The FORT Podcast: John Peterson
In Episode 3, Chris sits down with longtime friend and former PGA Golfer John Peterson. John talks about his journey as a young professional golfer, from his time growing up in Fort Worth, setting golf balls on fire at his local club, winning a national championship at LSU and more stories from his time on the tour.
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01:33 — John’s Background
03:03 — What made family so important to you?
04:19 — What gave you the drive to work hard?
06:30 — John’s Relationship with His Grandfather
08:57 — When did you realize your talent for golf?
11:50 — John’s Story of Lighting Golf Balls on Fire
16:03 — Why did you pick LSU?
19:11 — Was there a moment in college where it started to click?
21:32 — How do you get half a shot off?
22:14 — Would you agree that messing up is an opportunity to learn and gain maturity?
27:16 — How do you deal with negative comments?
38:38 — What happened your senior year of college?
44:00 — John’s First Professional Events
50:57 — John’s Hole in One at the US Open
52:23 — How hard is the US Open?
55:08 — How do you build the mental toughness for golf?
59:31 — What is the one thing young golfers can work on to take them to the next level?
1:02:30 — How was Augusta National as a player?
1:05:16 — What is in store for you now that golf is done?
1:08:33 — Why do you love Fort Worth? What does it mean to you?
1:10:37 — What is your favorite place to eat?
1:12:01 — John’s Family
1:13:42 — Do you have any words of wisdom for young people getting into their careers?
MORE ABOUT JOHN
Born and raised in Fort Worth, John attended Paschal High School and graduated in 2007. While there, he won a 5A UIL State Championship in 2006 and was runner up in 2007. After graduation, John attended LSU from 2007-2011 on a full golf scholarship. He led the Tigers back to national prominence as in Fall 2007 LSU was ranked 90th in the country and grew to 12th upon graduation. John was awarded LSU Male athlete of the year during his Senior year. John received more honors and awards including beating Odell Beckham Jr, Jarvis Landry, Jeremy Hill, and Mikie Mahtook, was a three-time All American and 2011 First Team, 2011 NCAA Champion, three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll, and three-time All-SEC.
Upon graduation from LSU, John turned pro in October 2011 as the 7th ranked amateur golfer in the world. He signed a sponsorship with Titleist and received offers from other sponsors, such as Callaway Golf.
John qualified on the local and sectional levels for the 2012 US Open at Olympic Club in San Francisco. He made an ace in the second to last group on Saturday of the tournament, causing Tiger Woods to back off of his second shot in the succeeding group. John finished in 4th place, just two shots behind Webb Simpson. In 2013, John was the Web.com Tour Finals Champion, which earned him fully exempt status on the PGA Tour for 2014. John’s PGA Tour membership continued until he retired from professional golf in September 2018.
Beyond the world of golf, John married a Fort Worth native and TCU Graduate, Amanda Scully, in December of 2016. Together, they have two young children. John recently accepted an Executive Account Manager position with GT Engineering from Shawnee, Oklahoma.