An opening round of 65 at the Viking Classic at the Annandale Golf club in Madison in Mississippi has given Peter a share of the lead in his first PGA Tour event since November of 2009.

Peter played early on day one but took full advantage. He birdied the first from 20 feet and although he made a blunder at his second hole of the day when he took four to get down from 100 yards at the par five he made the turn in 32 and added three more birdies on his way home.

He finished his round off in style with two great approach shots at the 8th and 9th holes of the Annandale layout and heads into tomorrow's second round with growing confidence, especially in his putting which was particularly good today.

"I played ok but really didn't take advantage of the par 5s," said Peter a few hours after his round. "It is incredibly hot here this week and there is a long way to go but it's nice to be in this spot after the first round."

Peter has gained a late call up to play the PGA Tour's Viking Classic this week in Madison in Mississippi and, although on his way to this week's Nationwide Tour event when he was advised, has made the decision to play his first PGA Tour event since mid November in 2009.

"I was halfway to Maineville in Ohio to play this week's Nationwide Tour event when I got the call," said Peter on Tuesday morning US time. "It is a nice surprise so I am now backtracking to Mississippi.

"Ideally I would have practiced a little differently these past couple of weeks if I had known but it is a nice opportunity all the same.

"I think things are in pretty good shape all the same. I would have loved to just keep going after Mexico but hopefully I will be able to start back where I left off."

Peter recorded an 11th place finish in Mexico after sharing the lead into the final round an indication that all the patience and hard work since his knee and hip surgery last year are slowly but surely paying off. 

Peter has not previously played this event or its predecessor, the Southern Farm Bureau tournament. 

photo - M Cohen Getty Images. Peter playing one of his last PGA Tour events in 2009 

It might not have been quite the final round Peter was hoping for but looking back on his week at the Mexico Open there is every reason to be delighted with the progress he made during the week.

Peter actually got into a share of the lead when he returned to complete the final nine holes of his third round on Sunday morning and actually played in the final group on Sunday afternoon. 

Things were going well enough until he dropped four shots in the space of five holes through the middle of his back nine but two late birdies saw him finish with a round of 73 and at 11 under he shared 11th place in the tournament.

"It was very close there and I really played pretty faultlessly for the first three rounds," said Peter. "I had two three putts on the second day but that's about it.

"Sunday I really didn't hit it as well the first nine but hung in there and fixed it at the rain delay. The only problem with that was that I flushed it straight over the flag on the 11th and made double which really knocked the wind out of my sails.There was only a foot or two in it and it could have easily been a different story.

"It was alot of fun to be in the hunt however and made me feel pretty good about all the hard work I've been doing. I'm looking forward to getting back out there in a couple of weeks."

 This finish followed a 20th place finish in Wichita the previous week so things appear to be headed in the right direction. 

Peter now has a two week break before the next event of the Nationwide Tour season, the Chiquita Classic in Maineville Ohio. 

Peter has made a good start to the Mexico Open presented by Banamex Scorecard, his opening round of 66 leaving him close to the lead towards the end of round one.

Weather has suspended play with nearly all of the opening rounds completed at the El Bosque Golf Club in Leon, Guanajuato. Peter is currently just one shot behind the lead and continues the improvement he displayed last week when he finished 20th in Wichita.

"I played pretty solidly today," said Peter soon after his round. "Outside of a lucky putt up the last to save par from about 15 ft it was never really going to be much worse.

"The weather looks like it is going to be a bit iffy but hopefully we will finish the tournament."