Anyone brave enough to turn pro in the midst of a pandemic must have plenty about themselves.
American Peter Kuest has certainly justified his decision to pursue a career on the PGA Tour after clinching ‘special temporary membership' after his latest impressive display.
Kuest carded rounds of 67-67-65-71 at TPC Deere Run for a 14-under total, seven behind winner Sepp Straka.
It caps a superb spell for the 25-year-old who only got into the recent Rocket Mortgage Classic as a Monday qualifier before finishing in a three-way tie for fourth.
His top-10 in Detroit netted him a spot in the John Deere Classic where he continued to shine by taking his total prize money to $674,743 with a tied 17th finish.
And now Kuest is the Tour’s latest special temporary member following Akshay Bhatia, Ryan Gerard, Ryan Fox, Min Woo Lee and Nicolai Hojgaard this season.
Reflecting on his achievement at the John Deere, Kuest, said: “We came here this week to win a golf tournament.
“We weren't worried about locking up special temporary membership. We knew if we played well, that would take care of itself, so we were just focused on winning a golf tournament and playing well.
“It was fun kind of being in contention and getting under the gun a little bit and getting after it.”
Kuest’s hot form has seen him jump from No. 789 to No. 327 in the world rankings in the last two weeks in an incredible rise. But there were few external clues the golfer was about to catch alight as coming into the year, he had only conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour after missing six of 13 cuts.
Now his decision to turn pro in the summer of 2020 is paying off handsomely as he prepares to tee it up in this week’s Barbasol Championship.
Kuest, a former Brigham Young University student, assessed his dramatic upturn in form, saying: “My bad rounds are a lot better.
“I’m just a little more consistent here and there and just scoring a little better. I’m also really easygoing. I just take life one step at a time and roll with the punches. Hopefully don't get hit too much.”
As a youngster, Kuest also played football and baseball until midway through high school in California when his father, a painting contractor, motivated his son by laying out some painter’s clothes with a message: ‘You can go all-in on something, or you can come work for me’.
“My dad had a way with motivating that would p*** you off,” Kuest said.
Tragically, Peter Sr, died aged 61 of a heart attack in November 2021 which hit the aspiring pro hard. But Kuest’s family can be incredibly proud of his character and class to battle on and forge a promising career on tour.
