Former NCAA champion John Peterson, who retied from the sport of professional golf at the age of 30 in 2018, is coming out of retirement to play once again.
According to ESPN’s Bob Harig, Peterson changed his mind about his career partly due to Tiger Woods’ “inspiring” win at the Masters back on April 14th.
“Sometimes you’ve got to take a step back to realize what you had,” Peterson said, during an appearance on 104.5 FM ESPN Radio Baton Rouge .
“I was in an office for seven months, and it was fine when I started, I was paying the bills.
“Then the Masters came along and I’m watching this kid Patrick Cantlay, who in 2011 finished second to me in the national championship when he was at UCLA, and he’s finishing ninth in the Masters, it’s on TV, and I beat him, and I beat him a lot, and I’m just like, ‘Man, that could be me.’
“And then Tiger wins, with his story, it was just so inspiring, honestly. And I quit my job, seriously, the next day after the Masters.”
Peterson will have to attempt to qualify for events and then tournaments later this year.
“I’m taking a big risk, and I really don’t have any place to play right now 100 percent, so I have to qualify and stuff,” Peterson said. “I will get back. I know I will. It’s just kind of a regret watching the guys that I played with my whole life finish top-10 in the majors and just knowing I can do it.”