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SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

January 12, 2018

John Peterson

Honolulu, Hawaii

Q. John, heck of a start today. Good position through 36 holes. Happy New Year. I know you've been waiting for this moment for a while to get back out here and be able to do this.
JOHN PETERSON: Yeah, I spent all of the off-season deer hunting. It's nice to get out here in the warm weather and out of the cold in Ft. Worth. Yeah, I didn't really do much golf at all the last couple months. We have a 3-month-old son. So I've been doing a lot of dadding and a lot of hunting, a little farming. So life's been great, man.

Q. Get your mind in the right place. On the front nine, apparently, is where your mind's in the right place today. 59, if you go back to yesterday, on the front nine. This one, I don't know, if it wasn't for the back nine, it would be even better right now.
JOHN PETERSON: Yeah, I don't know what it is about the back. It just doesn't really suit my eye that well. The crosswinds are tough for me because some of the holes go opposite -- the wind goes opposite of the hole, and you've got to hit some different shots that I'm not comfortable with. But, yeah, the front nine, I don't know what it is. I really like the tee shots. I really like the second shots. Yeah, 59 through two rounds is pretty good.

Q. Revving up your game, what's been, maybe the most surprising and the most pleasant thing that you've gotten out of your game so far?
JOHN PETERSON: Man, it's just attitude. If my attitude's good, I'm going to play good. My swing could be off. If my attitude's good, I'm going to play good. I've never been in a better spot lifestyle-wise than I am right now, so that probably has a lot to do with it. My wife's here. My boy's here. My in-laws are here. I've got eight events to make $350,000. If I do, great. If I don't, who cares? I'm just out here free-wheeling it.

We're just enjoying it. We're taking it -- I've got 32 rounds, and we'll see what happens.

Q. Changing diapers is a good perspective changer, right?
JOHN PETERSON: Yeah, it is. Thankfully, she does most of those.

Q. Can you talk about why -- you didn't play in the fall. Was that a health thing or just you want to pick the courses where you want to make sure you can capitalize on them?
JOHN PETERSON: I'd already gotten my letter from the TOUR saying that I have eight. With a 1-month-old and everything that was going on with my life, there's a lot of cool things -- my grandmother passed away. There was a lot of things in there where -- we had a baby, my grandma died, and I just wasn't practicing. I wasn't going to be ready. So I just figured I'd start fresh in 2018. And I got to hunt a lot. So that was a bonus too.

Q. Can you -- are you trying to get good vibes with the bag? Is that what's going on there?
JOHN PETERSON: I don't have a sponsor.

Q. I'm sure you have a new bag.
JOHN PETERSON: Wearing Nike shoes, Under Armour clothes, Shady Oaks hat. Like I'm all confused.

Q. But I'm sure you have a newer bag?
JOHN PETERSON: From LSU?

Q. From anywhere.
JOHN PETERSON: That one's ten years old. I do have a newer bag. I just don't like the big bags. My caddie's loving it too. It's about half the weight of my normal one.

Q. Just thought maybe you wanted the LSU vibes or something.
JOHN PETERSON: If I'm not going to have a sponsor, I might as well be comfortable, not travel with a huge 60-pound bag everywhere.

Q. Can you touch on your schedule.
JOHN PETERSON: I'm going to play next week. I play Phoenix. I'm going to play Honda, Tampa, and then I don't know. That gives me five. I've got three more after that. I'll probably stretch it out to San Antonio. I'll play San Antonio, and I don't know the two others. But I'm going to knock them out pretty early, yeah.

Q. How's your health now?
JOHN PETERSON: Health's great. Healthy. My hand doesn't hurt anymore. This is the best I've felt in a long time. I felt good in Phoenix last year too, but everything -- we'd just gotten married. Everything's settled down now, and it's a lot easier for me to just go out there and concentrate. It hadn't been this easy in a couple of years.

Q. Given the line numbers last year, when you made the turn at 6 under, were you thinking bigger things? Giving yourself any chance to think that?
JOHN PETERSON: Yeah, I was. I was thinking 59 after I birdied the 4th hole, my fourth hole of the day. I was like, man, I could shoot 59 today. I made like a 50-footer on 4, and then I hit it to eight feet on 5. I was like, man, I could shoot 59 today. And then I just didn't make anything after that. But it was a fun day. Yeah, it was a fun day.

I kind of cooled off on the back unfortunately, but it's good to get that one I lost on 17 back on 18. I think I'm three back. I might be four to start the weekend. I'm happy with where I am.

Q. The major medical, that was for the hand?
JOHN PETERSON: Yeah, I had hand surgery right here. Can't really see the scar very well. It was a carpal boss. They shaved down the bone, and the tendon was rubbing against the bone. It was about a seven-month recovery.

Q. 2015, was that the hand also?
JOHN PETERSON: 2015, I played the whole season. I had surgery in January of '16.

Q. Have you taken some pressure off yourself this week? With everything else you mentioned.
JOHN PETERSON: Yeah, I've never felt this relaxed on the golf course. I told my wife, you know, I've had a few good years out here, and I don't want to do this forever. Now that I'm a dad, I hate the travel part of this. I'm not ever going to be the FaceTime dad ever. So if it doesn't work out these eight events, I'll probably be done. That's why I don't have a sponsor and all that. But if it works out, I'll keep going.

Q. What would do you?
JOHN PETERSON: Real estate in Ft. Worth. I've already kind of planned for both. So we'll see what happens.

Right now I'd like to keep playing golf, but if I don't, it's great. I've got a little farm. I've got a little boy. I've got a great wife. I'm in a good spot.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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