Pat Perez was standing outside the clubhouse at the Concession Golf Club on Wednesday when Paul Goydos walked up and wondered aloud whether Perez had really turned 50 yet. Perez, who turned 50 on March 1, smiled at the ribbing and said he would begin play in the Senior PGA Championship on Thursday.
That start will mark Perez’s first competitive golf in 19 months, a return that carries more baggage than a routine debut. He is back on a limited run with 50-and-over golf in 2026 while serving a suspension that keeps him out of PGA Tour Champions-sanctioned events until 2027, and he said the path back was never something he assumed would open again.
Perez said he knew when he signed with LIV that the move could end his chances of returning. He said it took him a week to decide whether to go, and that he did not think there would be any chance to come back. He also said he would not change much about the choice, except maybe the chance to do TV.
The money was real. Perez made more than $17 million in prize money across his three LIV seasons, but his exit from the team side was messy. He was not retained by the 4Aces after the 2024 season, even though he finished inside the top 48 players, though not inside the top 24, and he said the communication around that decision left him frustrated.
Perez said he was offered a chance in 2025 to work as an on-course reporter for LIV on TV. He said he was disappointed, that they did not tell him for months, and that the delay was not right. He added that the communication was a little off, but said he had no ill will toward anybody. He said he had a great time, had a blast, and that it was incredible the way they treat you.
Now he is back where his career began to turn once more, with a one-day reunion in Bradenton and a tournament tee time that means more than the scorecard. Thursday will show whether Perez can turn a long, complicated detour into the start of something he once thought was gone for good.