John Peterson Says Tiger Woods' 2019 Masters Win Inspired Him to End Retirement

Motivated partially by Tiger Woods' victory at the 2019 Masters, John Peterson is looking to make a return to professional golf.

Peterson called it quits last September. However, the 30-year-old explained Thursday on 104.5 ESPN in Louisiana, that he was having a change of heart (via ESPN.com's Bob Harig):

"Then the Masters came along, and I'm watching this kid Patrick Cantlay, who in 2011 finished second to me in the national championship when he was at UCLA, and he's finishing ninth in the Masters. It's on TV, and I beat him, and I beat him a lot, and I'm just like, 'Man, that could be me.' And then Tiger wins, with his story, it was just so inspiring, honestly. And I quit my job, seriously, the next day after the Masters."

Peterson most recently competed in the Web.com Tour Championship last September. He missed the cut after going one-under in the first round, which meant he wouldn't have a PGA Tour card for the 2019 season. His best finish came at the 2012 U.S. Open, when he tied for fourth.

An NCAA champion in 2011, Peterson told Sports Illustrated's Daniel Rapaport last June he simply wasn't having fun with the weekly grind of competing on the PGA and Web.com Tours.

Harig noted Peterson isn't officially on either the PGA Tour or Web.com Tour, so he'll have to play his way toward a regular full-time schedule.