Former Tech Golfer Mito Pereira Prepping for 2022 U.S. Open
The Texas Tech Red Raiders will be well represented this week by Mito Pereira as he prepares to take part in the 122nd U.S. Open. The annual tournament begins on Thursday at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Pereira's tee time is set for 12:03 p.m. CT when he'll be matched with fellow golfers Sungjae Im and Erik van Rooyen.
Former Pac-12 and Arizona State golfer Jon Rahm is the defending champion after his victory last season at Torrey Pines. Rahm shot a final-round 4-under-par to finish at 6-under for the one-shot victory over Louis Oosthuizen.
Pereira finished last week at No. 45 in the World Golf Rankings. He finished third at the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma last month after taking a one-shot lead into the 72nd and final hole of the tournament. Pereira double-bogeyed the hole and missed a playoff. He missed the cut at the 2019 U.S. Open, but his game is at a new level this season.
Pereira is a native of Chile and played for one season at Texas Tech in 2014-2015. He was named to the All-Big 12 Championship team that same year. He reached No. 5 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking in August 2015 before deciding to turn pro.
He played his way to the Korn Ferry Tour and then won his way to the PGA Tour after having won an automatic three-win promotion from the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020-2021.
“It was a really good experience golf-wise,” he said of his time in Lubbock. “Golf program was really good. I think it helped me a little bit with my game, mostly strategy and just to have team events.”
Prior to leading, then finishing third at this year's PGA Championship, his most notable achievement was making the bronze-medal playoff at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
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