​This week, Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. sat down with Patrick Peterson, the eight-time Pro Bowl cornerback who is now retired, to discuss his thoughts ahead of the American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe. The event is being broadcast this weekend on NBC and Peacock, and Peterson shared his excitement about the tournament, his collaboration with Performance Golf, and his reflections on how other top NFL players fare on the golf course.
In the interview, Peterson explained that he feels particularly prepared for this year’s competition. He noted that during his playing days it was always difficult to juggle football obligations with the tournament. After mini camps, OTAs, and the weight room sessions, many players arrive at the golf course with tired shoulders and over-the-top swings. Now, nearly three years into retirement, Peterson has the luxury of dedicating real time to his game. He has been focusing on his swing path and the way his club makes contact with the ball, and he believes he is a better ball striker than ever. He credited Performance Golf with helping him identify his root flaws—those underlying issues that tend to trigger poor swings or off-target shots—and he emphasized that this support has put him in a much stronger position on the course.
Peterson also touched on the absence of two familiar Chiefs stars in this year’s field. Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes, who usually participate in the tournament, will be missed. Yet Peterson did not lack for praise or for challenging competition within the field. He singled out a recently retired NFL player as a standout in the field this weekend. “Adam Thielen, he’s probably the better golfer in my opinion out of the football players,” Peterson said. “Adam is a scratch golfer. I’m not a scratch golfer, but that’s the level of challenge among the guys I’m chasing on the golf course. I know the baseball players are light years ahead of pretty much everyone in the other sports, but when it comes to football players, I’d say Adam Thielen and I are probably neck and neck—though in football terms, I’d give the edge to Adam.”
Performance Golf (PG1) is an AI-powered app designed to analyze a golfer’s swing and identify the exact root flaws while telling users what to work on to improve. The good news for fans watching the American Century Championship from home is that they can test the same technology for free for 30 days, making it easy to experience the tool that Peterson uses to sharpen his game. As the weekend unfolds, viewers can keep an eye on how Peterson leverages this training, along with the on-course competition against players like Thielen and the rest of the field, to see how a retired legend stacks up against peers who continue to excel in both football and golf.