Emma Cavanaugh / Winonan

Lucas Peterson is in his third year of golfing for the Winona State University Warriors. This junior said he started participating in the sport late, compared to other golfers who typically started at age four.

“I started golf when I was 12. I was a late bloomer for golf. And then I picked up a passion for it from my parents. I had a lot of support from my community,” Peterson said. “I played well, and I continued to do it.”

This season is a huge step up from last year for the business administration major. The first week of October found Peterson with the title of NSIC Golfer of the Week.

“Last year was a huge let down. I think I expected a lot more of myself and put a lot of pressure on myself, so this year I was able to put less pressure on myself and obviously perform a lot better. It started off slow but I’ve been playing well recently,” Peterson said.

Peterson’s said biggest challenge during his golfing career has been time management. Golf and school can have conflicting schedules. Student athletes can expect to be gone most weekends and there is a lot of work involved in managing time and responsibilities.

“It was a big wake up call, freshman year, for sure. It’s easier in high school; you can talk to teachers, move assignments around. I think high school didn’t really prepare me enough for college as far as time management in sports,” Peterson said. “I think you find out really fast that you have to be on top of your game for figuring out how to talk to professors beforehand and make sure that you have either all of your stuff turned in early, or have an idea of what you’re going to do on test day and take it before or after.”

His journey playing for Winona State began with an email from the golf coach asking him to come see campus. Peterson’s mother is a Winona native, so she took him to the campus where he says he fell in love with the sights. His love for Winona and golf have since intertwined for three years.

“What I love about the sport is the people that are around it, the support from coaches, from players, from your parents. You meet a lot of great people from the sport, and obviously it’s a sport that you can play for forever and that’s what I’m excited about. Hopefully I will be able to continue to play and love the sport for as long as I play,” Peterson said.

Golf is also the sport that taught him his moral code, which he learned from his teachers, his parents, and his coaches.

“My dad comes and watches me and always pushes me to be not only a great person, but a great golfer. I think that golf is a game of gentlemen,” Peterson said. “You can always cheat in golf, but I learned from my parents never to do that and I think learning that from not only my dad but from my coaches around me that you learn to be a good guy. That’s what keeps me going.”

The entire team has high hopes  for the 2016-17 season. The goal is to make it to regionals, and then to nationals in the spring. The first step is doing well at the conference tournament.

“That’s what we always shoot for as student athletes; the highest level [of play] possible,” Peterson said.

-By Emma Cavanaugh