Past champ John Peterson, now 36, returns to Jones Cup as reinstated amateur

It wasn't long ago that John Peterson hated golf.

He was jealous. There was a rage inside of him, watching players he grew up competing against for years and years continue to play golf professionally while injuries derailed his career, forcing Peterson to give up the game.

Little did he know, that break is what would help him crave competition again.

Peterson, now 36, won the Jones Cup in 2011, beating Jordan Spieth on the first playoff hole with a birdie to kick off the best year of his amateur career. He then won the NCAA individual title while at LSU, was named a first-team All-America selection and later that summer made the Round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur. He turned professional shortly after, but injuries to both wrists derailed his career fully in 2019 while competing on the Web.com Tour, now known as the Korn Ferry Tour.

But on Friday, Peterson will return to Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Georgia, for the first time since his victory 15 years ago as a reinstated amateur and finally have a shot to defend his title.

"I do miss competitive golf, and you can play all the scrambles and four balls and things you want, but really don't know how good you are until you tee it up in a real event against the best amateurs in the world and see how you stack up," Peterson said. "I love to compete, and that fire still burns within me to do it."

Haven’t used this scorecard holder in 15 years. Figured this was a good time to break it back out. See you soon @jonescupinvpic.twitter.com/r4iJFwb0cP

— John Peterson (@JohnPetersonFW) January 6, 2026

Peterson's struggle with wrist injuries began at the Memorial Tournament in 2015. Playing with Kevin Kisner and David Lingmerth, and he recalls his right wrist feeling as if it was on fire. Just to get through rounds, he was taking eight or nine Advil to help alleviate the pain.

He had a carpel boss on his wrist, similar to a ganglion cyst, and had surgery at the end of the season to shave the bone down. He took a medical waiver and returned to play in the fall of 2016, missing more than a year.

Since then, he hasn't had an issue with his right wrist, but the left one flared up in 2017. However, when playing a Web.com Tour event in Kansas City, Peterson hit a punch shot under a tree and felt immediate pain. He had tore two ligaments in his left wrist, having surgery roughly a month later. He rehabbed for seven months, but the wrist never healed.

That's when the anger and jealousy set in.

"After I got hurt, couldn't play and watched all the guys that I grew up playing against and watched them stay out there, there was a jealousy factor there," Peterson said. "Like why couldn't I stay healthy, you know? Why couldn't that be me? And it took a couple years to get over that."

Peterson made $2,725,494 over 134 events on the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour, but professional golf was in the rearview mirror. He couldn't practice like he used to, especially with a wife and four kids. He applied to be reinstated as an amateur, a process that took five years backdating to his final paycheck of at least $1,000, which came in June of 2019.

Golf was an afterthought. Peterson went to work flipping homes in the Fort Worth area, where he lives, when his wife, Amanda, called him one day and said the spring on his garage door had broken. They called the company to get an estimate, and it came back for $2,200.

Peterson thought that price was absurd. He felt as if he was getting scammed. They called another company and got an estimate for $1,900. Another phone call was made, and a third company quoted $900.

"At this point, I'm mad," Peterson said. "I drove and wanted to meet this guy because I wanted to talk about margins and profit loss, how this business runs, and just it seemed like an absurd amount of profit margin that some of these companies were making."

After about an hour-and-a-half discussion with the technician, Peterson couldn't sleep that night. His mind raced. The next day, he called back and offered a proposal: "What if I started a company that's just honest pricing for everyone across the board? I think that'd be wildly successful, and we can market it right."

He started Westoplex Garage in September of 2023 and has been the owner ever since. Golf remained out of his life, but when his application to be reinstated as an amateur was accepted, thoughts of days past began creeping back into his head. In 2024, he was an amateur once again. After that time away from the game, and with other more important priorities in his life, his heart yearned for the golf course.

The jealousy was gone. The resentment faded. The spark was back.

"You have to reinvent yourself so many times in this life, and like, I've been nothing but a golfer, right? That's how I paid my bills," Peterson said. "And I think it's scary for a lot of guys that were in my situation that don't have experience in anything but golf. When they get hurt or they lose their card or can't get back on tour, you know, what do I do now? Especially if you have kids and a mortgage and school and cars and all this stuff. I've talked with multiple guys that it's just scary for a lot, and it was for me too. There's just an appreciation for what I was able to do and what I possibly could do in the next couple of years."

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Last summer, Peterson advanced out of U.S. Open local qualifying at Abilene Country Club in Texas after shooting 70. In final qualifying, Peterson lost to Zac Blair on the fourth playoff hole at the Springfield Country Club qualifier to become the first alternate.

He didn't make it into the field, and Peterson ultimately played just 25 rounds in 2025, posting scores between 63 and 80 on his GHIN.

This week, he returns to competitive tournament golf for the first time in almost 7 years.

"I want to play more golf. I want to play an amateur — not a full schedule obviously because I that's just not even feasible for me — but I want to play four to five, maybe six, true, hard amateur tournaments this year, just for me to know where I stand because I love to compete and that fire still burns within me to do it," Peterson said.

Peterson is nervous to tee it up against the best amateurs in the world, but almost qualifying for the U.S. Open last summer gave him confidence that he can compete at a high level again.

"I'd love to play well," he said. "I would love to see how I react now under pressure. Like, that's what we play for, what I used to play for, at least. Yeah, if I can remember that far back, but that's I would love to do that honestly. But everything from now on is gravy. Like, I really don't have any expectations."

This will be the first time Peterson and his wife, Amanda, have had a "vacation" of sorts without kids since becoming parents more than 8 years ago.

As far as his game plan for the golf itself, he plans to fly by the seat of his pants and enjoy every second.

"If I start playing well and knocking some flags down, that'd be great. But if I don't, you know, it's not going to define me, right? I'm not a not a golfer anymore," you know?" Peterson said. "I'm a dad and a husband, and those are the things that matter. And then my employees, taking care of my employees making sure they have food, are paid. So it's just a lot more that matters than just me.

"I didn't really realize how big of a deal the Jones Cup was when I won, and it certainly turned into a worldwide exclusive, high-profile amateur event. I'm pretty proud to call myself a Jones Cup champion, and I'm really grateful for them to let me back in. I guess they don't really have past champions play, because everyone turns pro and never comes back."

But this week, Peterson's love for the game is back, and so is he.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Past champ John Peterson, 36, returns to Jones Cup as reinstated am