LA QUINTA — When Pat Perez turned on his cell phone Sunday moments after winning the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, he already had 55 text messages from people such as John Daly and actor Joe Pesci congratulating him on his first PGA Tour victory.

That's just one measure of how many people have been rooting for Perez to win his first PGA Tour title and finally realize the potential he has shown since being one of the country's top junior and college golfers.

“It's just awesome. I have friends all over this nation, and from superstars to musicians and actors and that, and I'm good friends with a lot of people,” Perez said. “And their support is just incredible. That's what keeps me going. That's what makes me try as hard as I do, and I get little talks every now and then from certain people.”

The support and the belief in Perez paid off Sunday when the 32-year-old earned his first tour victory at the Hope tournament. Trying to keep an even keel in strong, swirling winds on the Palmer Course at PGA West, Perez shot a solid 69 to complete a 33-under total for a three-shot victory over John Merrick.

Perez did keep his emotions in check Sunday, something that hasn't been easy for him through his seven-year tour career. Perez has been dogged by images like the club-slamming meltdown in the 2002 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where he lost a lead and finished second. But he hopes a change in attitude, along with changes in his personal life, will lead to more consistent play and more wins to erase the Pebble Beach image.

“I just got tired of getting upset all the time. It's a lot of energy,” Perez said. “So I started watching, not watching, but I learned from how the best guys do it. How Tiger does it, Phil does it, Vijay, Toms, Zach Johnson, Ernie, all these guys are all pretty even keeled. They don't let things bother them. They put stuff behind them.”

Perez said many of his supporters have told him through the years he needed to change to reach hispotential. In particular, Perez said veteran pro Tommy Armour III has taken almost a fatherly interest in Perez' career.

“You know Tommy. It was, ‘Kid, you got to relax. Kid, you got to quit doing this and you got to quit doing this.' But Tommy's right, a lot of things he was right on.” Perez said. “He gets a bad rap for drinking and partying and all this other stuff, but this guy puts in some time. The guy is 49-years old and he's making $1.5 million on the tour still. That's not a mistake. He works hard on his game. He's got a great work ethic and he's got a great mindset on the course.”

Another change was Perez's swing, a switch with teaching pro Mike Abbott from an upright swing to a rounder, shallower swing. It was a change that didn't come easily for Perez, even when he finished 12th in his first tournament with the swing last summer.

“I kind of struggled a little bit and then the majors were tough, obviously,” Perez said. “And it's taken a lot. I've hit a lot of balls in the last eight months to get it to where I really know where the hell this thing is going now and I can feel confident.”

Away from the course, Perez was recently married, and he said with his personal life in order he can now focus more on his improving his on-course performances.

“I'm looking forward to this year. This year's going to be — I see some good things coming,” Perez said. “I would like to win two, three times. The way I played this week, I don't see why it couldn't happen and it's going to be good either way. But it's nice to win early.”