January 2001 Wednesday January 3 What a day! I played against the American Steve Flesch and played the best golf I have played in a very long time ( perhaps the best ever from a scoring perspective!) For the 14 holes played I was 10 under with 8 birdies and an eagle. Steve didn’t know what hit him and although he was 5 under it was not enough to keep in touch. I ended up winning 6 and 4 and proceeding to the next round to play Stuart Appleby. It's been a long day so that’s all for today, I'm off to take a cool shower - it was so hot out there today ….Per Thursday January 4 Accenture World Matchplay Day 2 I played against a friend of mine, Stuart Appleby, today in the second round. Unfortunately I was behind from the first hole and found myself 4 down after only 5 holes. ( Not ideal in Matchplay!). Stuart had a similar day to mine yesterday and there was no holding him back. I managed to sneak a few holes and even when I thought I was reeling him in he followed me in from 30 feet on the 13th to stay well ahead. I lost 4 and 3 in the end. Congratulations to Stuart, he played great golf and should go a long way in the event. I'm obviously disappointed after playing so well on Day 1. However I played well again today so I have positive thoughts going into next week's opening event on my PGA TOUR campaign 2001. I am now working out my schedule to get to Tucson from beautiful Australia. I banked some dollars which count towards Ryder Cup and TOUR rankings so I will start the year with a great attitude. I'll keep you posted from the Desert…Per Tuesday January 9 - The Touchstone Energy Tucson Open I arrived on Monday from Australia via Los Angeles. This week's event is being played over 2 courses, so I need to split my practice time and try and get a feel for both. I'm staying on the site of one of the courses and the hotel is great. This will be my first event as a full member of the PGA TOUR and I'm proud to have made it. Now the hard work starts and I'm ready for serious competition. I'm playing well and have set some tough but realistic goals for the year. I need to start quickly because I have not made it into the next 2 events. With the re-rank coming after the Nissan Open I need to move up the rankings to give myself a better chance of making the later events. Last weeks start at the Accenture puts me top of those rankings - but there is a long way to go! Come back for the daily event reports. Thanks for all the emails over the holidays…Per Wednesday January 10 - The Touchstone Energy Tucson Open My tee times for Thursday and Friday are Thursday - Gallery Golf Club 1109 (Arizona time) Friday - Tucson National 1006 (Arizona Time) You can see live scoring for the event at www.pgatour.com Thursday January 11 - The Touchstone Energy Tucson Open - Day 1 -74 There isn't much I can say about a 74! No explanation why I played poorly today because it felt fine on the range. I bogeyed 6 and 7 and after birdie at 11 I at least thought I would get in around level par. No, bogey up 18 to shoot a very disappointing round. That puts me back in the pack and needing to shoot 69 or better to make the cut. I play the other course today, Tucson National, so lets hope for a few putts rolling in. The cut here is the same as Europe at top 70 and ties, so I have lot of work to do. Bad day at the office!…Per Friday January 12- The Touchstone Energy Tucson Open - Day 2 It's Friday afternoon and I should be on the golf course. Unfortunately and unexpectedly we have had a rain delay today. We won't get the chance to get back to play for the rest of the day. Can you believe freezing cold rain and even snow at the Gallery Course which is up in the mountains. That was the last thing on my mind when I arrived in the desert! I only played 4 holes and unfortunately dropped one shot. I need to make some birdies tomorrow to hang around for the weekend. I tee off again at 1000 and I marked my ball on the 14th green facing a 14 foot birdie putt. The normal procedure when the weather warning comes is simply to mark your ball where it lies and catch one of the shuttles that are provided for us. You do have the option to finish, but with cold rain coming down I decided to wait. I headed back to the hotel and a few of us are going to head out to the movies. We're going to see Cast Away which looks like fun. I also got the chance to catch up with Nick in England . We always have lots to talk about regarding schedule and "housekeeping matters. This year is a whole new experience for me so there is a great deal of planning to do. Off to the movies…Speak to you on Saturday…Per Saturday January 13 - The Touchstone Energy Tucson Open - Still Day 2! After another false start at 1000 hrs, we finally got going at 1200. I missed that birdie putt I had to wait on, but made up for it with one at the 16th. Another birdie followed at the 1st and then disaster struck as I doubled the 3rd. Back to 2 over and with the cut hovering around level I needed to get back to that number. I played well for the remaining holes but could only squeeze out one more birdie and so shot 71 and missed by 1 shot. As you all know it can be a cruel game and in Pro golf missing the cut by one is about as bad as it can get. I now have a day to practice in Tucson before heading out to Hawaii for the Sony. I am still an alternate and is it unlikely I will get in but you never know. At least being in Hawaii will give me the opportunity to practice in good weather. It's been terrible in Tucson all week. Not what the Tourism Board was hoping for! We had another record week at the site and word is spreading about p-uj.com. Thanks for all of your support. I really appreciate it. Ps Cast Away sure was a long movie!! (read into that what you will!)…Per Monday January 15 - On the way to Hawaii It looks like I am now in The Sony Open in Hawaii. This is great news and I am about to get on a plane to head West…I'll report later in the week…Per Tuesday January 16, 2001 - The Sony Open in Hawaii The weather here is certainly better than Tucson! The forecast all week is between 70 and 80 degrees and with a gentle breeze it's perfect for golf. The course, Waialae Country Club in Honolulu is terrific and in beautiful condition. The architect was Seth Raynor and the course was built in 1927. The first ever Hawaiian Open was played here in 1928, so there is a great deal of history here. Paul Azinger is defending this week. In 2000 he shot the best ever 4 round total on the PGA TOUR of 261. We are playing for another huge purse of $4,000,000. It seems every week the money is massive!. I don't think about the money I simply try and play my best and the money is a nice by- product of playing well!! I'll post my tee times when I find them tomorrow. I'm off to play a practice round with Jesper...Per Wednesday January 17 - The Sony Open in Hawaii Had a terrific practice day with Jesper! The tee times are out: Thursday 1st Tee at 1306 Friday 10th Tee at 0841 I 'll send you a report after each round...Bye for now...Per Thursday January 18 - The Sony Open in Hawaii - Day 1 I finished strongly today to shoot 68. That puts me in tie for 28th spot after Day One. This is an unusual course on the PGA TOUR in that it is a par 70 , rather than the usual 72. There are only two par fives and I made the most of them with two birdies (on the 9th and 18th). In actual fact I was off to a good start and after 10 holes was 2 under and looking as if I may challenge the leaders. Unfortunately, a wheel fell of at 13 and 14 and I was suddenly back to level par after two bogeys. I kept plugging away and birdies on 17 and 18 lifted my spirits for dinner. I have an earlier tee time tomorrow, so hopefully I can post a good number, warm down and then enjoy the afternoon in the sunshine (you know I'm actually going to hit balls but it's a nice idea)!! ….Bye for now…Per Friday January 19- The Sony Open in Hawaii - Day 2 It didn't turn out as expected and I had a very frustrating day. I shot 73 and after 36 holes that put me on one over for the event. For the second week running I missed the cut (this time by 2 shots). It can be a very cruel game at the best of times, but twice in a row is maddening. I made a double bogey on the 4th, a par 3 (where I made bogey yesterday) and as this was on my back nine it proved to be very costly. I birdied the last in a desperate attempt to pull it back but it was not to be. I will now head back to Florida and spend some time practicing and resting for a few days. Unfortunately, because the Phoenix Open field is restricted to 128 players I am not in. My next event looks like being the Buick Invitational in 2 weeks and then to the Bob Hope Classic. I know I can do well in this environment and I have to stay patient (which is easier said than done!) Monday January 22 - Washington DC My journey around America's 50 states continues. I am now in Maryland! I'm here for a couple of days having eye surgery. It's the same surgery that Tiger and many other professional golfers have had. I have played really well the last couple of weeks and hardly holed a putt so it was time to finally take the plunge and have the surgery. I have worn contact lenses for most of my professional golf career and they are a real pain, particularly in adverse weather conditions. I've been thinking about having my eyes "done " for a while and as soon as I found out I wasn't in Phoenix decided that this would be the perfect time. Fred Funk helped to arrange it for me (Thanks Fred!) and I am in for the pre-op this afternoon, I'll let you know how I get on…All the best…Per Thursday January 25 - Back in Florida I'm back in West Palm Beach and my eyes are still the same. No, there is nothing to worry about, it's just that because I had travelled form Hawaii to DC my eyes were too dry for the op. I am now on a course of eye drops and will have to delay the treatment until I have used the drops and my eyes are back to normal. It's very frustrating because this was such a good week to get this done prior to the tournament next week. Still what can you do if that's what the Doc says! On Saturday I plan on going to California and Pebble Beach. I am in the AT and T Pro Am and really looking forward to playing Pebble again. It is wonderful. The event start on a Wedensday as it's 90 holes - thats a lot of golf and like the Q School this is an important week to pace yourself. I'm playing well and although missing two cuts may not look like it I have really hit the ball tee to green extremely well. Once again we had a record week of unique users and emails. Thanks for all of your support as I embark on this new phase of my career.....I really appreciate it...Per Sunday January 28 - California, Pebble Beach I flew back out of Florida on Friday and am now at Pebble Beach. This is such a great place and one of the best golf courses in the world. The scenery is unbeatable on the back nine and like St.Andrews and Augusta, so many of the holes are familiar I feel like I have played here hundreds of times. The event is played over 90 holes this week and we play with amateurs and each day (who pay a small fortune to be included in the draw!). There are also many celebrities including Kevin Costner, Jack Lemmon and half of Hollywood. I am staying near by and have a short trip to the two clubs that host the event this week. More of that later in the week. I'm hoping to have an improved putting week after my trials and tribulations on the greens the last couple of weeks. I'll report back later and give you the scoop on the celebrity gossip!! Bye for now...Per Tuesday January 30 - California, Pebble Beach I had a great days practice here today. It's a challenge because this event is played over 3 courses - Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Poppy Hills. They are all located pretty close to each other on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula. I have played Pebble before so I concentrated my practice on the other two. The event starts on Thursday and I will fill you in with my tee t imes tomorrow. This is the day they always come out on the PGA TOUR. The winner last year to tie Ben Hogan's record of 6 victories was, yes, you guessed, Tiger Woods. Prize Money is $4 million and I am looking forward to a good week to get me going again. See you tomorrow...Per Next Month Back to News Archive