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Pat Perez played his first 27-of-36 holes on the weekend at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in 14 under (!) and cruised to his first PGA Tour win since 2009 (and just his second overall). He closed with a 4-under 67 to get to 21-under overall and defeat Gary Woodland by two strokes and Russell Knox by three.

Perez charged from way back in the field with a 9-under 62 on Saturday in Round 3 before going out in 5-under 31 on Sunday. It turned out to be enough as Perez made eight pars and a bogey coming home to hold off Woodland and Knox.

Woodland was the third-round leader but he stalled out on Sunday with four birdies and three bogeys, finishing with a 1-under 70. It was not nearly enough to overtake the suddenly-smoking Perez, who made 23 birdies and an eagle on the week.



Perez, who is the definition of a career grinder, was actually injured for most of 2016 and playing just his third tournament since he had surgery in the spring of this year. His last tournament before surgery came in February. Before this season, he had played 19 or more events every year since 2002.

"I was really calm all day," Perez told Golf Channel after his first win since 2009. "I had a lot of confidence when I came back. I started two and a half months ago. I didn't think it was going to happen this half, but I thought I was going to be pretty successful when I came back."

Perez has been really successful his entire career despite just notching one win (as is often the case with career grinders in this era). He has earned nearly $20 million (!) in his career and is known in PGA Tour circles as one of the most fun personalities in the sport.

I think you can see why.

So now the PGA Tour has just one event left on the fall calendar. Next week's RSM Classic in Sea Island, Georgia, will be hosted by Ryder Cup hero Davis Love III before we turn to Tiger Woods' event in the Bahamas to kick off December.

The 2016 golf season is quickly winding down as the opening 2017 Tournament of Champions in Hawaii is just on the horizon. It's an event Perez will now get to play in as he gets an automatic invitation because of his win this week at Mayakoba. It's a sweet prize to start a new year for somebody who probably feels like he's been doing this for forever.