CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ A golf rarity happened during Thursday's Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club _ twice.
First-round leader John Peterson shot a 6-under par 65. The key to his round was consecutive eagles on the seventh and eighth holes (he began his round on the 10th hole).
That almost never happens _ except it did earlier in the round, when Charlotte resident and Quail Hollow-member Johnson Wagner did the same thing, making eagles on the 14th and 15th holes on his way to a 4-under 67.
The only other time a player has had consecutive eagles this season was when Webb Simpson _ who like Wagner is a Charlottean and also lives at Quail Hollow _ did it at the Masters. It was the fourth time in Masters history that a player had done that.
Peterson's eagles came when he holed shots from 57 yards on the seventh and 103 yards on the eighth. He nearly did it again on No. 9 _ final hole _ when his approach shot just missed the flag, settling 7 feet away. He missed the birdie putt.
Peterson, 29, a former NCAA champion at Louisiana State who finished tied for fourth in the 2012 U.S. Open, might not have much longer to play on the PGA Tour. After having hand surgery in 2016, he has a medical exemption on the tour that will expire if he doesn't earn at least $310,000 over his next three tournaments.
That won't be a problem if he wins at Quail Hollow, which offers a $1.386 million winner's purse. But if he doesn't win enough money to stay on tour, he says he'll happily retire to his Fort Worth, Texas, home.
"I don't hate it out here, but I don't like the travel at all," Peterson said. "I've never had consecutive eagles before. I haven't had enough days like this. So, I'm just going to try and win this tournament. If it doesn't happen, then whatever."
Peterson has plenty to return home to. He has a son, Luke, who was born last October, as well as a job in real-estate development.
"So I've been free-wheeling it a little bit out here," Peterson said. "I don't feel like I have all the stress any more."
As far as potentially leaving behind a pro golf career?
"It's a great life out (on tour)," Peterson said. "If you like the lifestyle."
