Half Scot Victor Perez not fighting ‘internal battle’ about DP World Tour return

The Frenchman also set his sights on playing in the Ryder Cup after being among 30 players sized for clothing in Dubai this week ahead of next year’s centenary edition at Adare Manor in Ireland.

Perez, a three-time DP World Tour winner, including a breakthrough victory in the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, spent the 2026 season representing Martin Kaymer’s Cleeks GC in the LIV Golf League.

Following the breakaway circuit’s demise on the back of losing its huge Saudi Arabian Public Investment Funding then being unable to secure a new $300 million investment from US-based equity and credit firm BC Partners, Perez is now back playing full-time on the DP World Tour.

A three-year exemption from his most recent win on the circuit ends this year, but, having made it to this week’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship in the UAE, he will have a decent card category for the 2027 schedule.

“Yeah, for sure,” Perez replied to being asked by The Scotsman if he feels he has earned his place at a time when a lot is being said about LIV players, including someone like Charles Howell III, playing on the DP World Tour next season.

“Obviously I took the deal (offered by the DP World Tour to LIV players) last year to play seven events and try to support the tour the best way possible and that was great. But I don't have any internal battle about whether I'm deserving of being here. I've won three times and I've made it to the DP World final in ten events, so I don't think I have a point to prove to finish in the top 100. I'm quite happy.”

The 34-year-old, who finished birdie-birdie on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates to sign for a three-under-par 69 and sit handily-placed after the opening round in the $10 million season finale, is determined to add a Ryder Cup appearance to his CV before hanging up his clubs.

“Yeah, of course,” he said of that being one of his big goals. “We did the clothes fitting here on Wednesday and it's definitely a huge target. “I'm 34 years old, I'm entering my good years. I feel like I have enough experience but still young enough to be in a position where you can play enough golf and play 25 weeks a year and feeling quite good about it. So it is still a huge goal. I would say that 2027, 2029 and 2031 - these next three - are probably my good run.”

Perez laughed when he was reminded about having been claimed as a token Scot due to having been based for a spell initially in Dundee before re-locating to Edinburgh with his wife, Abigail. “Yeah, we still have our house in Edinburgh,” he reported. “My wife goes there more than I do, but it's nice to see that the house is still standing.”

So, with Calum Hill, Grant Forrest and Ewen Ferguson in the field this week, is it right to say there are three-and-a-half Scots? “I think three-and-a-half French, three-and-a-half Scottish, whichever way you call it,” he said, smiling.

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