Corey Pereira: ‘Golf had to take a step back … now I’m buzzing for US Open’

“D ude, it has been crazy.” At this point in 2022, Corey Pereira had no clue of the battles that lay ahead. His key concern surrounded poor form, which would ultimately lead to him losing status on the Korn Ferry Tour, the understudy to the PGA Tour. Golfing dreams lay shattered.

“I was struggling with my game,” he says. “I was upset, frustrated. It’s not a good place to be. My first year out there, I got injured and lost my card that way. Last year, I didn’t have an excuse. Golf is about fine lines. I was on one side of that as an amateur, unfortunately the last couple of years I’ve been on the other. I knew I had to get better, step up my work and improve.”

The 28-year-old was oblivious to the path his life was about to follow. Pereira’s qualification for the 123rd US Open, which begins at Los Angeles Country Club on Thursday, provides a timely and endearing human antidote to the Saudi Arabian corporate obscenity that has engulfed the sport.

Last October, Pereira’s girlfriend, Leah Bertuccelli, was diagnosed with a rare form of soft-tissue cancer. The immediate outlook was horrendous. From worrying about Tour status, Pereira removed himself completely from competitive golf.

“Leah had a terrible diagnosis,” Pereira says. “Initially, it was looking pretty grim. They used phrases like ‘potentially not treatable’. It was an extremely difficult couple of months after my season finished. We didn’t know what we were getting; we had a wrong biopsy, doctors who were a bit confused.

“From there I decided to shut things down golf-wise. I didn’t know the extent of what was going on with Leah and felt it was more important to stay with her, to be a good family guy during that time. Golf could definitely take a step back.”

Leah