COLUMBUS, Ohio — LSU all-American and NCAA champ John Peterson finished runner-up at 13-under-par in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational on Sunday afternoon at The Ohio State University Scarlet Course.
In the final round, Peterson (64-67-68-72 — 271) was 1-under-par before dropping strokes the 10th and 14th holes to fall a stroke behind Georgia amateur Harris English at 13-under. A two-stroke swing on the par-4 15th gave Peterson a lead over the No. 6-ranked amateur in the world.
However, English turned the tables on Peterson with birdie and another two-stroke swing on the closing hole to claim the title. English’s victory was the second in 2011 by an amateur and the third all-time on the Nationwide Tour.
Peterson shot 1-over 72 in the final round, while English shot 1-under-70.
Playing his first Nationwide Tour event, No. 15-ranked Peterson nearly pulled off the first wire-to-wire victory on the PGA’s developmental tour since 2008.
In an effort to become one of 10 golfers to represent the United States in the 2011 Walker Cup, Peterson maintained his amateur status for the event and therefore bypassed the prize money. The Walker Cup Match is a 10-man biennial amateur team competition between the USA and a team composed of players from Great Britain and Ireland. The 42nd event will be held Sept. 10-11, at Royal Aberdeen in Scotland.
With amateurs finishing first and second, professional Kyle Reifers used a birdie on No. 18 to tie Peterson at 13-under and claim the top prize of $144,000.
Former Tiger golfers Brian Bateman (3-under 281) and Scott Sterling (3-over 287) also made it to the weekend, finishing 34th and 62nd, respectively.
Tape-delayed coverage of the final round is set for 6 p.m. CT on the Golf Channel.
LSU Golfers with Nationwide Tour* Victories
Scott Sterling (2007 Jacob’s Creek Open)
Brian Bateman (1998 Carolina Classic)
David Toms (1995 Greater Greenville Classic, 1995 Wichita Open)
Perry Moss (1992 Ben Hogan Texarkana Open)
Bob Friend (1991 Ft. Wayne Open)
* Previously named Nike Tour, Buy.com Tour and Ben Hogan Tour
NOTE: D.A. Points, who played at LSU before finishing his career at Illinois, won the 2008 Miccosukee Championship in his most-recent of four Nationwide Tour titles.