February 2001

Thursday February 1 - Day 1 at Pebble Beach
The AT and T is unique on TOUR. We play 3 rounds here prior to the cut and the final round is played over the 18 holes of the magnificent Pebble Beach. Today, I played Pebble and got off to a slow start on the back nine. After 7 holes I was three over. Again I wasn't really playing too bad it just wasn't happening. Things improved after the 17th and having made birdie there I played my back nine in one under to shot 73. Not great but not disastrous and with a 3 round cut there is time to pull myself up the field and make it to Sunday and begin competing in earnest. I played with Joe Ozaki and 2 great amateurs, David and Doug. I think they had a good time playing with us and at least the weather was better this year than 2000. After the round and a drink I headed straight to the range to warm down. It's not always possible to do for amateurs but it might be something you want to try if you have some time. It allows you to take something from the round and immediately work on it for the next game. Give it a try!...Oh yes we had another record month with visitors..Thanks for coming...Per

Friday February 2 - Day 2 at Poppy Hills
Poppy Hills is unusual in professional play because it has five par 5s and five par 3s. The par is still 72 but with all those 3s and 5s I came to the course with the mental approach that there are more than the usual number of birdie opportunities out there. The course is also slightly shorter than average at 6,861 yards. It's located along the famous17 Mile Drive and on the way to the course there are houses which must be worth the gross domestic product of a small country! It's a public course (like Pebble Beach) and so after the event it will be very, very busy as the spring approaches. I teed off at the first and had a solid front nine of one under, with an annoying double on 3. The back nine has an equal number of par 3s, par 4s, and par 5s so I was ready to attack. Unfortunately I got off to the worst possible start with a 6 at the 10th. Bogey followed on the next par 5 also and then another two on 15 and16. This was not the plan! Is there anything more frustrating than a 6 on a par 5? The day at least finished better with a pair of birdies on 17 and 18. So I'm back to plus 2 and in need of a really good day tomorrow to make the cut. Off to the range…Per

Saturday February 3 - Day 3 at Spyglass Hill
I discovered that Spyglass was originally known as "Pebble Beach Pines Golf Club" when it was opened in 1966 (that's a great trivia question!). The current name comes from Samuel Morse, who on hearing that Robert Louis Stevenson received inspiration for his classic book, Treasure Island, from visiting the Monterey Peninsula somehow managed to get it changed. The holes are all named after names from the book. Okay, enough history for one day. Lets talk about golf. I started on the 10th today needing a good day to make the cut which looked like being 1 or 2 under. I got off to the worst possible start with a bogey at the10th but got it straight back at the 11th and then birdied 13 to start clawing my way back to the cut line. I was out in one under before struggling on the front nine and eventually finishing at one over and a third consecutive 73. The cut seems likely to fall at 2 under and I will unfortunately have tomorrow off! I really didn't play well this week and need to find a swing on the range that will work on the course. I am in next week in the Buick Invitational and looking forward to driving down the coast to La Jolla…. I have to stay patient, it will come…Per

Monday February 5 - Torrey Pines, La Jolla, California
I arrived in La Jolla last night and am up early. This weeks event is The Buick Invitational. I have made it into the event in the last spot, which is great news. The first 36 holes are played over two courses, North Torrey Pines and South Torrey Pines. I haven't played either of them before so once again it will be a case of splitting practice to take in both courses. They were built in 1957 and the architect was William Bell. Interestingly, prior t o the land being used for golf the army used it for training in the Second World War. I will let you know if that means it's good terrain or not! The North course is 400 yards shorter than the South at 6647 yards, so this is where the score should be made! The infamous tough grass, Kikuya is in the rough so it will pay to keep the ball on the fairway this week. My driving has been good, but let's hope I can make a few putts this week!…Off to practice…Per

Tuesday February 6 - La Jolla, California
I have now practiced on both the North and South courses. Both are excellent and the scoring is going to be low this week, because there are many birdie opportunities out there. I am off to one of the practice facilities of the major manufacturers on Wednesday to use their "launch monitor'. This is a neat bit of kit which records club head speed, velocity of the ball leaving the clubhead, angle of attack and all sorts of other stuff which is designed to help Pros select the right shafts, clubs and balls. I hope it doesn't confuse me! There is so much technology in the game it's amazing. At the end of the day I believe it is about getting a feel and then taking that to the course. That said, this machine does give you some things to work on. Wednesday is the best day for me to do this kind of thing because its Pro-Am day and I'm not yet in these as I am perceived as a rookie - it's fine by me! Tee times are out later today so check back…Bye for now…Per

Friday February 16 - West Palm Beach
For some reason beyond everyones control the computer ate some of the last entries. Sorry about that. I am currently in West Palm Beach staying with the Parneviks. Jesper and I have been playing some golf this week at The Medalist, a course designed by Greg Norman. It just down the road in Hobe Sound and if you ever get the chance to play it, do, because it's great. Thanks to them for allowing me to play there. Next week I have been given an invitation to play in the Nissan Open in Los Angeles. Some of you may remember that I played in the USPGA there in 1995. I played the back nine in round two in 5 under to make the cut by one shot and that after starting the back nine 3,2 against a par of 4,5. Yes, my one and only albatross, or double eagle as the Americans call it. Thank you to Tom Pulchinski and the Tournament committee for giving me this playing opportunity. I will try to make the most of it. I plan on flying over to LA on Sunday to give myself plenty of time to practice and familiarise myself with the wonderful Riviera golf course. A full report will follow…Per Ps . You will see my new sponsor list on the left…go take a look at these great companies.

Tuesday February 20 - Los Angeles
I flew here as planned on Sunday. This will give me plenty of time to play the course and practice. This is re-rank week! This means that after this event all those from the Q School and the Buy.com Tour who were ranked at the beginning of the season in a specific order will get moved around in that order to signify their success or otherwise to date. Fortunately for me the Accenture counts so I have $50,000 on the board and at the start of the week I have moved into the top 20 in the re-rank from 50th at the start of the year (remember I won the last place card at the school). That makes my invitation even more important because some of the higher placed players may not be playing this week. In other words it's a good week to put on my best performance of the year!….I'll tell you about the golf course tomorrow…Bye for now…Per

Wednesday February 21 - Riviera, The Nissan Open
Riviera is a magnificent golf course. The condition, layout and surroundings are all wonderful. From the golf course you can see some houses that must be worth a small (actually large) fortune, but they don't intrude on the course. The course this year is playing at 6950 yards with a par of 71. Built by George Thomas in 1926, it is a course that forces you to think and to use every club in the bag. I found out that Ben Crenshaw has worked on the course in his architectural capacity restoring the greens back to their original design and he has done a great job. There are only three par 5's on the course and 4 par 3's. The front nine plays to a par of 35 and the back nine to a par of 36. Last years winner was Kirk Triplett. I'll post the tee times later today…Per

Wednesday February 21 - Riviera, The Nissan Open
My tee times for Thursday and Friday are Thursday - 0839 - 1st tee with Craig Perks and Brian Wilson Friday - 1304 - 10th tee with the same guys! You can check the scores live on PGATOUR.com.

Thursday February 22 - Riviera, The Nissan Open, 72
Just come in from shooting 72. Not too bad on the opening day and it keeps me in touch on what was a relatively high scoring day. I started at the first and bogeyed the tough par 3 4th(it seems to play about 250 yards!). I birdied the famous 6th(with the bunker in the middle of the green) , birdied 12 and then immediately bogeyed 13 before another dropped shot at 16 put me at 1 over. The cut looks like being level par or 1 under so I have some work to do to get my season going. After the round I practiced with Jesper and we went out to a local restaurant for a quick dinner, before an early night. Bit of a lay in as my tee time is in the afternoon on Friday. Speak to you all later….Per

Friday February 23 - Riviera, The Nissan Open, 77
After the worst start of the year, 6 over (count em!) after four holes there was no way back and I finished with a 77 to miss the cut by quite a few shots. Such a bad start puts you in a terrible position and I am pleased to tell you that I kept trying the whole round and made a couple of birdies to make things respectable. After the round I was interviewed for PGATOUR.com and I thought you might like to hear what I had to say. The interview was by Michael Arkush.

"I haven't been able to put it together," said Johansson, 34, who missed the cut here by seven shots. "The first three tournaments, I played really well from tee to green. The last couple, my long game hasn't been good although my putting has been better." "I'm not worried," Johansson said. "Sooner or later, I'm going to start playing good golf. I just have to be patient, and it will come together." As for making the move to America: "This is what it's all about. I enjoy being on a different tour. It's a nice change from 10 years in Europe. I've travelled the same cities. It's great to know new guys and see new cities." The Ryder Cup doesn't seem to be a determining factor in his plans. "I'm not even thinking about the Ryder Cup this year," Johansson said. "If I get in, that's a bonus. I'm focusing totally on this."

Jill arrives this week which I'm looking forward too. We have lots to catch up on and she will be with me next week for the Genuity……Bye for now, Per

Monday February 26 - West Palm Beach, Florida
After having the weekend off I had the chance to go back to West Palm and practice. Not what I would have chosen, but invaluable nevertheless! Jill and I are staying with Mia and Jesper Parnevik (thanks for putting me up the Parneviks!) and we will drive down to this weeks Genuity Championship (formally the Doral Ryder Open)on Tuesday. The event is played at the magnificent Doral course, which was given a design overhaul by Raymond Floyd a couple of years ago. It is usually in perfect condition and I am looking forward to the week. After the Nissan Open there was the first re-rank of the Buy.com and Q school guys and thanks to my performance in the Accenture I have moved up 30 or so spots which will help me in the next few weeks gain entry to TOUR events. I am obviously aware of my performances the last few weeks and continue to work hard on my game, particularly my putting which has been poor at best. I feel I am about to turn the corner and lets hope it's this week that I play some good golf and compete on the weekend....All the best...Per

Tuesday February 27 - West Palm Beach
I was looking at PGATOUR.com at some facts about the golf course this week and thought you might like to hear them. We are playing over the famed "Blue Monster" course, so called because of the water. In 1996 Ray Floyd restored the course, originally designed by Dick Wilson in 1962. The par is 72 and plays as the traditional layout of 36 out and 36 back. The pros are united in their love of the courses balance. Ben Crenshaw said "There are long par 4s and short par 4s, there are long par 3s and short par 3s and there are par 5s that are reachable in two shots" …sounds good to me! The course plays 7,125 yards and I 'm travelling down later today to get a feel for the place. We had another great week on the site and thanks for the feedback….Per

Wednesday February 28 - The Genuity Championship, Doral, Florida
Once again I am last off in the morning, this time from the 10th tee. Its usual for rookies to get these spots and to be honest it makes no difference to me. The tee times are in part designed to coincide with television times, so you will see the feature players playing together at a time that puts them in front of the cameras. My time will come with this and for now I am delighted to be playing and taking the opportunities that come my way. So, It's 9.09 on day one and 1.39 on day two (from the 1st). I am playing with Cliff Kresge and James Driscoll. I know Cliff earned his card at the same time as me at Q school, abut I'm not sure about James. I guess I will find out tomorrow. Don't forget you can follow the tournament progress on PGATOUR.com. Off to play a few holes with Jesper to see if I can win back the few dollars he won from me yesterday…Per

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