“Golf’s not life – if I go make a bogey I’ll be alright”: Corey Pereira shares how his perspective changed after a brutal year

Corey Pereira's dream is coming true, as he is all set to make his debut at the 2023 US Open. In the field of 156 of the best golfers in the world, Pereira's journey has been one of the toughest. His start at the Los Angeles Country Club will mark his first ever major championship and it will be one to remember.

Amidst the preparations by fellow golfers for various tournaments in the 2023 season, Pereira received distressing news about his girlfriend, 28-year-old Leah Bertuccelli, being diagnosed with cancer. Given the challenges he faced throughout the year, Pereira's gratitude has deepened more than ever before.

Speaking via CNN he said:

“Golf’s not life – if I go make a bogey I’ll be alright. For Leah, she’s battling a lot harder things than I am out there. It just makes me not get as emotional or not get as frustrated when things happen in golf like they can."

With nothing more important, Corey Pereira walked away from the Korn Ferry Tour in August in order to support his girlfriend.

“It’s been pretty emotional to say the least. It’s been really rough. (I’ve) basically shut down golf, shut down life, and been taking care of her – it’s been really hard.”

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Corey Pereira exptecting strong performance out of himself at 2023 US Open

Supporting his girlfriend meant that the golfer has not picked up a club for over 300 days. However his girlfriend has been one of his biggest insipirations, and Perieria sealed his place at the US Open with a fantastic finish at the Ohio qualifiers. Finishing T3, he sealed one of the 11 spots available.

This will also be Corey Pereira's first official event on the PGA Tour. Despite all the challenges, Pereria expects a strong performance from himself.

“It’s pretty funny, there’s just two things I battle with. One is I always have high expectations of myself – I’m a professional golfer, I’ve had success at the amateur level and this is what I dreamed of, being in contention in these things and trying to win."

Pereira will be teeing it up with the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka, who are favorites to win at the US Open.