John Peterson: from near U.S. Open winner to a new kind of competitive golf

John Peterson was once a local qualifier who nearly won the U.S. Open. Now he will represent the United States for the first time at the Bridges Cup.

“In a nutshell… I have felt like I have done more with less than most,” Peterson told GOLF.com writer James Colgan on Tuesday from his truck, while driving to pick up supplies for his farm in Texas. “I think that’s probably what I’m most proud about when I look back on my golf career.”

Peterson won the 2011 NCAA individual championship at LSU, but emerged from that achievement without a guaranteed path to the PGA Tour. After failing at Q School and nearly going broke pursuing Monday qualifiers and mini-tour starts, he became one of professional golf’s best underdog stories.

At the 72nd hole of the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic Club, Peterson, who had advanced through local and sectional qualifying, faced a birdie putt that would have tied the clubhouse lead. He lagged it to a foot instead, finishing tied for fourth and earning a place in the following year’s Masters.

He later became one of the Tour’s most recognizable everymen, making 91 starts over a handful of seasons. Peterson eventually retired twice before settling with his family on his Texas farm.

Today, Peterson is the father of four children; the oldest is 8. He owns Westoplex Garage, a Fort Worth company that installs automatic gates and overhead doors and applies epoxy flooring. For the first time in his life, he is a casual golfer, playing roughly 20 rounds a year and eventually regaining his amateur status.

“I used to play 20 times in a month,” Peterson said with a chuckle. “Golf is just a hobby at this point, and really not even that.”

Still, one regret from his professional career remained. Peterson was left off the 2011 U.S. Walker Cup team after the best season of his career at LSU. He never represented the United States in a team event and thought he might live with that “what if?” forever.

Not anymore. Next week, Peterson will join the American side competing against the rest of the world at the annual Bridges Cup, an elite mid-amateur, Ryder Cup-style event. The 2026 competition will be held at Trump Turnberry in Scotland.

Although his competitive schedule has dwindled, Peterson has worked to sharpen his game. This summer he played in the Jones Cup, the Sunnehanna Amateur and the Southern Amateur. Earlier this year, he also competed as a wild card in Your Golf Tour, the YouTube circuit co-founded by George and Wesley Bryan that drew millions of views.

“I’d spent… nine years playing pro golf, some of it at the highest level in the world, and never been recognized in an airport,” he said. “The week after that thing came out, I got stopped three times in the Atlanta airport.”

The buzz has faded somewhat, but the experience reinforced Peterson’s belief that golf is a game of shared experiences. At the Bridges Cup, he will add another: wearing an American uniform for the first time.

“It’s not the same, but I still get to wear the red, white and blue, which is going to be awesome,” Peterson said.