May 2002

Wednesday May 1 - New Orleans
May Day! Where is the year going? We are having a terrific time here in New Orleans, one of the most vibrant cities in America. I was out at English Turn on Tuesday and really enjoyed it. It plays 7116 yards and to a par of 72. David Toms is defending and this year we are playing for a massive $4.5 million, with over $800,000 going to the winner (that would help my ranking!) The tee times are out and I am playing at 12.18pm from the first tee in round one with Greg Kraft and Harrison Frazar, both from America. Round two is my morning round from the tenth tee at 7.33am. I have my computer with me this week and will be keeping you updated each day. The winner of April's competition was Malcolm Carrott from the UK, congratulations Malcolm! The April answers are on the competition page, including the tough question regarding Amen Corner. Most of you know your stuff and gave the right answer of Herbert Warren Wind. The May competition is posted, so go on and give it a go. Catch up after the opening round, Per

Wednesday May 1 - New Orleans
Life is great in the Jazz city! We are staying at a great downtown hotel and loving it!. It feels almost like home as we love the decoration and the whole atmosphere here at the hotel. I went out to the course this morning to practise and Jill went to a cooking demonstration with Emeril Lagasse. It would seem he is famous but Jill and I hadn't heard of him!. He showed Jill and some of the other Tour wives how to make Gumbo and Redfish baked in foil. She had a great time and I hope we see the results at home in the coming weeks! The staff are so nice at this tournament, perhaps the best ever and everyone is made to feel special. The tournament has a party tonight at The Aquarium on Canal Street and I think we will go and lend our support. The course is playing well and I'm looking forward to getting going. I'll update you after the round, Per

Thursday May 2 - Compaq Classic of New Orleans, 1st Round 68 (-4)
A good day today and I am delighted to be in the top 5 with a 68. It didn't start too well with a bogey at the first, but I soon got going and made four birdies on the way out to shoot three under. The back nine was more mixed, although I continued to hit it well.I bogeyed a couple, including the 18th (which always feels annoying, even though it counts the rest as the others!). I made four birdies today on the par fives, which really helped my score and if I can continue to take advantage of the long holes I will have a good week. I am off early on Friday so after the round we headed back to the hotel for a quick dinner and an early night. Thanks for all the emails. I got a couple of excellent questions which I will talk about later in the week. Off to bed!, Per

Friday May 3 - Compaq Classic of New Orleans, 2nd Round 72 (Level)
I had a good day on the course but my putting failed me today. I'm happy with my long game though. The course is drying out as the weather is hot and windy and greens are getting faster. I made a great many pars today, with only a couple of birdies and two bogeys on 17 and 18 (my 8th and 9th). Eighteen is one hole that you just want to make a good par and move on. It's the hardest one out there and I was in the bunker today and didn't save my par. That's two bogeys on that hole. Tomorrow I hope to make up for it and at least make par! I missed a good chance for birdie at the last ( the 9th) today and Jill and I estimate it cost me an hour in bed! I have said it before this week and I hope the volunteers and management get to read this, this tournament is really great. They take care of the players and families here with great food, organised dinners, arrangements for the wives and the people are so nice. Tonight Jill and I had dinner with Phil and Amy Mickelson and we had a great time catching up on some old memories from college (if you don't get the answer to one of this month's quiz questions now!). I forgot to mention where we ate on Thursday night, just in case you are looking for a recommendation. It's called "The Foundation Room" and it has The best food we have had in a long time! It was a really funky place with live music. Check it out!, Catch up with you after round three, Per

Saturday May 4 - Compaq Classic of New Orleans, 3rd Round 74 (+2)
Hot, hot, hot! The wind was not blowing as hard today and as a result it made it seem so warm. I almost made the green in two on the par 5, 6th, having made birdie at the 5th, but ended up missing a short birdie put on that hole. That was a precursor to my putting for the rest of the day - I couldn't make one all day! It is so frustrating because tee to green I am playing as well as ever. But if you can't make anything outside 6 feet you can't score well. After a bogey on 8, I pulled one back on 11. On the 15th, another par 5, I hit a great tee shot and went for the green. Unfortunately my second got wet and I made a bogey. The frustration was beginning to mount and my tee shot on 16 was a foot short of being perfect - result bogey! And then on to my least favourite hole on the course, 18. I hit it in the in the bunker from the tee and just had to hit it out on the fairway. Three bogeys in the last four holes was a very disappointing finish and will give me an early tee time tomorrow and lots of work to do to make my way up the board. Putting is such a mind game and with the quality of this Tour it is something I need to work on! Hopefully better news on Sunday, Per

Sunday May 5 - Compaq Classic of New Orleans, 4th Round 72 (Level)
Well, that 18th hole got me again! After playing really solid golf for 17 holes it came up and bit me with a triple bogey to finish the week! As you can imagine I was very disappointed to finish like that but at least I take away a week of good ball striking. I know I need to work on my putting and that will be the focus in practice the next few weeks. I got off to a good start today and made three birdies on the way out at 4, 7 and 9. I only made a single bogey on the 8th. Another birdie on 15 put me in good shape to break 70, until the last. It doesn't help to dwell on it and I made a cheque for around $10,000 which all helps my ranking. Overall, it was a good week in New Orleans. A great tournament where we were all taken care of really well. We are looking forward to come back next year. We now head for the airport for our flight and two weeks in Texas - Dallas for the Byron Nelson and then the MasterCard Colonial in Fort Worth. I'll catch up with you there, Per

Monday May 6 - Dallas, Texas
A big thank you to Charles Howell. Jill and I hitched a ride on his corporate jet and made it here in double quick time thanks to no standing in line at the airport! Dallas is great, although we are all a little tired after a party last night at Tommy Armour's house. The food was amazing with great sushi and in true Texas style, lots of it! It was a different crowd to usual and there was an abundance of good looking girls (or so I'm told - just in case Jill is reading this!) I played in the pro-am yesterday and will also play in the Wednesday pro-am, leaving me plenty of time to practise my putting! One of our readers wanted to know if Jill follows my scores on the internet. Well, 99% of the time she is there with me, walking along and supporting me. It's great to have her there and know I have one fan behind the ropes! Catch up with you later in the week, Per

Tuesday May 7 - Dallas, Texas
We are playing two courses this week, The TPC at Four Seasons Resort and Cottonwood Valley Golf Course. The weather here is really hot and its important to keep hydrated on almost every hole. The heat really takes it out of you and when you are playing your round I recommend you keep drinking water. It helps maintain concentration and is the best refreshment you can take on a course (yes, even better than a beer!). The tee times are announced and I am playing on the TPC course first and tee off at 10.20 with Craig Parry from Australia. His nickname is Popeye because of his enormous forearms (and he hits it miles). My other partner is John Riegger from the US. On Friday we are off at 12.30 on the Cottonwood Valley course. My game feels good and I'm ready for a big week, Per

Thursday May 9 - Verizon Byron Nelson Classic, 1st Round 65 ( -5)
An excellent day today, particularly my finish. I made good par putts on 1 and 2 and I think that helped the confidence for the rest of the round. My first bogey came at the third hole. It's a 490 yard par four and with the strong wind it was hard to reach the green in two. Another bogey came at the 5th and then all of a sudden my game came together. I hit back with birdies on 6 and 7 before coming back in five under to shoot 65. To finish with four birdies was very rewarding and my score has put me in the top 10. I really want to keep this form going into the weekend and who knows what could happen. It was a cold day today but the forecast is for warmer weather this weekend. Tonight we are having dinner at the restaurant down stairs in the hotel for the third time. It's great food but it's a bit slow. Every dinner seems to take over 2 hours! The Slumans and Parneviks are joining us. Hope to report more positive news on Friday. Thanks for all the great emails - they really help!, Per

Friday May 10 - Verizon Byron Nelson Classic, 2nd Round 69 ( -1)
I played well again today on a really windy day and maintained my position at tied 8th going in to the weekend. Like Thursday I got off to a poor start with a double bogey at the second, a par three. Not bad considering I was putting for birdie ! I had a long birdie putt, which went 6 feet by, I missed that one and then missed the 2 footer for bogey. Ouch. It reminds me of the great quote when Seve was asked how he four putted a hole a while back and he said I miss, I miss, I miss, I make! After that I got it back together and birdied the 4th hole, a 427 yard par four. Another birdie came at the shorter par four, eighth. I started putting better at the turn and in difficult conditions was please to get it back in one under and shoot 69. On Saturday I play with Loren Roberts, who is famous for being the 'boss of the moss' and is truly one of the great putters on Tour. I'm looking forward to being in contention this weekend and hope you see me on TV. I'm glad to report that Jesper made a late birdie to make it on the mark. We are gong out for dinner with Mia and Jesper now. Catch up after the round, Bye for now, Per

Saturday May 11 - Verizon Byron Nelson Classic, 3rd Round 73 ( +3)
Another very windy day at the TPC Four Seasons course. I played great until the 15th hole and then thing started to go wrong. I hit my tee shot on the 475 yard par four left into the trees. It wasn't that hard a shot to go for but I chose the wrong club and hit a tree in front of me and the ball disappeared into some bushes. It was then unplayable and I had to take a drop and knock it back on to the fairway. I hit my next onto the green in five and was staring a quad in the face from 50 feet. Would you believe after all that I made the fifty footer for a great double! At the next, a par five, my tee shot went in to the right rough and I hit a bad shot and left the ball in the rough. I was then on the fairway in three and made a silly bogey. Another bogey followed at the par 3 17th. After my 3 birdies at 7,8 and 12 the resulting 73 was not what I was hoping for and I dropped from the top 10 down into 25th. I was very disappointed after the round and felt like I played so well, but made some rookie errors. There so many Swedish people here in Dallas (many of them working for Ericsson) and we had a large crowd following us today. I will be trying my best to get back up the board after letting a good start fall away.

Sunday May 12 - Verizon Byron Nelson Classic, 4th Round 71 ( +1)
I closed with a one over par 71, which left me in a tie for 27th for the week. Considering where I was positioned this was a disappointment, but at least I moved up the Money List into 69th and now have the chance to play in the Memorial in two weeks time. The round started well with a birdie at the first, but I once again made some silly mental errors and dropped shots from nowhere. At the 7th for example, I three putted from two feet hit and at the eleventh I hit my tee shot in the water. I had a strong finish in difficult windy conditions and made birdies on 14 and 16 to move up the board. After the round, Jill and I headed across town to Fort Worth for the MasterCard Colonial next week. Nick arrives in to town on Tuesday, so it will be fun to catch up with him. We are now settled in to our hotel in Forth Worth and are off to dinner with the Parneviks.

Sunday May 19th - MasterCard Colonial, Fort Worth, Texas
Apologies for the delay in getting to you but it has been a crazy couple of days, what with weather delays and such. We eventually finished round two on Saturday morning after a 5am start and then straight in to round three. Unfortunately a couple of 73s didn't do too much for my position and I started today in tied 56th!. I really hadn't played that poorly, it was more a case of missed putts and the odd wayward drive. Two sixes on the first hole( a par five were very annoying!)Today I played a solid round and 70 was probably the worst score I could have made. This moved me up to the mid 40s, but overall it was a disappointing week, considering the way I am playing. I had great support this week from Jill, Nick and our new friend Bert. We thoroughly enjoyed Fort Worth and will be back next year to make a better move on the leaderboard. Tonight Jill and I are back in West Palm, before I head to Columbus for Jack's tournament, The Memorial. Like the Colonial, it is another great course. Catch up with you on Tuesday, Bye for now, Per

Wednesday May 22 - Memorial Tournament, Dublin, Ohio
I have just arrived in Dublin with Jesper and we are on the way out to play at the famous "Course that Jack built". I love the Muirfield Village course and am looking forward to playing. Let's hope I can get a few putts in the hole and make a move this week. I am playing with Craig Parry from Australia and Pat Perez from Scottsdale. With the restricted field we are all off the first tee this week. My first time is 1.20 and on Friday at 10.20. Catch up later, Per

Thursday May 23 - Memorial Tournament, 1st Round, 73(+1)
A mixed day today with some good golf and a couple of wayward shots. This is a hard course and with the temperature about 30 degrees colder than last week in Fort Worth it took some adjusting for all the players. I got off to a reasonable start and made a birdie at the tough 2nd. However a double at the 6th and a bogey on 9 put paid to thoughts of a great round. I threw a couple of birdies in there and finished strongly to hold my position in around 40th place at plus one. There is a limited field here this week which includes Tiger, Sergio and Ernie. All were struggling a little yesterday and perhaps a surprise winner could come out of the pack this week. I am here on my own this week as Jill is preparing for our wedding on July 27th. We are getting married in Stockholm the week prior to the Scandinavian Masters and are both very excited for the day to come. I'll keep you posted after my morning round on Friday and hope to be able to report a move up the leaderboard, Bye for now, Per

Friday May 24 - Memorial Tournament, 2nd Round 78(+6)
A tough day at the office today. The day started poorly at the third with a double and got worse! I made another double at the 8th and despite birdies on 5 and 11 I knew I needed something special at the end to make the cut. I had a go to make eagle on 15 and was hoping a three would do it. The result was a 9!..not quite what I had in mind! Well at least I had a go, it doesn't matter if you miss by one or ten as long as you try! I am now back in West Palm after an awful journey back and ready to relax this weekend. I now have a week off - I think I need it! Catch up with you later in the week, Per

Thursday May 30th - West Palm Beach
Jill and I have had a great week here in West Palm. The weather has been great and after my terrible trip home from the Memorial it was good to be back home. On the flight back I somehow lost my wallet and I spent a couple of days running around cancelling cards and getting myself organised. I got out to Medalist yesterday and hit balls to prepare for US Open qualifying on Monday in Purchase, New York. Following that I will play the Buick and then hopefully the Open. I needed a couple of days off after the Memorial because my hip has been giving me some trouble after four weeks on the road. Thanks for all the emails and competition entries this week. Catch up with you after the qualifier. Per

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