Hanging With Hootie and Daly

By Pat Perez

Editor's Note: This is the first installment of a weekly chronicle of the life and times of PGA TOUR star Pat Perez. Visit Pat at his website www.patperezgolf.com
 
Hey Everyone. Pat Perez checking in from the road. Welcome to my blog.
 
A quick note of thanks to GolfChannel.com for contacting us to do this. The whole 'blogging' thing is still kind of new to me, but I've had a lot of fun with it these past few months and appreciate the opportunity here.
 

Where do I even begin? Well, for starters, I'm writing from Hilton Head, SC. I pulled into town Tuesday morning after a few days in Myrtle Beach, SC for Hootie and the Blowfish's charity tournament 'Monday After the Masters.' This is my fourth consecutive year playing in it and I plan on doing so for years to come. They're great guys and anything I can do to help their cause (South Carolina Junior Golf), I'm all for.
 
The first time I played their event was 2003 -- my second year on the Tour. I played the Masters that year and after Sunday's round my bud John Daly swung through Augusta to pick me up on his bus and I rode with him straight into the House of Blues parking lot that evening and went straight to the party. Hopefully in 2007 I'll make the trek from Augusta to Myrtle again instead of heading there from my home in Scottsdale.
 
Monday After the Masters was solid, as always. I landed in Myrtle Beach on Sunday evening and caught up with everyone to watch the end of the Masters. Took in the final few holes with Daly as well as my bud Scotty Phillips (drummer for Alter Bridge, formerly of Creed) and country singer Steve Azar. Both great guys. The Masters provided a ton of drama again this year, but as I said earlier - I want to be in the thick of that next year, not watching on the tube. If I keep playing like I am right now, I should be back there in 2007.
 
Hootie had their live auction on Sunday night so I swung by there with the crew. I think Daly bought a Hootie van or something. Not 100% sure how that played out. I'll get the whole story and write about it in an upcoming column. Hung out with all the guys that night and the gathering moved back to the bus where Steve Azar picked up JD's guitar and entertained everyone. That's the best. Anytime one of these guys rolls by the bus, a concert always breaks out. I've been fortunate enough to see Hootie, Sister Hazel, Queensryche, Fuel, Bret Michaels and a ton of other musicians on the bus just jamming away and putting on a show.
 
Monday morning was the actual tourney and I was paired up with Steve. I was originally supposed to play with Scotty (Phillips) but had a blast with Steve. We were terrible out there, but better to get that bad round out of the way on Monday as opposed to Thursday through Sunday. Thankfully the goal at charity tourneys is to have fun, and that we did.