"Don't push me," an angry voice says. "Big mistake."

Suddenly the sounds of a battle fill the room—a wall-smashing blast of punches, grunts and broken glass.

"This takes my mind off of everything," says Perez, who is playing the Incredible Hulk video game on his PlayStation. "The only problem is, I get playing too long and can't sleep. I can't put it down. Every night I go to bed at about 1 o'clock." The everything Perez wants off his mind includes the fact that after a torrid rookie season in 2002, which featured six top 10s, $1.45 million in earnings and a runner-up finish in the Rookie of the Year race, he faltered horribly in 2003 and fell out of the top 100 on the money list.

What's Pat Perez so mad about? Bruce Racine

The smoke from his cigarette mingles with incense that burns on top of the TV. Two packs of Marlboro Lights rest on the coffee table beside two Nike hats, a roll of SweetTarts and the $60,000 Rolex Perez picked up for $40,000 from his buddy John Daly. And the Hulk isn't the only one in the room with a short fuse.

"All this stuff—I've got to have it," Perez says of his game console and cartridges, notebook computer, duffel bag, and golf gear. "I get hit with an $80 charge every time I travel. The airlines are unbelievable—I can't pack only 50-pound bags. I'm on the road too long!"

Other beefs:

Going to movies: "It's a lot of effort—get up, go, sit down. So I wait until they come out on DVD. It's 20 bucks, the same price either way. Going to the movies is ridiculous."

The old saw that golf is a game of misses: "That's f---ing stupid. It's not a game of misses. It's about hitting it in the damn hole, fast. That's what everybody out here does."

Anger management therapy: "The Tour suggested it, but I didn't go. I get mad and show it. The only way I won't get mad is if I win every tournament."

By the end of 2003, Perez not only hadn't won every PGA Tour event, he hadn't won any. He had made only 16 of 33 cuts. He had withdrawn from three tournaments and had almost lost his Tour card. He'd flirted with the wrong end of the top 125, dropping to 122 with only the Chrysler Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida, remaining on his schedule. He tied for 17th there to win $63,000 and keep his playing privileges for 2004.

This year began with more of the same. Perez showed signs of ending his slump (71-68 to start the Nissan Open), then posted scores unworthy of his talent (75-75 on the weekend). He missed seven cuts in his first 10 starts this year and then, in May, fired a closing 66 to finish 20th at the HP.Classic of New Orleans and earn $57,324. Still, with just $113,324 in 13 events, he was 149th on the money list.

At 28, Perez seems trapped in an ugly cycle: He's pissed off because he doesn't win, and he doesn't win because he's pissed off. At least that's the theory on Tour. Perez's on-course temperament is more suited to pro wrestling than to golf, but he is too ridiculously gifted to ignore. He is Chad Campbell with an attitude. Or maybe Tommy Bolt with a PlayStation.

Some of his fire is fed by resentment. Moments after his triumph at the 2001 Qualifying School, where medalist Perez won $50,000 and his Tour card, he was miffed by all the attention lavished that day on teen sensation Ty Tryon. He was also annoyed at Southern California club pros who hadn't let him play their tracks for free. " 'Come back when you get your card,' they told me," he says, puffing a cigarette. "But now I'll never play their courses."

Months later, paired with Tryon at a Tour event, Perez griped that fans only cheered for young Ty. "I'd make a birdie," he said, "and you could hear the wind blow."

Perez smokes, drinks and until this year yawned at the thought of working out. He started weightlifting but developed tendonitis in his left elbow and stopped. He doesn't spend much time on the range. "I used to practice a lot," he says. "But I got worse. It's overrated."

And then there's that temper.

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