If it were up to Pat Perez, he’d be inside the ropes this week as a player rather than a broadcaster, hitting the shots rather than talking about them.

But things did not go as planned for the three-time PGA Tour winner, who signed a guaranteed contract with LIV Golf in 2022 and saw his time as a player come to an end after last season when no team elected to bring him back.

Perez is far from gone, however. He made a deal to work as an on-course reporter and join the LIV Golf broadcast team this week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the site of the first of LIV’s 14 events this year.

“I’m glad this is an opportunity for me,” Perez said in an interview. “I’m grateful for this opportunity.”

Perez, 48, was a member of Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces team for his three seasons in the league. He originally had a two-year contract with LIV and then was given another year by Johnson’s team for 2024.

But because he finished outside of LIV’s “lock zone”—which is the top 24 in points—and no longer had a contract, he was vulnerable to not being retained.

When no team elected to sign him, he was left without a place to play, hence the TV gig.

“I don’t know who didn’t want me to play; let’s put it this way, I don’t think it was DJ,” Perez said. “I think DJ loved having me on the team. But obviously they’re trying to go with younger players. I knew my time was going to come to an end at some point. I didn’t think it would be this year. It is what it is. I wasn’t totally shocked.

“Not that there are any excuses. But I had the worst 18 months of my life and I didn’t play very well. And for whatever reason, they didn’t sign me. There’s no hard feelings. It’s obviously business. If I would have played like I thought I could, I’d have been in the top 24 and it wouldn’t have been an issue.”

Perez’s younger brother, Mike, 43, died in July 2023. And he also went through a divorce during that time.

“Yeah, a lot of distractions,” he said. “A divorce is never easy. We have two kids. A full plate of stuff. And then trying to get ready to play and try and beat a lot of the top players in the world is a tall order. I’m thankful for the time I had. I had a blast. Now I’m looking forward to the commenting part.”

Perez will be an on-course reporter, one of three on the broadcast along with Su-Ann Heng and Dom Boulet. Arlo White, Jerry Foltz and David Feherty remain in the broadcast booth that will now have a Fox TV deal in the U.S.

But while Perez will be focused on a new career, he is not taking his eye off playing. Although he said he has played just five rounds of golf since LIV’s season-ending team event in Dallas, he still looks forward to a competitive future: the PGA Tour Champions.

And Perez admits that will be interesting.

When he joined LIV Golf, Perez was outspoken in his displeasure toward the PGA Tour and how it handled the situation. He was initially part of a lawsuit against the Tour, although he removed himself from it several weeks in.

Perez, who turns 50 on March 1, 2026, said he has spoken to someone he knows at the PGA Tour and is curious to see how things play out.

So far, no LIV golfer has played in a sanctioned PGA Tour event. The current rules do not allow crossover and those who were never members of the Tour are prohibited from playing the Tour for at least one year from the time of their last event.

As a former member, Perez would likely face the year off and perhaps a suspension and fines. The PGA Tour has never commented on this aspect of players coming back and it is likely what is being discussed as part of the negotiations between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which backs LIV Golf.

“A lot of it I guess will have to do with what happens with this so-called merger,” Perez said. “If it doesn’t happen, I see no chance (of playing on the Champions Tour). But if it does I want to know what I have to know. I want to know what the steps are to possibly play the Tour. There’s a lot of situations that have come up and it’s all based on what happens at the end of the day. What is negotiated. And I have a lot of questions.

“I’m not looking to come back to the PGA Tour. I don’t have any status any way other than the past champions category. I’ve never been a member of the Champions Tour but it falls under the umbrella of the (PGA) Tour. I’m not even looking to play a full schedule anyway.”

At this time, Perez would be fully exempt on the PGA Tour Champions based on his career earnings of more than $28 million, which would easily put him among the top 70 combined money winners, one of the exemption categories.

But Perez needs to be allowed to play, an issue that is to be determined.

In the meantime, he’s got the TV gig.

“I’ve had great talks with the LIV people and I’m excited about this opportunity,” he said. “I think it’s something I can do for a long time.”