It was never about invitations to the fanciest clubs, the biggest sponsorships or the nicest cars.
In fact, for a while it seemed he was remembered more as a side-door entrant: someone who didn’t mind gritting his teeth and grinding through par after par against the most talented players, despite a gap in raw ability that was evident even to him.
“In a nutshell…I feel like I’ve done more with less than most,” Peterson told GOLF.com Tuesday from his truck, en route to pick up supplies for his farm in Texas. “I think that’s probably what I’m most proud of when I look back on my golf career.”
Like everything else, Peterson’s pride came the hard way. He was once one of the best college golfers in the world, winning the 2011 NCAA individual title at LSUonly to come off his championship streak and find no guaranteed path to the PGA Tour. After failing at Q School and almost chasing Monday’s qualifiers and the mini-tour, Peterson has become one of the best stories in the game: a local and sectional qualifier who hung over a birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the 2012 US Open at the Olympic Club that would have tied for the clubhouse lead. (He delayed it by a foot instead, securing a tie for fourth and a spot in the following year’s Masters.) Then he moved into life as one of the Tour’s preeminent men, making 91 starts over a handful of seasons. And then came another life change, this time as a retired golf pro. He lingers on the fringes of the game for a while (and retired twice!) before settling on his farm in Texas with his family.
Peterson built a new life in the following years. He is the father of four children, the oldest of whom is 8. He is a business owner, operating Westoplex Garage, a Fort Worth company that installs automatic doors, overhead doors and epoxy floors. And he is a casual golfer for the first time in his life, logging about 20 rounds a year and eventually regaining his amateur status.
“I played 20 times in a month,” Peterson says with a laugh. “Golf is just a hobby at this point, and really not even that.”
However, part of the pro experience lingered in his consciousness. Peterson had been a great golfer, but had never represented the United States in a team event. It was left the 2011 US Walker Cup team after the best season of his life at LSU, and he is never closer to wearing the stars and stripes.
Peterson thought he could live with that “what if?” forever, and that he could never know what it was to play for the red, white and blue.
But not anymore.
Next week, Peterson will be part of an American side competing against the rest of the world in the year Bridge Cupan elite mid-amateur, Ryder Cup-style competition held this year at Trump Turnberry in Scotland.
While his playing time has decreased, Peterson has worked to refine his game. This summer, he teed up in the Jones Cup, the Sunnehanna Amateur and the Southern Amateur. Earlier this year, he also competed as a wild card in Your Golf Tourthe YouTube channel co-founded by George and Wesley Bryan, which has attracted millions of views.
“I’ve spent … nine years playing pro golf, some of it at the highest level in the world, and I’ve never been recognized in an airport,” he said. “The week after the thing arrived, I stopped three times at the Atlanta airport.”
The buzz died down a bit in the months that followed, but the experience reinforced something in Peterson’s mind: golf is a game of shared experiences. Next week, when he puts on the American uniform for the first time, he will remember something else. Even when your professional career ends, these experiences remain.
“It’s not the same, but I’m still going to use the red, white and blue, which will be great,” Peterson said.
