Football and basketball dominate the headlines, and for good reason, but sometimes it is the players we don’t recognize that should be getting all the praise.
Missed Cut, 1st, 34th, 17th and 3rd. Those are the finishes of highest ranked golfer in the world, Justin Rose
1st, 1st, 3rd, 32nd, 1st. Those are the last five finishes of BYU junior golfer Peter Kuest.
Both players compete with anywhere from 70-120 people in each tournament and both are ranked No. 1 in their divisions.
But exactly how dominant is Kuest right now? Let’s compare him to Jimmer Fredette leading the nation in scoring. Golf is interesting because it is scored individually as well as a team, so it makes sense that there would be off days and the team should be able to make up for it.
For Kuest to go out every single day and essentially always be in the top three, it is like Jimmer going out and scoring 35+ every single game. Sure there were some off nights, as there are with Kuest, but overall it is complete domination and unheard of.
Kuest has nearly single handily carried his team to be in ranked for the first time in what seems like forever. BYU Radio’s Greg Wrubell may have said it best in a tweet that read “Peter Kuest has 5 career wins for @BYUmgolf, including 3, in 5 starts, during the Fall 2018 season. In his second-to-last win, he tied BYU’s all-time 54-hole scoring record. In his most recent win, he fired a 1st-round 61.”
This past weekend, Kuest shot a -10 overall to win the John Burns Intercollegiate Tournament in Arizona including a six under par in his first round.
The fact that six out of the last seven tournaments have had Kuest in the top three is debatably the most over looked performance in BYU sports all year. Sure, Zach Wilson threw 18-18 and Gavin Baxter has provided a spark for BYU basketball, but nobody in any sport has been as dominant and consistent as Peter Kuest.
So next time BYU suffers a tough defeat in basketball or football, type in Peter Kuest and chances are you will feel a bit better about BYU sports.