Life on the PGA Tour is often not as glamorous as golf fans generally seem to think it may be. Sure, the guys on the most popular professional golf tour in the world are competing for millions of dollars week in and week out, playing the best-manicured courses in the world and driving around expensive courtesy cars, but they do so at a price.
The time and effort it takes to reach the top of any sport or industry inevitably requires sacrifice, but most — if not all — on the PGA Tour are willing to make those sacrifices to chase their dreams and achieve success.
For John Peterson, the LSU standout who recently retired after failing to earn status on the PGA Tour through the Web.com Tour Finals, his priorities have shifted from a life in golf to a life at home near his family.
The outspoken Peterson took to social media earlier this week, responding to a Tweet from PGA Tour pro Chesson Hadley in which Hadley bemoaned the fact that an unforeseen delay caused him to miss his connecting flight to get back home after 26 hours of travel.
Well…landed in Denver and there was a plane at our gate which caused me to miss my flight to Raleigh. I am handling it okay, but I’m gonna need to get on a therapists couch to yell and scream for a little when I get home. Now taking a Frontier flight that gets me in at 6am. pic.twitter.com/sWZ19cVYcA
— Chesson Hadley (@chessonhadley) October 23, 2018
Peterson, likely meaning no harm, responded by saying that the “money ain’t always worth it” when it means not being able to spend time with your family.
Hadley took the comment in stride, responding and saying, “I would agree for my last event. T73 wasn’t worth this. But the one before that was.” The “one before that” was the CIMB Classic, in which Hadley finished T2 and made over a half million dollars.
Kelly Kraft, a contemporary and fellow Texan, didn’t take as kindly to what he called an “out of bounds” comment.
Don’t knock us on the @PGATOUR for living our dream of playing golf at the highest level. Especially when you know damn well you would be too if you didn’t lose your status. We still see our families, You can take as many off weeks as you want if you work hard and are good enough
— Kelly Kraft (@kkraft11) October 23, 2018
“Don’t knock us on the @PGATOUR for living our dream of playing golf at the highest level,” Kraft wrote. “Especially when you know damn well you would be too if you didn’t lose your status. We still see our families, You can take as many off weeks as you want if you work hard and are good enough.”
Despite Kraft’s assertion that he “loves Pete,” their Twitter spats go back to include a few other interactions that include Kraft calling Peterson “so bitter it’s unreal” as well as questioning his request to the USGA to reinstate his amateur status.
So you still want to travel around and play golf but now you just don’t want to make any money doing it?
— Kelly Kraft (@kkraft11) September 22, 2018
There’s never a dull moment between these two it seems.
