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ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANSApril 24, 2012John PetersonAVONDALE, LOUISIANA MARK STEVENS: We'd like to welcome John Peterson into the interview room here at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. John is competing this week on a sponsor's exemption, third start of the year on the PGA TOUR. If you could talk a little bit about your year to date and then expectations for this week. JOHN PETERSON: Well, so far I've played at Pebble Beach and played at Mayakoba earlier in the year. Both of those I finished in the 50s and 60s. They weren't anything special, but I definitely gained a lot of experience out here on the PGA TOUR, where you want to be. But every time I tee it up I feel more comfortable and I'm really grateful to get this third start. MARK STEVENS:  You're a former LSU standout. Can you talk about playing in your backyard here this week. JOHN PETERSON: Yeah, it's been fun already. I just got here today and I've already heard a ton of "Go Tigers" chants. I've got my coach Chuck Winstead with me from LSU, also. They just got back from SECs. But yeah, it's pretty cool playing in front of your hometown state and your hometown fans. I'm actually a recent resident of Louisiana from Texas, too, so just moved over here. So it is pretty cool to represent the state, and hopefully I'll have a good showing for them. Q. What's been the biggest difference between college golf and professional golf? JOHN PETERSON: The biggest difference in professional golf is learning how to adjust to the travel every week. You're playing every week. You're not playing once a month or you're playing two weeks in a row and then you're done for a month and you go again. It's adjusting to the travel every week and being ready to play when you get a spot. In my situation when you do get a job, you just have to always be sharp. In college you can take some time off and then get back at it the week before the tournament starts in order to prepare yourself for the tournament, and at this level you just got to be ready to tee it up in ten minutes if someone wants you to go play. That's what I've noticed about the difference between college and professional golf. Q. What have you seen about the course layout here at the TPC that you think you can kind of take advantage of some things? JOHN PETERSON: TPC, this place is great. I've played here‑‑ we came over here when I was in school a few times to play. One time we came over here and it started pouring down rain and we had to drive back. It was like an hour and a half here and back, and it was a miserable day. I've played here probably four or five times. And what I've noticed about this place is you've got to hit it in the fairway. You have to stay away from those pot bunkers. You've got the long one on one side and the pot bunkers on the other side, so keep it towards the long one. But the greens are pretty flat. You drive it straight, you hit it on the greens, and you keep it‑‑ basically you keep it in the fairway around here and you'll give yourself some good opportunities. It's a ball striker's golf course, I think. Q. Talk about what's the last year been like, going from being a relatively unknown guy, playing the national championship and now on this stage? JOHN PETERSON: Unknown guy? I like that. It's different. It's a lot different. I'm starting to get more used to being in front of y'all because I've had to do it in the last year as opposed to when I was an unknown guy. But it is, it's a lot different. People recognize you and they know who you are. The support is really what's really cool, especially in this state, because everybody‑‑ they root for LSU. They've got LSU, and we've got other schools, too, but the whole state revolves around LSU sports. If you're good at a sport at LSU, they support you completely. That's one of the reasons I came here, but my life has changed in the last year, that's for sure, a lot. Q. Has David Toms been a resource for you that you can use and bounce ideas off of and get advice on what to expect? JOHN PETERSON: Yes, he's been a big help to me. You know, he's a guy that I looked up to throughout college. He would show up every weekend during football season in the fall, and he'd show up in the spring, too, during baseball season. He was around us a lot and he was always there for advice. Yeah, but he's helped me a whole lot with golf, with managing time, money, all that mess, and he does, he probably supports us more than most guys support their college team. Yeah, he's been a huge help for me. Q. Considering the quality of the field, what are your hopes for this week? What do you think is a realistic expectation as far as what you might be able to do? JOHN PETERSON: I think you have to take it one step at a time. I think you can get ahead of yourself very easily in thinking results oriented. You hear guys say all the time take it one shot at a time, and that's the most boring answer in the world, but it's true. I hate that answer. I hate giving it to people. But it's true, it really is. I would like to contend. I haven't felt the pressure of contending in a PGA TOUR event. I've felt it on the Nationwide Tour, felt it in college, but at the next‑‑ at the highest level I haven't felt it. Whether that be Friday I'm close to the lead or Saturday or Sunday, I don't care which day it is, I just want to feel what it's like to be close to the lead at some point this year on the big Tour. So that's my‑‑ I just want to‑‑ I'm not really results oriented. I just want to see for myself what I can do and pass my expectations. Q. Just a couple of thoughts on what you took away from Bubba Watson's performance a couple weeks ago in the Masters. Did you watch, and what did you think about it? JOHN PETERSON: Yeah, I watched the whole thing. I don't miss the Masters. I just‑‑ he's a creative human being. He's one of a kind. He doesn't play golf like anybody else. That shot that he hit in the playoff was‑‑ it was unbelievable. You know, there's a handful of guys in the world that could have done that or even stood there and tried to do it in practice. I mean, it was‑‑ that was an unbelievable golf shot. But from where he's come from, from playing mini‑Tours to now he's a major champion, that just says a lot about his perseverance and his will to keep going. It's pretty cool. I've never met him, but hopefully I'll meet him this week. MARK STEVENS: John, thanks so much for your time. Best of luck this week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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