When he first volunteered for the PGA Tour event at Torrey Pines four decades ago, Tony Perez was sent out to the South Course’s ninth hole.
“I started measuring the distances of the drives,” Perez said. “I Craig Stadler hitting it 315 back then.”
A couple of years later, Perez was asked to be the first-tee announcer on No. 10 South. For the past couple decades, he has introduced players at No. 1 South.
“It means a lot to me,” Perez said. “I’ve seen a lot of these players since they were rookies. Now, they’ve been on tour 25 or 30 years. … Kevin Tway came through here and I announcing his dad (Bob) when he was a rookie. That’s how far back it goes.”
Moments after announcing the final group of the day for Thursday’s second round, Perez was honored by the Century Club for 40 years of volunteering at the tournament. A sign adjacent to the tee box read: “Tony Perez thank you for 40 fantastic years.”
Perez is the bridge between generations of golfers and a historian for countless special moments at Torrey Pines.
“I’ve seen a lot of pros that are now on the Champions Tour, and now they’re retiring,” he said. “That’s how long I’ve been here.”
“I’m so grateful to be able to announce the champions here. It’s a struggle to stay on the PGA Tour, and I’m just glad to be a part of it, and watch their careers just take off and blossom.”
Perez takes great care to pronounce the players’ names properly, although he isn’t perfect.
When Billy Andrade stepped to the tee, Perez recalled, “I pronounce it Billy Andratti,” similar to racing legend Mario Andretti.
“He was teeing up the ball and he said, ‘I’m not a race car driver,’” Perez said. “Maybe 25 years later, I saw him practicing in Las Vegas for the Shriners there.”
Perez apologized for the mistake.
“Was that YOU?” Andrade said.
The greatest moment for Perez has been getting the opportunity to announce the name of his son, Pat Perez, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour.
“I was pretty emotional,” Tony said of the first time he announced Pat’s name two decades ago. “I couldn’t get his name out, but it worked out really well.”
Pat, who graduated from Torrey Pines High School, virtually grew up on the course. He worked at the driving range as a teenager.
“He worked very hard to get there,” Perez said. “I think what made it hard is he was paired up with Chris Riley, and they grew up playing junior golf here.
“When I saw them, I saw them as kids. That’s where I got choked up, because they were so young and now they made it, and I was so proud of both of them.”
When Pat grew his hair out a couple of years ago — some called it a mullet, Pat preferred “flow” — Tony used the opportunity to poke some fun at his son.
“I rented a wig and put it on,” Perez said. “When he was coming around he saw it and just froze. … That’s where I got him.”
Pat recovered quickly, saying at the time, “You look like (singer) Robert Plant, only you need more gray. Actually more like (former Steelers star) Troy Polamalu. Maybe we can get you a Head & Shoulders commercial.”
Pat Perez also played junior golf with a fellow named Eldrick Woods, meeting the young Tiger when he was a 9-year-old playing the Presidio Hills Golf Course.
“That’s where they became friends,” Tony said. “I’ve known Tiger ever since. I knew his father and the whole family. So when he comes up here, he always gave me a big hug. You can feel how solid he is. Tiger did something good, more than just playing well, he got everybody getting back in shape.”
Perez, 79, is a Vietnam War veteran who brought the game of golf to military when he created a charity called Operation Game On (operationgameon.org).
“I started a program to teach combat-wounded veterans how to play golf,” Perez said. “It started here. I invited four amputees from the Naval Medical Center San Diego and asked them if they wanted to be starters.”
Lunch afterwards led to the idea of teaching golf to injured veterans, who get 16 weeks’ worth of lessons. Perez got TaylorMade to be a sponsor.
“These troops, men and women from Iraq and Afghanistan, came back with PTSD and severely injured physically,” Perez said.
Golf has put a smile back on many of their faces. Just like the Century Club, they can thank Tony Perez.
Drive for show
Perez mentioned measuring drives 40 years ago.
The average driving distance on the PGA Tour in 1985 was 260 yards. Andy Bean was the tour leader, hitting it 278 yards off the tee.
The average driving distance this year coming into the Farmers was 301.5 yards, with Aldrich Potgieter blasting it a tour-leading 338.5 yards.
Locals watch
San Diegan Charley Hoffman was on the projected cut line of 1-over following a 4-over 75 on the South Course.
Fellow San Diegan Norman Xiong was on the leaderboard briefly after getting to 1-under midway through the round. He finished with a 74 on the North, making him 2-under for the tournament.
Michael Kim won’t make the cut after shooting 77, this time on the North, for the second straight day.
USD graduate Charlie Reiter and San Diego State alum J.J. Spaun both were among those who didn’t finish.
Reiter is 2 over with three holes (Nos. 7-9) to play on the North, needing to pick up a stroke to make the projected cut at 1 over. Spaun has two holes remaining on the North (Nos. 8 and 9) and is right on the cutline.
Cavin McCall, an assistant pro at The Santaliuz Club in North County, has four holes (Nos. 6-9) remaining on the South. He’s 6-over for the round.
Parting thought
Century Club member Ted Rossin, watching the powerful swings of Alejandro Tosti, Will Chandler and Potgieter in the final group of the morning at South No. 1: “Nobody in our group swings like that. I’d be in traction for a week.”
