regular Season Rank	46
Playoff Rank	46
Bonus Money	129,000

His first win finally behind him, Pat Perez is looking forward to a healthy 2010 to see if he can build on last year's breakthrough campaign. He missed six weeks midway through 2009 after tearing ligaments in his right ankle while running with his dog but closed out the year with ties for 13th at the Frys.com Open and 10th at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions to get back on track. Perez took advantage of Steve Stricker's free-fall and his own new-found sense of calm to win the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer on a windswept afternoon. He closed it out in style, too, knocking a 6-iron over the water and onto the green, setting up a 3-footer for eagle and a three-stroke win. Nine weeks later, the Arizona State product tied for fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. He went on to win $1.7 million - just $35,000 shy of a career-best total - in the abbreviated season.


He didn't do much after picking up career victory No. 1 early in the season. Look for a solid West Coast swing from Perez.

The second-lowest round of the year, a 61, helped Perez win the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer. So did putting -- Perez ranked fifth on TOUR in putts from 10-15 feet.

Video