LIV Golf rebel Pat Perez has hit out at his critics after winning a mammoth £7million in prize money despite not breaking the top 10 in any of the season's seven individual events. Perez was spraying champagne for a fifth time last Sunday after his 4 Aces team became LIV's maiden team champions.
The victory was no doubt a well-earned one for Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch and Perez, with the all-American setup having won four out of seven team events in the regular season. The 4 Aces have been led by captain Johnson, who was also crowned individual champion after an impressive first campaign on the Saudi-backed series.
Amid the team's success though, many have questioned Perez's contribution with the 46-year-old failing to secure a top-10 finish throughout the season, boding an average finish of 28th out of a 48-man field.
Despite his lack of form individually, his efforts were still enough to contribute to his team with the successes of the 4 Aces earning Perez a cool £7 million. And it seems his mega-money pay cheque more than helps him ignore the criticism he has faced throughout the season.
Following the 4 Aces' win in Miami last weekend, he said:" All the push-back, all the negative comments, everything we've gotten, at this point I really don't care. I mean, I don't care. I'm paid. I don't give a damn. My team played unbelievable this year.
"I feel like I'm really part of something that I've never been part of, other than me and my caddie, we've just been just us our whole life. To have these guys and their caddies and families and coaches and everybody, it's just one big family now.
"I just couldn't be any happier. It's unbelievable." In Perez's defence, the often 4 Aces fourth wheel proved key to his team's successes in Sunday's final round at Trump Doral. The 46-year-old carded a hard-fought two-under-par 70, which was enough to help him and his teammates to a one-shot win over Cameron Smith's Punch GC.
Following his contribution, the former PGA Tour man had a strong message for his critics, telling them to 'shut up'. He commented: "I get a lot of grief for never [showing] up, I did today so everybody can shut up, which is great."
