‘I’ve tried to stay aggressive and tried to play the right shot’

American Pat Perez, benefiting from a greatly improved mental approach to the game, ended a seven-year title drought on the PGA Tour with a two-shot victory in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Mexico on Sunday.
In only his third tournament back since being sidelined for eight months by a shoulder injury, the long-haired Perez used a fast start and clutch finish to seal his second win on the US circuit with a closing four-under-par 67. Though he made his only bogey of the day at the par-four 12th after hitting a wayward tee shot and a poor chip for his third, he comfortably parred the final six holes to post a 21-under total of 263.
Fellow American Gary Woodland, the third-round leader, rebounded from a shaky front nine and birdied 17 and 18 for a 70 to finish alone in second with Scotland’s Russell Knox (66) a further stroke back at 18-under.
“I was really calm all day,” Perez, who birdied five of the first eight holes to surge to the top of the leaderboard, told Golf Channel. “I have had this aggressive type of attitude, amongst other things, for the last two weeks, and I just had a lot of confidence when I came back.
“I’ve tried to stay aggressive and tried to play the right shot... and not worry about what happens. It’s really worked.”
The 40-year-old from Arizona, who won his first PGA Tour title at the 2009 Bob Hope Classic, often let himself down in the past with a hot-headed approach on the golf course.
By his own admission, however, Perez has become a much calmer figure since his second marriage in late 2014, along with plenty of hard work on his mental strategy after his lengthy absence from the tour began in late February.
“I started up again about two-and-a-half months ago and I didn’t think it (winning) was going to happen this fast,” said Perez, who has made just three starts on the 2016-17 PGA Tour while competing on a major medical exemption.
“But I thought I was going to be pretty successful in my comeback,” he smiled.

Leading final-round scores
263—Pat Perez 68-66-62-67
265—Gary Woodland 64-65-66-70
266—Russell Knox (SCO) 68-65-67-66
267 —Kevin Streelman 65-73-64-65, Chez Reavie 70-67-63-67,
Scott Piercy 65-66-66-70
268 — Charles Howell 69-64-69-66, Chris Kirk 63-70-68-67, Luke List 66-68-66-68
270 — Adam Hadwin (CAN) 67-66-70-67, Emiliano Grillo (ARG) 68-69-66-67, Jhonattan Vegas (VEN) 69-67-65-69
271 — Oscar Fraustro (MEX) 71-66-68-66, Martin Laird (SCO) 68-67-66-70
272 — John Peterson 71-69-64-68, Jason Kokrak 70-68-67-67, Cody Gribble 68-66-71-67, Keegan Bradley 72-67-67-66, Ryan Blaum 67-71-66-68, Stewart Cink 74-64-65-69, Nick Taylor (CAN) 68-66-68-70, Cameron Davis (AUS) 66-70-66-70, Ben Crane 64-70-67-71
273 — Martin Flores 70-69-66-68, Graeme McDowell (NIR) 75-65-65-68, Marc Leishman (AUS) 70-65-69-69, Webb Simpson 65-65-69-74

Reed retains European Tour card despite Turkey no-show
US Ryder Cup talisman Patrick Reed will keep his European Tour card next season despite failing to play the required number of events to retain membership.
The American was due to compete in the $7mn Turkish Airlines Open this month but dropped out, as did world number two Rory McIlroy, because of security fears.
The European Tour said in a statement on Monday that Reed would keep his membership by virtue of his victory at the 2014 Cadillac Championship in Florida, a World Golf Championship event.
“We are delighted to announce that Patrick will return to action on the European Tour for the 2017 season,” chief executive Keith Pelley said.
“He is one of the game’s most exciting talents, as everyone who witnessed his electrifying performance at this year’s Ryder Cup will testify to, and our fans look forward to seeing him in action again next year.”
Reed was the leading American scorer in their Ryder Cup victory over Europe in Minnesota last month, picking up three and a half points from five matches.
“I love to compete and I take pride in the fact I have both my PGA Tour card and my European Tour card,” said the world number eight. I am grateful I will continue to be a part of the European Tour and I value the opportunity to play with the best players in the world, all over the world.”