As one of the first big names to switch allegiance from the PGA Tour in June 2022, the 48-year-old is teetering dangerously close to the ‘Drop Zone’ in the 2024 standings which could lead to his relegation from the tour next season. Currently sitting at 47th in the individual rankings, with only five events of the LIV season remaining, Perez’s golfing future hangs in the balance.
His fight for survival begins with an event in Valderrama, Spain, set to take place from July 14-16, followed by additional tournaments in Rocester, the UK, and American locations West Virginia, Chicago and Dallas. The stakes are high, as any players finishing the year 49th or lower risk losing their spot in this profitable series. And with Greg Norman and Co likely to reel in more big PGA stars for the 2025 season, those who lose out may not find any consolation opportunities handed to them. Despite his current predicament, Perez enjoyed success in the inaugural LIV campaign, winning the Team Championship title as part of Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces team.
Post-victory, he didn’t hold back on lambasting Tiger Woods after the latter questioned the ambition of LIV superstars happy to pocket large sums irrespective of performance. Dismissively addressing Woods’ comments on the Son of a Butch podcast, Perez stated: “That’s the stupidest s*** I have ever heard of in my life,” and “That’s one of the stupidest things I think he has said.
The incentive is the fact that last place is £120,000, first place is £4million. You cannot win £4m on the PGA Tour. He had a lot of guarantees. You know what, and he was the hottest thing. He’s made so much money off the course, he found incentive to go.”
Perez – a seasoned player and notable supporter of LIV Golf, now – didn’t hold back when it came time to ink his deal with LIV, having already claimed victory three times on the PGA Tour. Although he initially promised to avoid any conflicts with past affiliations, he’s since retracted those claims.
“I have no ill feelings toward the PGA Tour or any of the players. I’m a LIV guy 100 per cent,” he stated during that period. “I’m going to play for them. But I don’t feel any need to go after the PGA Tour.”
Perez isn’t alone, as fellow team member of 4Aces, Harold Varner III, along with South African Branden Grace, are also teetering dangerously close to relegation. However, twice Masters champion Bubba Watson is safe despite finding himself in the bottom five since leading the Range Goats GC team benefits from an exception protecting captains from demotion.