October 2002

Wednesday October 2 - Michelob Championship, Kingsmill, Virginia
I am back in beautiful Williamsburg for the last Michelob Championship. Such a shame because it is a fabulous resort and golf course. I arrived here on Tuesday afternoon and am playing the course today. The tee times are out and I have an "early- late". My partners for the first two rounds will be Paul Stankowski and Russ Cochran. I need a good week to move back up the ranking and guarantee my place for 2003. I feel good and hope I can get the putter going this week. The winner of the September competition was Joe from Canada - congratulations! There are some new Ryder Cup competition questions for this month celebrating Europe's win - oops, that's one of the questions ( well, its not like you didn't know!) Catch up later, Per

Thursday October 3 - Michelob Championship, 1st Round, 71 (Level)
We are staying at a great apartment this week. It is similar to the ones at Callaway Gardens in Georgia (where we will be in a couple of weeks). It's nice to be able to cook and do laundry on the road since we are going straight to Vegas from here. On Wednesday night Jill made Turkey bolognese for dinner and we spent a quiet night in front of the TV. They have a great gym here this week and a good SPA. The tournament gave the wives a free treatment in the morning. Thank you Michelob! So, on a very warm and sunny day here at Kingsmill, round one of the Michelob and I had some good bounce back stats! I made 4 bogeys and 4 birdies in my opening round of 71. Three times I made a bogey and hit straight back with a birdie, which I was very pleased with. I played well and felt good after the round, despite missing two short putts, both around 2 feet! But I was hitting the ball well and feel good for Friday's early start. After the round I practised on the putting green before I went "home" for dinner. Eric, the TO UR's travel guy is a good friend of ours and he is staying with us this week. My day started with some yoga - I'm even travelling with my own yoga mat now and I'm really getting into it. Thanks for the entries for the October competition - I guess you were all watching the Ryder Cup! Bye for now, Per

Friday October 4 - Michelob Championship, 2nd Round, 71 (Level)
Well, unfortunately I missed the cut again, by the worst possible margin, one single shot. My putting wasn't great today and I missed a few makeable putts. Another score of 71 was one too many and don't like to think about now many shots I left out there! The plan is for Jill and I to leave for Vegas in the morning, take Saturday off and then play the three courses on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Dennis Sheehy, my coach will be there, so we can work on my game all week. I really am hitting the ball quite well and Dennis can help me with my confidence - which is lacking at the moment. I'm off for a massage now before dinner. Off to Elvis Land! Per

Sunday October 6 - Las Vegas
Jill and I arrived here in Las Vegas on Saturday night and went straight to a hockey game. The LA King's played against Colorado at the MGM. The stadium takes 14,000 people and it was sold out. Colorado lost but it was a good game. After wards we went for the famous 'In and Out burger'. I've been raving to Jill about them for years and although she is not a big burger fan even she had to admit that this is no ordinary hamburger! That's my idea of a good night out - a Hockey game and 'In and out burgers'! We are staying at the Mandalay Bay for two nights and then moving for the rest of the week. Vegas is such a fun town for a week! There is lots to do as well as golf. We saw many of the best shows last year so we will need to look hard for some new ones. But it would be fun to see The Blue Man Group, who are playing at the Luxor, next to Mandalay Bay. I played one of the 3 courses that are on the schedule this morning. Dennis Sheehy, my coach, is driving up from San Diego at 7am on Monday morning and will walk around and take a look at my game on the second course. I changed my putting grip again to a normal grip (from left below right) and it feels good - I Hope the results will show this week. Bye for now, Per

Thursday October 10 - Invensys Classic at Las Vegas, 1st Round, 68 (-4)
I thought it was going to be a great day after an eagle at the par 5, 4th hole. However, although I played well the putter was stone cold. I left a few putts short and never really got the round back, even after being 2 under through 4. I made bogeys on 8, 12 and a really annoying one with three putts on 18. I was really frustrated after the round and just have to try and keep cool and hope they start dropping on Friday. After the round an old man came and said to me "Nice 3 putt". Can you believe how rude some people are! I think I'll need to shoot 4-5 under tomorrow to make the cut. I can do that! We went to dinner with Eric and Brenda last night at the hotel after I got back around 6.30pm (lots of practice afterwards!). Jill was trying to get tickets for the Blue Man Group show tonight. Hope we can get in. When I got back Jill was telling me about a self-defence class she took with a number of the other TOUR wives. I think she was feeling the effects of the workout today! Catch up after a good round on Friday, Per

Friday October 11 - Invensys Classic at Las Vegas, 2nd Round, 68 (-4)
Apologies for the delay. I played so well on the back nine and nearly made it after shooting 31 to finish with a 68. Unfortunately the cut fell at -9 and I was two away. Still, my game felt good and I am ready to get the job done in the nest couple of weeks and make sure my card is safe. After the round Jill and I headed home for a weekend in West Palm. I'll catch up with you all from Disneyland and the Orlando tounament. Per Friday October 18th - Disneyland - 68, 69 (-7) It sure felt great to play well the last two days and shoot 7 under. I finished the right side of the cut line and have something to build on for the weekend. I have just played steady golf over the two courses and despite one silly double bogey on day one my game has felt good. The scoring is always low here, so I need to shoot a couple of mid sixty rounds to move up the board and perhaps into the top ten, but the way I am playing I feel I can do that. Jill and I are having a good time here at Disney and there are a great number of good restaurants to eat at. I played with a pair of amateurs on the first two days alongside a fellow professional and we really had fun out there. Apologies for the delay in the updates - I have been practicing hard on the range and not had too much time this week! ....catch up later, Per

Friday October 18 - Walt Disney World Resort Classic, 1st Round 68 (-4), 2nd Round 69 (-3)
It sure felt great to play well the last two days and shoot 7 under. I finished the right side of the cut line and have something to build on for the weekend. I have just played steady golf over the two courses and despite one silly double bogey on day one my game has felt good. The scoring is always low here, so I need to shoot a couple of mid sixty rounds to move up the board and perhaps into the top ten, but the way I am playing I feel I can do that. Jill and I are having a good time here at Disney and there are a great number of good restaurants to eat at. I played with a pair of amateurs on the first two days alongside a fellow professional and we really had fun out there. Apologies for the delay in the updates - I have been practicing hard on the range and not had too much time this week! ....catch up later, Per

Sunday October 20 - Walt Disney World Resort Classic, 3rd Round 68 (-4), 4th Round 69 (-3)
A pretty good weekend here on the Magnolia course at Disneyland, Orlando. I had good run of three birdies in a row on 12,13 and 14 today to help my position. I ended up in a tie for 36th and won a cheque for around$17,500 which has moved me up one spot in the money list to 120th with a couple of weeks to go. Straight after play Jill and I drove back to West Palm Beach and we can relax for a day before heading North to Atlanta for the Buick Challenge. My game was really solid all week and with a few more putts dropping in my position could have been considerably improved. I have good memories from Atlanta last year and the Callway Gardens course sets up nicely for my game. I'll catch up with you from there and if you are in the Atlanta area come on down and watch a great event, Per

Thursday October 24 - Buick Challenge at Callaway Gardens, 1st Round, 71 (-1)
We were up early this morning on a cold and grey day in Georgia. I teed off from the tenth in the rain and was quickly behind the 8 ball. I just didn't play too well on the front side and was out in 2 over. Jill, along with my manager Nick and his business partner, Michael walked all the way round and their patience was rewarded on the back nine with 3 birdies in four holes towards the end to get back in 33. So, a score of 71 was OK and puts me in the pack and in need of a good score on Friday to play on the weekend. The plan for tonight is to have dinner at the cottage we have rented. Catch up after the round on Friday, Per

Friday October 25 - Buick Challenge at Callaway Gardens, 2nd Round, 71 (-1)
A real up and down day. Starting at -1 I knew I needed to shoot a good score today to make the weekend. I was soon up to -3 before a terrible run of 3 bogeys. The first was from nowhere on the par 5, 7th as I hit a poor chip and then 3 putted. Another 3 putts followed on the par 3, 8th and then I failed to get up and down from just short of the 9th green in two. Despite this setback I kept plugging away and birdied 3 holes on the back nine and coming into 17 I still had a chance of making it if I could finish with a couple of birdies. Unfortunately, my approach to the 17th pin screwed back down the green and three putts later I was preparing to spend the weekend at home. A score of 71 following a par at the last and I was three shots away from a very low cut. I am playing in Mississippi next week and will know my fate on the Money List on Sunday night. I will certainly move down a spot or two. That said I need to stay focussed on my own game and for most of the 36 holes I played well. I really need to stay positive and play my own game. Thanks for all the emails of support this week, Per

Wednesday October 30 - Southern Farm Bureau Classic, Madison, Mississippi
We arrived here on Tuesday for the last counting event on this year's Money List. I stayed in 120th position last week, despite missing the cut, which was fortunate. I went straight to the course, whilst Jill had to kill time at Starbucks and Barnes and Noble because she couldn't check in to the hotel until 3pm. The course is so wet here. We are having to drop in the rough sometimes as that's the only dry place out there. It's been raining for days and days and if comes down again the event could be in jeopardy This week is all about playing good golf and letting the list take care of itself. I'm sure you all know from your monthly medal that to play golf well you need to focus on one thing. If you are thinking about the office or last week's meeting its impossible to stay focussed on the job in hand. Jill arrived back at the hotel after a day with the girls. They drove around Jackson and enjoyed meeting some of the locals. She was telling me that Mississippi is the poorest state in the US and maybe the people are the friendliest! We went to a nice Italian restaurant last night and sat next to some golf nuts. We had fun meeting them and they sent me a nice email the next day. Thanks guys! I am off early on Thursday with Tommy Armour and Ben Crane. 7.48 am from the ist. On Friday I am off at 12.03 from the 10th. Catch up after the round, Per

Thursday October 31 - Southern Farm Bureau Classic, 1st Round, 72 (Level)
I had an average day today, although after being 3 over after four holes I should be happy with level par. It still leaves me with some work to do tomorrow to make my way up the leaderboard, but I am feeling good and as soon as those putts start to drop I will be back in business. My playing partners didn't fair so well. Ben Crane pulled out prior to play because of his bad back. My other playing partner, Tommy Armour only played 3 holes and withdrew with a bad hip. That left me with Tripp Isenhour. Tripp is a really nice guy and I really enjoy playing with him. He is 152nd on the money list and needs about $20.000 to go to final stage Q-school. Let's hope we both have a good day tomorrow! Bye for now, Per

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