OnCore Golf – the industry leader in performance-based golf ball innovation – has established a long-term partnership with 11-year-old junior golf phenom Xavier “Xeve” Perez, winner of more than 250 tournaments the past eight years of his budding career.
Often dubbed “the next Tiger Woods,” Perez continues to compete on junior golf tours exclusively playing OnCore golf balls and donning the OnCore logo on his apparel. He currently favors OnCore’s four-piece VERO X1 ball that skyrocketed in popularity after besting Titleist Pro V1® and Pro V1x® in independent Golf EQ tests last year.
OnCore represents Perez’s first official partnership, and he is one of the youngest golfers in history to sign with a major golf brand before hitting his teenage years.
“Xeve’s dedication to the game of golf, inspiring personality and talent winning tournaments against older age groups, are beyond impressive,” says Keith Blakely, CEO of OnCore Golf. “This is a story about mutual love and respect that started five years ago when we were first introduced to this extraordinary young man.”
OnCore Golf co-founders Bret Blakely and Steve Coulton met Perez and his parents, Christine and Miguel Perez, at his home course, Belle Meade Country Club, in Thompson, Ga., only 30 minutes from famed Augusta National Golf Club. At six years old, Perez was already a rising star in the hyper-competitive Georgia junior golf ranks and, at age nine, ranked No. 1 in the 13- to 15-year-old bracket. Perez was a huge fan of OnCore’s perimeter-weighted golf balls, then preferring the three-piece ELIXR, and posted an endearing and praiseworthy video on the company’s Facebook page.
“Team OnCore is family and we deeply admire, respect and trust its people looking after Xeve’s best interests throughout his junior golf career and beyond,” says Miguel Perez. “Xeve also trusts OnCore golf balls and its technological advancements to win tournaments, and he wouldn’t be where he is today without the company’s guidance and encouragement.”
OnCore leadership was on hand in 2021 when Perez, at age 11, became the youngest golfer ever to compete in the International Junior Masters at East Aurora Country Club near Buffalo, N.Y. He advanced to the semi-finals after beating two highly-ranked juniors, ages 17 and 18, and finished in third place.
“Xeve exemplifies everything we look for in an OnCore Ambassador and he now joins a team that includes Josh Allen, Ezekiel Elliott, Erik Compton, Charles Schwab, Tania Tare and many more,” says Bret Blakely. “His performance in highly-competitive junior events against much older kids is astonishing at first blush; when you get to know this young gentleman, it’s obvious he’s capable of great things.”
Nicknamed “X Man,” he was recently profiled on NBC’s The Today Show by Steve Harvey and on The Kelly Clarkson Show where he provided virtual golf instruction to Kelly and guest Jane Lynch.
As one of the top, up-and-coming junior golfers in the country, Perez’s accomplishments include:
- 2020 Hurricane Junior Golf Tour, Georgia Junior Open 11- to 13-year-old Division Champion (at age 10)
- 2020 GSGA (Georgia State) Player of the Year 12- to 14-year-old division (at age 10)
- 2020 All Georgia Junior Team Selection, winning nine of 10 tournaments in the 12- to 14-year-old division (at age 10)
- 2021 VGA Georgia State Champion
“I am so excited to be an official part of Team OnCore,” says Xeve Perez. “Since I could remember, I loved each of OnCore’s golf balls starting with the CALIBER, then the AVANT 55 and the ELIXR, and now the VERO X1. But even more, I have loved the people at OnCore who always support and treat me like family.”
About OnCore Golf
Dedicated to delivering breakthrough technology and innovation, OnCore Golf’s mission is to inspire golfers to achieve peak performance and enjoyment. Since its inception in 2011, the Buffalo, N.Y.-based company has leveraged its proprietary perimeter weighting technology to deliver superior spin, control and feel. Evidenced by its massive following of loyal customers. OnCore’s exceptional three-ball lineup features the super-soft, low-compression AVANT 55; the award-winning, three-piece ELIXR, and most recently, the four-piece VERO X1 tour ball that bested Titleist Pro V1® and Pro V1x® in independent Golf EQ tests.
Source: OnCore Golf
