Pat Perez never thought he’d see another player do what Tiger Woods did.
Then came Scottie Scheffler.
“Tiger’s two months older than I am. I met him when we were eight years old. I played against him. I played against this guy my whole life. Not in my lifetime did I think I’d see a guy that plays anywhere near — not the same game, obviously — but be as dominant as him. I just didn’t think. I just didn’t think it would come,” Perez told GOLF’s Subpar co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz.
Perez played against Woods for most of his professional career. He has watched the next generation, and the one after that, arrive. To him, there’s one player who had a chance to be near Tiger’s level, and it’s not Scheffler. But it’s how Scheffler has ascended to become the dominant force in golf — while maintaining an even keel — that has impressed Perez the most.
“I still think that Rory is as close as I have seen talent-wise to Tiger,” Perez said. “I don’t think anyone is ever going to get to 82 wins. But [Scottie] is different. I don’t know what it is. I love the way he goes about his business. It’s just golf. Go home. Family. No flash. No nothing. He just does what he does and goes home. It’s almost like he doesn’t realize what he is doing and how incredible it is.
“I mean, Tiger hit is all over the map sometimes. He’d hit this wedge over a tree to a foot in the dark. The theater he put on was incredible. Scottie is doing that, just in a different way. I just can’t believe that he has separated himself so much. When the guy tees it up, you know he is going to be there at the end.”
To hear more from Perez, check out the entire episode below.
