Staff WriterJulian Perico is teeing it up at this week’s D+D REAL Czech Challenge with something far more valuable than a new wedge grind—perspective.
The Peruvian, currently perched at 65th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, rolls into Royal Beroun Golf Club carrying momentum from a solid top-10 finish at the Interwetten Open and, more importantly, a mental reset that might just prove to be his sharpest club.
Last week at Schladming-Dachstein, Perico rattled off four rounds in the 60s like a man who’d finally exhaled. He wasn’t just swinging freer—he was thinking clearer.
“I had a nice time last week, but it was the processes which set me up for success,” he said, a calm in his voice that comes not from routine, but from reflection.
Behind that smile is a story—Perico’s grandfather passed away during the tournament. While his family mourned back home, he chose to honour the memory by simply enjoying the game he’s often taken too seriously.
“I just had fun and wanted to play for him and, honestly, it lightened me up a lot,” Perico said. “I understood that there’s so much more than this game and sometimes I go a little too overboard with it.”
That emotional shift has unlocked something bigger than a tighter dispersion pattern. Perico isn’t chasing flags—he’s embracing the process, the same way Jack Nicklaus used to say he’d take second place every week and be the happiest man alive.
“I just decided to turn up and do my job to the best of my ability and not to care about the result,” he added.
Royal Beroun will be a new test for the 25-year-old, though he’s quick to dismiss last year’s absurdly low winning total—Benjamin Follett-Smith’s 28-under romp—as irrelevant if Czechia decides to stir the wind pot.
“A lot of guys like to check what the scores were last year but if the wind blows, it’s going to be a good test,” said Perico. “My practice rounds have been in some tough weather and today it was blowing 30mph. I think it’s a good golf course and the back nine is a lot of fun.”
The track, with its blend of scoreable stretches and deceptively tight tee shots, could reward Perico’s more measured approach. And he’s not doing it alone.
He’s been leaning on his mental coach, who’s less about motivational slogans and more about getting his player out of his own way.
“My coach always encourages me to let go and I was at the top of the leaderboard the whole week,” Perico explained. “I told my mental coach the whole point of this is to not put emphasis on the result. He told me the results shouldn’t give you confidence, it’s the processes and the days you stack up together.”
Julian Perico knows where he stands. He’s not pretending the path to the top of the leaderboard is paved in fairy dust. But he’s also not making it heavier than it needs to be. And for the first time in a while, he seems at peace with that.
He’ll be part of a strong field in Czechia, which includes Road to Mallorca leader Renato Paratore, Interwetten Open champ Max Steinlechner, and veteran DP World Tour winner Oliver Wilson.
Perico’s first round gets underway at 9:00am local time alongside Irishman Liam Nolan and Sweden’s Ollie Jacobsson. If he keeps this new mindset intact, it might just be the start of something properly Periconic.
