Player of the Month: Tim Peterson's desert victory a lesson in consistency, calm

Tim Peterson has a fantastic recall for the times that he has reached what he calls the pinnacle of the sport. Peterson, 61, of Forest Lake, Minnesota, has played his way into five USGA championships in his life. He rattles off years and venues easily.

“You qualify only so many times, and it kind of gets embedded in your memory,” Peterson said of those two U.S. Mid-Amateur and three U.S. Senior Amateur starts. (He reached the Round of 16 at the U.S. Senior Am in 2021).

Sometimes that sharp golf mind is a hurdle to climb. When things are going well on the golf course, the calculations begin. We can all relate.

On April 16, Peterson, however, felt that he was able to approach the mental side of the game in a way that kept him from getting ahead of himself. Playing in the SOS Founders Cup at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, Peterson posted rounds of 71-71-69, found himself tied with Bryan Hoops and won in a playoff.

The victory, combined with recent top-15 finishes in the SOS Spring Classic and the Golfweek Pirates’ Cup, helped move him 23 spots up Golfweek’s National Senior Amateur Rankings and into the top 20. Peterson is Golfweek’s Senior Player of the Month for April.

“I tried not to think too far ahead and just think of the shot at hand and what I could do with that,” he said. “Of course that doesn’t always work – you get a good round going, you’re always thinking about, ‘Well gee, this is going pretty good. What’s this going to wind up to be?’

“Every time I had those thoughts I was able to bring it back to the next shot – did probably a better job of that than normal.”

Tim Peterson is Golfweek’s Senior Player of the Month for April.

Peterson still works full-time as a chemical engineer for Kindeva Drug Delivery, a pharmaceutical products wholesaler. Going head-to-head with Hoops, who is the top-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking aged 55 and over, gave him a helpful gauge for where his game stands.

“It was nice to see that measuring stick and actually have a week where I was able to put together some consistent rounds, which is something that doesn’t happen for me with great frequency, so that was fun,” Peterson said.

Peterson is largely self-taught, having had “maybe two lessons in my life.” He jokes that that’s obvious to anyone who watches his swing. But while it may not be a thing of beauty, it is effective.