February 2003

Saturday February 1 - The Bob Hope Chrsyler Classic, 1st Round, 74 (+2)
72 holes later and I missed the cut by a shot! Very disappointing after playing so well earlier in the week. It just wasn't there today and I struggled from an early double on the par 3, third. A couple of birdies on 6 and 8 got me back in play before dropping another at 9. However, bogeys on 12, 16 and 17 were not what I needed and despite a good effort at 18 with a birdie I was one away from playing on Sunday. Golf really is strange because I felt good on the range and out on the course it seemed to desert me! Well, onto the next one! Jill and I are driving the famous Highway One down the coast, which should take my mind off it (a little!) ..catch up in the week. The winner of January's competition was Jessica from the US. Well done Jessica! A new competition will be posted on Monday. Bye for now, Per

Thursday February 6 - AT&T National Pro-Am, Pebble Beach, 1st Round 75 (+3)
Apologies for the delay in getting to you. It's been a busy week here in California. Jill and I ended up hitching a ride on Jesper's plane to get here rather than driving for 8 hours so the week got off to a good start on Sunday. I played Pebble Beach today and struggled to make enough birdies to counter my terrible start. I was off the 10th and started bogey, bogey, bogey! I pulled one back at the classic par five, 18th hole to be out in 2 over. Making the turn I was back in one over to shoot 75 and in need of a good round tomorrow to haul myself up the list. This is a three round cut once each of the huge pro field has played Pebble, Poppy Hills and Spyglass so I still have time if I can get it together. It was a beautiful Monterey day with the temperature at 60 degrees. The wind picked up towards the end and the forecast is for a windy day on Friday. Off to dinner now after a good session on the range - I'll catch up with you later, Per

Friday February 7 - AT&T National Pro-Am, 2nd Round 72 (Level)
I played well today on a tricky day, when the scoring was difficult. My even par 72, on Spyglass moved me up 30 places on the list and in reach of the cut on Saturday. The greens were very hard to figure out since they sometimes were hard and sometimes soft. It's also not easy to get close to the flag. I got wet with my second shot on one of the par fives, 14th, but still managed a good par. I played really well the last few holes which gives me a good feeling for Saturday at Poppy Hills. Jill and I are going out for dinner at an Italian restaurant in Carmel called Little Napoli. It's Jesper's favorite - He has been there four times already this week! The Faxons and Johnsons are also joining us. Richard Johnson is one of the new Swedes on TOUR. I tee off at 0900 Pacific, so keep an eye on the scores on pgatour.com. Catch up later, Per

Saturday February 8 - AT&T National Pro-Am, 3rd Round 73 (+1)
A disappointing day at Poppy Hills with a score of 73. This wasn't quite good enough on the day and I missed the cut by a couple of shots. I was off to a poor start on the back nine with bogeys on 11 and 16 and then a double on 17. Out in 39, I got my head down and came back in 34 with three birdies but it was too little , too late. I found the greens really bumpy at Poppy Hills and, whilst they obviously are the same for everyone, I didn't adjust well to the surfaces. It has been a beautiful weather week here in Monterey and I was hoping to make it to Sunday and earn a cheque! Well, on to San Diego for the Buick and time to lift my spirits with a good week. Catch up with you from beautiful San Diego, Per

Wednesday February 12 - Buick Invitational, San Diego
I am playing the Buick this week. After a few missed cuts I need to keep things going, especially as it feels close! I was second alternate for the Pro-am this morning but it got cancelled. It was also raining really hard on Tuesday and I only got to play 8 holes. It's 9.00 am now and it's cloudy but not raining yet! This week is played over 2 courses, Torrey Pines South and North so it would have been good to get out there - but it's the same for everyone The weather is supposed to be bad until Saturday I hear. We went out for dinner last night with Rickard Johnson and his girlfriend Linda, which was fun. Oh yes, I also meant to tell you that Jill and I went to IKEA the other day. We bought vast quantities of Swedish candy for our road trips and also ordered some furniture for our house. Great fun! The tee times are out for the wet courses. I am off with Jim Carter and JJ Henry from the 10th tee on Thursday on the South course at 8.39am and then the 1st tee on Friday on the North course at 9.33am. Catch up after round one. Let's hope the sun comes out! Per

Thursday February 13 - Buick Invitational, 1st Round - Wet, Wet, Wet!
The rain has been persistant all week and the golf courses are soaking. I called the tournament early this morning to see if it was playable out there and they said it was but amazingly they didn't say anything about a delay. Once I got to the club there was a 45 minute delay! Starting from the 10th I played 3 holes and then we were called off because of bad fog. I played great and made 3s on the first 3 holes. (I wish we had stayed on!) With these kind of delays there is not a lot to do but sit in the clubhouse and wait. Two and a half hours later we got back out to the course. After that the day was more mixed and with 3 bogeys and one more birdie (on the 4th) I finished the day level. As you can imagine the greens are very slow after all the rain and the green staff have done a remarkable job getting us out there. However the greens haven't been cut for 2 days because of the rain, so I really had to hit the putts hard. Play was finally abandoned for the day after I had played 15 holes. The result is I have to be in position 7.30 tomorrow. It is still raining so I hope we get the chance to get back on track. Jill and I had room service for dinner as I have to get up at 5am tomorrow. This life is so glamorous some times...Catch up with you after round one, Per

Friday February 14 - Buick Invitational, 1st Round 72 (Level), 2nd Round 68 (-4)
An early start to the day rising at 5am! My first hole of the day was the par 5 15th. What did I do...make bogey. Not many worse things on the golf course than to make a 6 on a par 5. Still, I hit straight back with birdie and parred in for a first round 72. We then had a few hours to kill before heading to the other course for round 2. I made a fast start with birdies on 2 and 4. A bogey on 7 and birdie on 9 put me out in 2 under and around the cut mark. I still continued to play some great stuff with a couple of poor swings thrown in there but another good birdie bounce back after bogey at 13 put me on the par 5 18th at 2 under. I hit a good tee shot and reasonable second in to 30 feet before making the putt for eagle. A great way to finish and it pulled me up the board into a good position for the weekend. I'm looking forward to capitalising on my position and that eagle has certainly boosted my confidence going into the weekend. The greens are still a little bumpy and the grounds crew continue to fight the weather - they're winning so far! Jill and I went for dinner with Rickard Johnson and his wife tonight at a local restaurant. Catch up after round 3, Per

Saturday February 15 - Buick Invitational, 3rd Round 75 (+3)
A bad day today which pushed me down the list. I really need a good score on Sunday to earn a decent cheque. It's really disappointing after a good day on Friday. I started badly with bogeys on 1 and 2. Another bogey on 9 put me out in 39! At least I made a few putts on the back nine and scored 3 birdies to counteract the 3 bogeys to be back in 36. I will have an early start on Sunday and hope to get off to a quicker start than today. The plan after the round will be to head back up to LA for one of my favourie events, The Nissan Open at the great Riviera course. I'll be trying hard to today and hope to report back a 67 or better!, Bye for now, Per

Sunday February 16 - Buick Invitational, 4th Round 69 (-3)
Well, not quite the score I was looking for, but still a positive result on a tough scoring day. The net result was to move me up 31 places into a tie for 21st and my best cheque of the year. There's still a long way to go but after a poor third day I am glad to have made a move up the board. Starting from the 10th, I was off to a slow start with a bogey on 11. Pars until a birdie on 18 put me out in level par 36. I got it going on my back nine with four birdies, including 3 in the last 4 holes to shoot 69. It's great for my confidence going into Riviera and has moved me up the Money List by 50 spots! I'll report back from The Nissan Open once Jill and I have driven back up the Californian coast. Bye for now, Per

Tuesday February 18 - Nissan Open, Riviera
Jill and I are in LA for the week, staying at one of our favorite hotels. I am looking forward to the week and keeping up the momentum from last weeks fourth round. We have some exciting new features coming to the site shortly including a bright new look to the site and also my swing sequence. Thanks for all the emails after last week's better performance. I really want to be back in contention and am working hard on my game to scale those heights! Catch up once the draw is out, Per

Wednesday February 19 - Nissan Open, Riviera
The draw is out and I have a good one with Jay Haas and Michael Campbell (from New Zealand, Michael and I used to play a great deal in Europe). We are off the 10th tee at 7.09am on Thursday morning and then 11.34 from the 1st tee on Friday. That's what we call an, early-late( and 7.09 means a 5 am wake up call!). Nigel from England wanted to know if I would be playing in England this year. I plan on playing the British Open at this time, but that will be it. My focus for the year is on the PGA TOUR, as this is now my home. All is well here in LA and after a good couple of practice rounds I'm excited for a good event. Check out PGATOUR.com for the live scoring. I'll report back after the round, Per

Thursday February 20 - Nissan Open, 1st Round 74 (+3)
I was in the second group out this morning and in the end Jill and I got up at 4.30am. …Brrrr... it was cold at that time! Once we got going just after 7am it turned out to be a really nice day. The wind picked up later on and that's why the scores are so high. The pins were tough and the course longer this year. A difficult scoring combo! I played well the first nine, but couldn't get the ball in the hole. It wasn't quite as good on the back nine and I managed to play 18 holes without a birdie, which isn't something I want to repeat in a hurry. Still, having 15 pars on my card was good and my position gradually improved through the day as the afternoon groups got going. I am on the cut mark and need a solid round today to play on the weekend. With the field so bunched a sixty something will do me well! I spent 4 hours on the range after playing this morning. Just heading out of the door now. It looks like we are going to a restaurant called Falcons tonight. Catch up later, Per

Friday February 21 - Nissan Open 2nd Round 71 (+1)
What a good finish! I played well today despite the scorecard showing a 71.The weather was perfect today, 75 degrees and not as windy as yesterday. Starting from the first I made bogey at two and bounced back with birdie on three. Pars followed until a bogey on 9 put me out in one over 36. I made a birdie on 11 (the scene of my albatross back in 1995!) and then dropped one at the tough 13th. Back to four over and in need of some inspiration! It was certainly an exciting finish! I missed a three footer for par put on 16th and was 5 over with two to go. Paul and I knew the cut was going to be 3 or 4, so something drastic was needed. I almost holed my third shot on the par 5, 17th, a lob wedge and had an easy birdie put from a foot. So, standing on the18th tee, one of the hardest holes on the course, I knew I would need birdie. This is not really the hole you want to have to make birdie. It's a tough drive over the top of the hill and then a second shot up onto the green. You may remember seeing it on TV with the clubhouse way up above the green. I hit a great drive about 300 yards and then hit my second shot just off the right side of the green. This left me a chip for birdie and I MADE IT to finish at plus 3 and make the cut..PHEW! Planning to eat dinner here tonight with Jill. The field is bunched so two good scores over the next 36 holes and I could still repeat last years top ten. Catch up on Saturday, Per

Saturday February 22 - Nissan Open, 3rd Round 75 (+4)
Well, the round started positively! That's all I can really say after shooting 75. I teed off at the short 10th and after birdie I missed fairway after fairway and the result was bogeys. You can't miss fairways on this course and make pars. This is my sixth week in a row and I am feeling tired and ready to take a break back home. After the round, Jill and I went shopping for some cool LA clothes and then on to dinner at a great Italian restaurant, Locanda Veneta. Our friend Cort who lives here in LA joined us. Another friend, Josefine, a Swedish friend of ours, works there and I can highly recommend it if you ever in town. Great pasta! After the round Jill and I have some time in LA before catching a late flight back to Fort Lauderdale. I need a great round on Sunday to move m,y self up the board and earn a decent cheque. Rest assured I will be trying my best, Bye for now, Per

Sunday February 23 - Nissan Open, 4th Round 72 (+1)
What a mixed day at Riviera. I had 7 bogeys, 6 birdies and 5 pars. That all added up to 72 and 65th position. Despite missing some fairways today I did get it going and at one point was three under for the day before hoping on the bogey train on 5 and not getting off until the 8th! That put me back to plus one for the day and was a poor finish to a mixed week. I'm certainly ready for a break and plan on not touching a club for a few days in West Palm. I won a cheque which just about maintains my postion in the Money List, but I need to start putting four rounds together in the coming months and start competing for a title. I'll keep you posted this week and remember to check back for the new look site and swing sequence which is coming soon. Thanks to all of you for the emails whilst we've been on this long trip. Jill and I really appreciate them coming from all over the world. Bye for now, Per

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