KAWAGOE, Japan – Had the Summer Games not been delayed a year by the COVID-19 pandemic, Mito Pereira would have been watching the action on television.
The Chilean was just inside the top 300 in the world ranking at the time – you need to be inside the top 250 to qualify for the Olympics - and trying to find his way on the Korn Ferry Tour following an eventful start to his young professional career.
Since the Olympics was rescheduled, Pereira, 26, earned a promotion to the PGA Tour with three victories on the secondary circuit and posted back-to-back top-10 finishes in his last two big-league starts, to set the stage for this week’s men’s competition at Kasumigaseki Country Club.