By Frank Pingue
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) – Mito Pereira’s final-hole collapse cost him the PGA Championship title last May and while it was enough to earn him an invite to this week’s Masters, the Chilean said on Monday he is under no illusion that he could slip into a Green Jacket.
Pereira, who has since made the move to LIV Golf, will make his Masters debut when the year’s first major begins on Thursday was asked about his aspirations week.
“Obviously win,” Pereira said before getting serious. “No, mostly really try to enjoy this week. I’ve seen it on TV so many times, and you can’t really ask for more being here and playing the Masters this year.”
Pereira was playing in only his second major at last year’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills where he calmly built a three-shot lead heading into the final round.
But the pressure of a major proved to be Pereira’s undoing as he squandered a one-shot advantage on the 18th hole where he drove into a creek off the tee en route to a double-bogey that knocked him out of a playoff.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Augusta, Georgia)
