Tag: Victor Perez

FedEx Cup Playoffs are set as Victor Perez hangs on to 70th and final spot

The bubble didn’t burst for Perez.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The bubble didn’t burst for Victor Perez.

He lived on the edge all week at the Wyndham Championship, the final event of the FedEx Cup regular season with the top 70 in the standings advancing for the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Perez, a Frenchman in his first season as a PGA Tour member, entered the week as the Bubble Boy, but when it was all said and done, no player moved in from outside the bubble to qualify. It was just the second time and first since 2013 that there was no volatility at all.

Perez shot 2-under 68 on Sunday, saving a 6-foot par putt at 18 to finish T-33 and finish seven points clear of Davis Riley.

A week ago, Perez shot a final-round 63 in his native country to finish fourth in the Olympics. A week later, he had to play 36 holes on Sunday and then wait to see what Riley, whose only top-10 finish was a win at the Charles Schwab Challenge, and Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune would do behind him.

“I think you’re always nervous. This was probably a little bit closer to like a chance of winning a tournament because you’re trying to really stretch as much as you can, whereas usually you’re 25th place, you’re just trying to improve but it’s not as do or die,” Perez said.

He shot 69 in his third round in the morning and explained he didn’t know where he stood despite a friend at lunch asking him about it.

“I looked at Joe, my agent, and he had the biggest poker face going and he didn’t give me any clue, so I actually didn’t know where I was,” he said.

Riley, who battled sickness earlier in the week and called the postponement of play on Thursday a blessing in disguise, had good looks at birdie on the final three holes but couldn’t get any of the putts to drop.

“I gave myself a chance, I hit some really good shots coming down the stretch, I just couldn’t make the putts,” said Riley, who shot 70 and finished T-38. “Proud of the way I hung in there on a long day and a week when I was a little under the weather. Having to cap it off with a 36 day took about every ounce of energy I had in me.”

Hisatsune was the last player with a chance to burst Perez’s bubble. He needed a solo second but made a bogey at the last to shoot 67 and finish a career-best T-3. He improved from No. 107 to No. 83, which should lock up his card for next season but he’s officially off until the FedEx Cup Fall begins in September.

Here’s the last five in and out

66. Seamus Power (T-28)

67. Nick Dunlap (MC)

68. Jhonattan Vegas (T-61)

69. Emiliano Grillo (T-59)

70. Victor Perez (T-33)

71. Davis Riley (T-38)

72. Andrew Putnam (MC)

73. Kurt Kitayama (MC)

74. Luke List (MC)

75. Adam Svensson (T-7)

Full FedEx Cup Playoffs field

Pos. Player
1 Scottie Scheffler
2 Xander Schauffele
3 Rory McIlroy
4 Collin Morikawa
5 Wyndham Clark
6 Ludvig Aberg
7 Sahith Theegala
8 Hideki Matsuyama
9 Sungjae Im
10 Shane Lowry
11 Patrick Cantlay
12 Byeong Hun An
13 Russell Henley
14 Tony Finau
15 Akshay Bhatia
16 Matthieu Pavon
17 Robert MacIntyre
18 Sepp Straka
19 Justin Thomas
20 Brian Harman
21 Tom Hoge
22
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
23 Billy Horschel
24 Davis Thompson
25 Aaron Rai
26 Jason Day
27 Taylor Pendrith
28 Chris Kirk
29 Sam Burns
30 Corey Conners
31 Cameron Young
32 Tommy Fleetwood
33 Stephan Jaeger
34 Thomas Detry
35 Max Homa
36 J.T. Poston
37 Adam Hadwin
38 Si Woo Kim
39 Keegan Bradley
40 Matt Fitzpatrick
41 Austin Eckroat
42 Alex Noren
43 Tom Kim
44 Cam Davis
45 Denny McCarthy
46 Adam Scott
47 Max Greyserman
48 Mackenzie Hughes
49 Will Zalatoris
50 Jake Knapp
51 Harris English
52 Nick Taylor
53 Patrick Rodgers
54 Eric Cole
55 Justin Rose
56 Ben Griffin
57 Viktor Hovland
58 Erik van Rooyen
59 Maverick McNealy
60 Taylor Moore
61 Peter Malnati
62 Min Woo Lee
63 Jordan Spieth
64 Mark Hubbard
65 Brendon Todd
66 Seamus Power
67 Nick Dunlap
68 Jhonattan Vegas
69 Emiliano Grillo
70 Victor Perez

 

Who got snubbed in the Team Europe Ryder Cup selection process?

It’s hard to find much fault with the Ryder Cup selections European Team captain Luke Donald made. Still, some did.

It’s hard to find much fault with the Ryder Cup selections Team Europe captain Luke Donald made on Monday morning as he added some aggressive young talent with some wily veterans.

Having Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland, Robert MacIntyre, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm gives the European side a mighty strong base.

The additions of Nicolai Hojgaard and Ludvig Aberg give the team a younger look at a time when the American squad added experience.

Still, some fans were scrutinizing Monday’s announcement and a story at our sister site For The Win, part of the USA Today Sports network, highlighted the perceived snubs:

Victor Perez takes step towards Ryder Cup with DP World Tour win thanks to ‘greatest shot’ he’s ever hit

Perez earned his third DP World Tour title in dramatic fashion on Sunday.

Victor Perez claimed his third DP World Tour win thanks to “probably the greatest shot I’ve ever hit” on the 17th hole during Sunday’s final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

The Frenchman began the final round a shot off the pace at Yas Links Abu Dhabi but joined the mix early thanks to a consecutive birdies on both Nos. 1 and 2 as well as Nos. 6 and 7 to take a two-shot advantage. Min Woo Lee and Sebastian Soderberg kept the pressure on, and after a three-putt bogey on No. 14, Perez reclaimed his lead with a birdie on the 15th.

The shot of the day, however, came at the par-3 17th, where Perez holed out for what would be a crucial late birdie from the bunker to take a two-shot lead to the 18th.

Perez made a late bogey on the 18th to sign for a 6-under 66 and earn a one-shot win at 18 under over Lee (68) and Soderberg (66). Old enough to play on the Champions tour, Padraig Harrington finished fourth at 16 under, with Francesco Molinari and Alex Noren T-5 at 14 under. Sami Valimaki shot a course record 10-under 62 to finish inside the top 10.

The win puts Perez in prime position to compete for a spot on the European Ryder Cup team when the biennial bout heads for Italy in the fall. He’s currently second on the European Points list.

“It’s a great year ahead,” said Perez, who also became the first French winner of a Rolex Series event. “There’s a lot of big things coming up. I’ve had a really good off-season, I’ve worked really hard, and it’s just great.”

The DP World Tour will hold its third straight event in the Middle East next week with the 2023 Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Jan. 26-29.

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Rested, relaxed Billy Horschel beats Scottie Scheffler to take WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

Billy Horschel defeated Scottie Scheffler in the final match to claim the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play title on Sunday in Austin, Texas.

AUSTIN, Texas — So much for excruciating work, long hours and exhaustive prep being the only paths to success in the golf world.

Billy Horschel primed for a busy week at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play with the exact opposite approach — taking his family for a much-needed spring break vacation in his home state of Florida.

Who’s to challenge the results? Horschel put together a week to remember at Austin Country Club, winning weekend matches over Kevin Streelman, Tommy Fleetwood and then Victor Perez to reach the final.

As the winds picked up on Sunday afternoon, Horschel looked rested and relaxed as he downed Scottie Scheffler, 2 and 1, to claim the title. Horschel, who hadn’t won a sanctioned PGA Tour event since taking the 2018 Zurich Classic with Scott Piercy and an individual title since the 2017 AT&T Byron Nelson, credited the extended break for the hop in his step.

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“I think mentally it was the key. I played really well at Concession; felt good about my game, and go to Bay Hill and Players and play really bad,” Horschel said on Sunday. “So it was just a great mental reboot to spend time with family, my kids, my aunt and uncle, my cousins and their kids. It was just nice. I don’t think we’ve been on a family vacation I don’t think ever because of me that didn’t have clubs involved.

“So everyone had a great time, and I’m sure there will be more of this after seeing the success I’ve had this week.”

Horschel didn’t come into the week with a great track record at the WGC Match Play event, winning a single round in 2014 when the tournament was still sudden death, and then failing to get out of pool play in his three subsequent starts.

But the University of Florida product grinded out the win, battling Scheffler as each made a number of missteps through swirling winds. Horschel thinks he’s got the game to succeed in this event for years to come.

“I think I should be a good match play player. I have been. I have spells where I played really good in matches. I think when you putt really well, you putt really well inside 10 feet, something I do really well, I think it makes it tough to, if you don’t give holes away, it makes it tough on your opponents,” he said. “And I just haven’t done a few things correct in certain matches in previous years to be able to get to the point I am now and so I think I’m learning from those. I’m hoping I am.”

Scheffler was making his debut in the event, but he maneuvered around Austin Country Club like he knew the place — because he does. Scheffler played collegiately at the University of Texas, which is just a short ride away from Pete Dye-designed course.

WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play
Scottie Scheffler during the semifinal match of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club. (Photo: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports)

Scheffler won his pool then delivered knockouts to Ian Poulter, Jon Rahm and Matt Kuchar to reach the final. Although he’s yet to win on the PGA Tour, Scheffler came in as the 30th seed in this event and was the top remaining seed of the Sunday semifinalists. The runner-up finish marks his best to date; he finished T-3 at the 2019 Bermuda Championship and alone in third at the 2020 The American Express.

And although he was unhappy with his final round, which included a pair of costly bogeys on Nos. 7 and 9, he still enjoyed the company.

“I love playing golf with Billy. He is one of my favorite guys out here,” said Scheffler, who was the 2020 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.

Scheffler was a spectator at this event while playing for the Longhorns, something he looked back fondly on.

“All I really remember was coming out here with my buddies and wife and just kind of having a good time walking around seeing shots, kind of messing around, gambling a little bit and having some fun,” he said. “I don’t think we watched anybody in particular but just kind of walked the course and had some fun.”

Meanwhile, Kuchar — who has a long history of success at this event, capturing the title in 2013, and reaching the final in 2019 before falling to Kevin Kisner — won the consolation match over Perez, 2 and 1.

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Underdogs rule the day in the wonderful, wacky WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

Thirteen major champions showed up. Only Sergio Garcia remained late Saturday, and he fell to obscure but talented Victor Perez.

Austin doesn’t take its unofficial motto lightly.

Or its golf.

So in keeping with its quirky host city, the World Golf Championship-Dell Technologies Match Play has kept it weird. And highly competitive.

And to play off a recent popular PGA Tour slogan, it’s been weirder than most.

In this tournament’s brief five-year history, there hasn’t been a more unorthodox Dell Match Play event than this one, and that’s even with the bizarre quality that match play tournaments can often feature.

How weird has it been?

So odd that six of the eight quarterfinalists were seeded 30th or lower.

It didn’t get any more normal Saturday.

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And Texas’ Scottie Scheffler, who has yet to win on the PGA Tour, knocked off third-seeded and former No. 1 in the world Jon Rahm 3 and 1 late Saturday, and 31st-seeded Frenchman Victor Perez downed Sergio Garcia 4 and 3 to become the first golfer to clinch a spot in Sunday’s semifinals.

Get this:

Gone by the weekend were 18 of the top 20 players in the world, including No. 1 Dustin Johnson, No. 2 Justin Thomas and pretty much every other hot golfer you care to name. At No. 30, Scheffler is the highest remaining seed in the field.

Ian Poulter shot a Saturday round of 3 under par. And lost.

Poulter was also decked out in a lilac shirt and pink pants. OK, so that’s more the norm. Nothing to see there.

Three-time major champion Jordan Spieth advanced to the round of 16 for only the second time in five years and failed to move on, while Scheffler, who’s still seeking his first PGA Tour win in his two years, keeps on playing through. He’s been so dominant, he didn’t trail for a single hole against Rahm and on the day made 15 birdies in 31 holes.

South African Dylan Frittelli, another Texas ex, was the last entrant into the field of 64 and first to advance but never got into a groove Saturday morning and fell decisively to Tommy Fleetwood 4 and 3.

Dylan Frittelli
Dylan Frittelli hits from the No. 3 tee during a third-round match at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship. (Photo: David J. Phillip/Associated Press)

As for Fleetwood, Mr. Calm buried an ace on the par-3 fourth hole Saturday. And didn’t even react. Or was that a yawn? Talk about missing out on a photo op.

Of the eight players who won their early Saturday matches and moved into the final eight, six were seeded 30th or worse, and Matt Kuchar (52) and Brian Harman (54) were in the last dozen players ranked.

But the last two Dell winners were seeded 48th (Kevin Kisner in 2019) and 35th (Bubba Watson in 2018), so that’s another pattern that might continue. They’re all good.

On Saturday, Watson birdied four of his first six holes and led 4 up after five holes. And lost.

Harman, who eliminated Watson in an all-Georgia Bulldog, all-lefty confrontation, did the honors with eight birdies in a row. It would have been an eye-popping nine, but his 19-foot offering on the 14th green needed one more ball rotation.

“It’s nice to get the best of him today,” Harman said of Watson, “because I think he’s about 10-0 against me.” Make that 10-1.

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Spieth birdied the first two holes, then scuffled with his putting the rest of the day for the most part, leaving nearly every roller short. His four-year drought continues, but he’ll have another chance in the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio next week, his last tuneup before the Masters.

Thirteen major champions showed up at Austin Country Club on Monday. Only Sergio Garcia remained late Saturday, and he fell to obscure but talented Frenchman Victor Perez, the 31st seed.

If it was strange, it was going to happen this week.

We got hail Wednesday night.

Bryson DeChambeau on Friday ricocheted a tee shot at No. 10 off an oak tree limb and onto the adjacent putting green.

Heck, Dustin Johnson even got a lecture from Kevin Na on golf etiquette Friday.

That’s how it went.

Upsets ruled the week, which is the beauty — and the bite — of match play.

That strangeness trend continued Saturday when Spieth, who has regained his form this season, bowed out of the competition against Kuchar, a former WGC champion and the 2019 finalist to winner Kevin Kisner, on the pivotal 18th hole. But second-year Tour player and former fellow Longhorn Scheffler, who’s going to win a major or two someday, remains in the field by reaching the semifinals.

Scheffler continued his weeklong tear. And he’s been battle-tested but never trailed for a single hole against Rahm.

He’s been dominant with crisp, accurate drives and outstanding putting, and he’s playing stress-free in group play.

He never trailed a single hole in his opening-round victory over 2016 Dell champion Jason Day either and was never farther behind than 1 down against Andy Sullivan. Scheffler was pushed to the limit by Xander Schauffele, 3 down after 13, but he won three of the next five holes to prevail

To even advance to the quarterfinals, Scheffler had to hold off Poulter, a match-play machine, 5 and 4. The former Longhorn put on a clinic Saturday, staying aggressive and forcing the Englishman to try to keep up.

“I kept the intensity up all day,” Scheffler said. “You could tell by the look in his eye that he wasn’t giving in at all. He was just waiting for a spark.”

Poulter had his chances but never could come up for air.

It was so frustrating for Poulter that he rolled in long-distance putts of 42 and 35 feet on the back nine. And halved both holes. That’s how clutch the dynamic Scheffler has been.

Scheffler was last year’s PGA Tour rookie of the year for a reason and might be closing in on his first victory.

So it wasn’t surprising when he was locked in a battle with the third-seeded Rahm, the only top seed in the 16 groups to advance to the knockout stages on the weekend, and led 2 up through 11 holes of their quarterfinal match. The Spaniard was also the only one of the top 20 ranked players to keep playing. The new norm, if you will.

“That shows, I mean, at this stage of the tournament nobody is giving it to you,” Rahm said. “You have to win it.”

Nothing strange about that.

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WGC Match Play: Who reached the Final Four (and how did they get there)?

The Final Four includes all seeds of 30 or higher heading into Sunday’s final day of action at Austin Country Club.

AUSTIN, Texas — Those hoping this was the year the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play would produce two semifinal matches between top seeds were likely disappointed with Saturday’s results — but the day held plenty of excitement.

The Final Four includes all seeds of 30 or higher as we head into Sunday’s final day of action at Austin Country Club.

Among the big names eliminated on Saturday were Jordan Spieth — who had a chance to take a late lead in his Round-of-16 match, but failed to take advantage — Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia and Bubba Watson.

That leaves just four, all of whom will play a pair of matches on Sunday. Here’s a look at those still standing and how they got to the final day.

Not every day you see a pro go 11-2 but Victor Perez did in the Arnold Palmer Invitational

Victor Perez had some trouble Saturday during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Bay Hill’s sixth hole.

ORLANDO – There was nothing out of the ordinary during the first five holes of Victor Perez’s third round on Saturday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Then things went nutso.

It all started going sideways for Perez on the par-5 6th hole that hugs a large lake. Perez hit his first ball into the ball. Then hit another ball into the water. Finally, after finding land from the tee box with his fifth shot, he hit another ball into the water.

After taking his third penalty drop, he found a greenside bunker with his eighth shot. He needed three more shots – a putt just inside four feet ending the disaster – to make a sextuple-bogey 11.

It wasn’t the worst score ever taken on the hole. Not by a long shot. In 1998, John Daly carded an 18.

Arnold Palmer Invitational: Leaderboard | Photos
The 20 highest single-hole scores in PGA Tour history

To Perez’s credit, he stepped to the tee of the next hole, the 201-yard, par-3 seventh, and hit iron to 18 feet and made birdie.

So that’s 11-2 on the scorecard, folks.

Perez was 6 over for his round after the seventh hole and 5 over for the tournament.

Victory Perez
The pgatour.com scorecard showing the 11 that Victor Perez posted on the par-5 sixth hole during the third round of the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational.

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Victor Perez leads DP World Tour Championship, eyes Race to Dubai title

The European Tour holds its final event of the 2020 season in the United Arab Emirates and Victor Perez is off to an early lead.

With the Race to Dubai title in sight, Victor Perez jumped to an early lead at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai after carding 5-under 67 Thursday at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

In the European Tour’s final event of the 2020 season, Perez recorded six birdies and one bogey during the first round to hold a one-shot lead after 18 holes. He gained the lead after carding his sixth birdie of the day on the par-3 17th.

Tied in second at 4 under are Matthew Fitzpatrick, Erik Van Rooyen and Robert MacIntyre after all carded 68s in the United Arab Emirates.  Sitting T-5 at 3 under are Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Martin Kaymer and Sami Valimaki. Patrick Reed and Lee Westwood are among the nine players to sit T-9 at 2 under.

If the season ended after Thursday’s first round, Victor Perez is primed to win both the DP World Tour Championship and Race to Dubai. Entering this week’s event in Dubai, Reed sat in first place in Race to Dubai points. (2,427.7) followed by Fleetwood (1,967.7), Collin Morikawa (1,881.7), Westwood (1,783.0), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (1,717.7), respectively. Perez sat in sixth entering the tournament with 1,713.9 points.

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To our heroes: European Tour players thank essential workers in heartfelt video

Rory McIlroy and 13 other European Tour players thanked the essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic with a heartfelt video.

“I am not your hero.”

That was the message a handful of European Tour players wanted to relay to their fans and followers on Saturday night.

Message received, gentlemen. Loud and clear.

The tour released a video on social media sure to tug at your heartstrings, with 14 players thanking “the essential workers we all take for granted” for their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.

The players thanked everyone from healthcare professionals to social workers and shop workers to food producers and pleaded for fans to follow the advice of the World Health Organization and respective governments around the world to stay home.

“If we do that, we can save lives and become heroes,” Rory McIlroy said to end the video.

The video included appearances from: McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Shane Lowry, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Francesco Molinari, Tommy Fleetwood, Thomas Bjorn, Victor Perez, Charl Schwartzel, Padraig Harrington, Justin Rose and Jon Rahm.

Stay safe, everyone.

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Victor Perez was peaking on the European Tour, until the coronavirus hit

With the Masters postponed, and no clear idea of whether it will be played in 2020, Victor Perez is trying to keep it all in perspective.

Victor Perez won his first European Tour title at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in September. Runner-up finishes followed at the Turkish Airlines Open in November and the HSBC Championship in January. Perez had climbed all the way to No. 40 in the Official World Golf Ranking when the sport came to an abrupt stop for coronavirus precautions.

Perez, 27, was among 23 men who were slated to make their Masters debut next month. The Frenchman qualified for the Masters by getting into the top 50 in the final OWGR of 2019. With the Masters now postponed, and without any clear idea of when or if it will still be played in 2020, Perez is trying to keep things in perspective.

Related: Players who would have made their Masters debut in April

“Health is far more important than any tournament but it comes at a difficult time because if maybe this had happened in December, some of the big tournaments would not have been affected as much,” Perez told the PA news agency, according to the European Tour.

One way that Perez is trying to keep his head up is by looking at his Masters qualification as the start of a new era in his career. He’s “planning on playing the tournament for the next 20 years or whatever.” He’ll compete at Augusta at some point.

Perez has already played it, having made the trip to Georgia two weeks ago to a get a look at the place.

“The tournament might be on a date that’s completely different than what everybody else is used to and I think it will make the course somewhat different to what everyone knows. Being a first-timer there could be an advantage I can get from it,” Perez reasoned.

“We had rented a house and my girlfriend, my agent and my trainer were going to be there.

“Being my first major I was trying to keep it really small, try to keep it as golf-related as possible like how I’ve been behaving ever since I turned pro, because I know the stress level is going to be as high as it’s ever been.”

The Masters wasn’t the only big break Perez was looking for. He was also hoping his solid play would position him nicely for a Ryder Cup selection. For now, that biennial event is still on for September at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin

Perez was in the crowd for the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in Paris, which the Europeans won.

“As a European it’s something that we take a lot of pride in and something that I’m really looking forward to,” he added.

“I can’t tell if canceling tournaments plays into my advantage or not, time will tell, I just know that eventually the best players are going to be on the team and it’s going to be a matter of being prepared and executing when it happens.”

The only sure thing is that the waiting game continues.

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