Pat Perez capped the week by waving his cap — left, right and center — to all the fans surrounding the 18th green at Torrey Pines South who shouted congratulations.
Perez couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he left the green, handed his ball to a young fan and nodded to still more well-wishers as he prepared to sign his scorecard.
The Torrey Pines High graduate finished with a birdie on the final hole to cap a 4-under 68 that provided a tie for sixth in the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open. He earned $265,020 while finishing two strokes behind winner Luke List.
“I’ve played so bad for so long,” said Perez, 45, who missed the cut in three previous tournaments this season. “To play great here on a very hard course, to hit the shots I needed to, to make the putts I needed to, especially in front of San Diego, which I love more than anything … I didn’t win, but it felt like a win.”
It was the fourth top-10 finish — highest since a tie for fourth in 2017 — for Perez in 20 Farmers appearances.
“I had a nice week and I needed a nice week. I really did. It’s a jump start, I hope, for the rest of the year,” he said.
“Some weeks are more important than others.”
Perez moved into contention with a 67 on Friday that moved him within four strokes of the lead entering the final round.
“I had a great feeling,” Perez said. “I hit a lot of shots that I hadn’t hit all week.”
His best shot Saturday came on the par-4, 462-yard 7th hole, when he holed his second shot from 167 yards out for an eagle.
“Hit 8-iron,” Perez said. “I thought, ‘This could be pretty good.’ And it was. It just kind of rode the wind, hit and just rolled in. It was awesome.”
Perez made the turn at 13-under, two strokes off the lead.
“I know there’s great players behind me,” Perez said of his mindset midway through the round. “You just have to keep going. There’s no letup on this tour anymore. There’s too many good players now.”
He slipped back with bogeys at 10 and 12 before getting even on the back nine with birdies at 14 and 18.
“It was just one of those weeks that everything kind of came together,” Perez said.
Perez struck the tournament’s opening drive Wednesday morning as the first player in the first group.
He hugged father and longtime starter Tony Perez before that first drive. He hugged his dad again — more emphatically this time — as he walked off the 18th green Saturday.
“He had quintuple by in August,” Perez said. “When someone goes in for that, you don’t know if they’re going to come out.
“You know, it’s just nice to have family here. I’ve got my in-laws here. (Dad and stepmom) here. My kids. My wife. It’s such a great week.
“Always love San Diego. I’ve been here forever. I used to work here (as a range picker in high school), so to come back and actually do all this is unbelievable.”
APGA Tour event at Torrey
There actually will be golf played Sunday on the South, which will host the final round of the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour event played at Torrey Pines over the weekend.
On Saturday, Patrick Newcomb shot a 4-under 68 on the North for a two-shot lead over Marcus Byrd. Three other players are within four shots of the lead.
The APGA, founded in 2010 to provide minorities with greater opportunities in golf, will have its final round televised by Golf Channel.
The winner will receive $30,000 of the $100,000 purse.
Rahm comes up short
The last time Jon Rahm played at Torrey Pines, the Spaniard came away with the 2021 U.S. Open championship.
Rahm finished in a three-way tie for third this week, a stroke behind winner Luke List and runnerup Will Zalatoris.
Rahm started slow with two bogeys in his first five holes before ing the leaders at 14-under with three straight birdies to close out the front nine. He couldn’t find more magic on the back, however, finishing with with a 1-under 71.
A birdie on 18 would have gotten Rahm into a playoff, but he managed only a par.
“Even though I caught up, it’s just Torrey Pines South is not an easy golf course,” Rahm said. “It looked for a second that I had a chance, just too bad on 18. Pulled my second shot a little bit and hit the steepest part of the slope and took a soft bounce instead of a firm one.
“It is what it is. It’s a challenging golf course out there. You have to golf really, really well and it’s too bad I couldn’t. Only thing I can think of is besides making more putts, you know, I pretty much put it in the fairway I think in seven out of eight of the par 5s on the weekend and only bogeyed one of them, so if that changed a little bit and played a couple under each day, I might have had a better chance.
“But this is just nit-picking. Played good golf without feeling my best, so hopefully learn from a couple things here and I’ll get them next time.”
Locals watch
Perez was the highest finisher this week among local players.
Of the three SDSU alums to make the cut, J.J. Spaun (71) and Xander Schauffele (72) finish tied for 34th at 7-under for the tournament. Scott Piercy (78) finished 76th.
