July 2003

Tuesday 1 July - Western Open, Chicago
I am back in the Windy City for the 100th playing of the Western Open. The course, Cog Hill No4, otherwise known as Dubsdread is playing well and I had a good practice round today. The tee times are out and I am in my traditional start of late/early playing with Paul Stankowski and Tim Clark. We are playing from the 10th tee at 1215pm on Thursday and the 1st tee at 0700am on Friday. I had a good teaching session with Lead on Monday and feel good for the week. The weather is perfect, 90 degrees, sunny and no wind - there will be some good scoring if it stays like that. I'll catch up with later in the week, Per. Congratulations to James Lohmiller from the US who won the June competition. The July competition has just started - check it out!

Thursday 3 July - Western Open, 1st Round 74 (+2)
A poor end to the day after I managed to get it to 2 under with four holes to play. Once again we had a weather delay - its been quite a year of weather on the PGA TOUR! The day started at the 10th with a bogey, but I got striaght back into the red with an eagle at the 11th. I was going nicely when the rain came and we headed back to the clubhouse for about an hour and a half. I made a good birdie on the par 5 before running into trouble from the 6th onwards. After the round I went for dinner with Jesper, before an early night. I'm first off the first tee on Friday and will be up at 5 o' clock to practice before the round. I am still in the hunt and need a good solid round to get back into position. catch up after my early morning round, Per

Friday 4 July - Western Open, 2nd Round 72 (Even)
Not an Independence day to remember for me unfortunately. I was off to the perfect start with 2 birdies on the opening holes, before dropping one at the third. I birdied the par 5 fifth and was back on track. Once again the last few holes proved to be my downfall and I am writing this from West Palm instead of Chicago. After a bogey at 13, I made my second eagle of the week at the par 5, 15th. It was downhill after that with bogey on 16 leaving me standing on the 18th tee needing to make birdie to make the cut. This is not a hole you really want to have to birdie and during the week you see more bogeys than birdies there. I pushed a little too hard and the resulting double changed my weeknd plans. So, back to West Palm last night, before heading off to the UK for the British Open qualifying. I'll give you an update prior to that and in the meanwhile have a go at the monthly competition to win one of my hats. Bye for now, Per

Tuesday 15 July - Open Championship Qualifying
It has been a roller coaster 10 days! Following the Western Open I headed straight back to West Palm Beach to see Jill who wasn't feeling too well. I'm happy to say she is much better and we are on course to be parents next month! I was planning on playing in the Greater Milwaukee Open, but decided to be with her until she felt 100%. I think I must have been driving her crazy, because at the last minute she persuaded me to get on a plane and try to qualify for the British Open. I flew over on Friday night and was practicing on Saturday. I played ok, but not much more for the 2 days at Princes ( the course right next door to Sandwich) and shot 72, 70 to miss The Open Championship by 2 shots. I had a poor finish too, but at least I went over and gave it a shot. I'm now back in America for the BC Open. Clearly, the field doesn't have the strength in depth of a regular PGA TOUR stop because of The Open and I hope I can capitalise on this and perform to the best of my abilities. I'll keep you posted once I find out the tee times. I just got here tonight and am playing at 130pm in the Pro-Am on Wednesday - this will be my practice round. Thanks to you all for entering the monthly competition - we get more and more each month. Gotta go, off to dinner, Per

Thursday 17 July - B.C. Open, 1st Round 70 (-2)
An average day today with a 70, although I can be positive about the way I played the par 5s. I birdied all three of them on my back nine to come back in 35, against the par of 37. I need to get the flat stick going on the par 4s to shoot a good solid number in the 60s and get back in contention. I started from the 10th early this morning and swopped 2 birdies at 11 and 15 with bogeys on 13 and 17. My Swedish buddies, Richard Johnson and Gabriel Hjertstedt are also here this week so we will probably do dinner somewhere local tonight. I'm off the first in the afternoon and looking for a good score! See you there! Per

Saturday 19 July - B.C. Open, 2nd Round 66 (-6), 3rd Round 69 (-3)
After the rain delay on Friday for 5 hours all of the schedules were put back and we finally got our third rounds finished this evening. I came back to the course at around 6am in the morning in time for some practice prior to my 7.30am re-start. I played well from the get go and with no birdies on the card and four more birdies I shot a 66 to move myself back into contention. A quick lunch and we were off again. Once again I played well but didn't make as many putts and I finished the day well with a birdie on 18 to shoot 69. This put me in at tied 14th and in good position for tomorrow. The scoring will be low on a course with many birdie chances so let's hope I can get the flat stick going! Catch up after the round, Per

Sunday 20 July - B.C Open, 4th Round 72 (Even)
A poor last day when I wanted to be shooting in the 60s and making a move up the board. As it was, I shot 72 and finished 31st. I never really got going today and didn't play as well as the first three rounds. The cheque for $16,650 puts me in 114th spot in the money. I made an awful lot of pars today and couldn't capitalise on the front nine par 5s. I was out in 1 under and made an ugly double on 10 before grabbing another birdie to come back in 1 over. Overall I hit the ball better than the last couple of weeks and the 66 has given me some confidence going into the Greater Hartford Open. Straight after the round, I drove up to Rhode Island for a party at Brett Quigley's place ( actually it's on Monday). After a five hour drive I'm ready for bed! Catch up later in the week, Per

Tuesday 22 July - Greater Hartford Open
The weather this year on the PGA TOUR has been unbelievable and once again we had rain, rain, rain! I managed only 13 holes of practice today with two rain delays. At one point there was an inch of rain in two minutes - now that IS a lot of rain! I am now writing this by candlelight as there is a power cut in the hotel and everyone is walking around with flashlights. It's a glamourous life here on TOUR sometimes!! The draw is out and I am playing with my good friend from Sweden, Gabriel Hjertstedt and also Mike Heinen from the USA. We are all off the 1st tee on Thursday at 12.45 and then the 10th tee at 07.45 on Friday. I hope some of you can make it out to the event. Off to dinner (in the dark - I guess salad is one the menu!), Per

Thursday 24 July - Greater Hartford Open, 1st Round 69 (-1)
A solid start to the week, although after one hole it wasn't looking too promising. I made a double there to be 2 over after one - never a good thing! From then on I played really solid if not spectacular golf on a windy day. I birdied 4 to get back one back before a bogey on 7 put me back at +2. I hit back with birdie at 8 and then made another couple on 10 and 11 to get into the red figures. Bogey on 12 and I was back level, before making a great 3 at the last to shoot 69 on this tough par 70. I have an early tee time on Friday, so lets hope I miss the wind then. By the way, Suzy Whaley's score of 75 was quite a result. She also had the worst of a windy day and should be congratulated on playing the course so well and beating a few of the guys! I'll catch up with you after my early morning round, Bye for now, Per

Friday 25 July - Greater Hartford Open, 2nd Round 68 (-2)
A solid day and my score of 68 moved me up into a tie for 21st place at the end of the day. Nothing spectacular to report. I was starting from the 10th tee and was soon in the red after a birdie at 12. I dropped one at the short 15th to make the turn in level. I played par and birdie golf on my back nine and came home in 33 with birdies on 2 and 4. I'm in good position for the weekend and a pair of scores in the 60s will do me some good. A pair of 66s would be even better! Catch up later, Per

Saturday 26 July - Greater Hartford Open, 3rd Round 68 (-2)
Well, 66 was on the cards until 16 where I hit a poor shot into the water and made bogey! Up until then I played the most consistent golf of the year. My ball striking was excellent and my swing felt great. I just hit a soft 6 instead of a hard 7 at the 16th and mishit it for the first and only time all day. Still, with four birdies on 4, 10, 13, and 15 I moved up the board into the top 20 and have given myself a chance for a top ten on Sunday. The course is still damp and it's possible to go low as my playing partner Chris Riley proved with a great 63. I'll have an early dinner tonight with a few of the boys and then watch a little TV. Straight after play I will head to the airport and get back to see Jill, who hasn't been feeling too well this week. I'll report back from West Palm after the fourth round. Bye for now, Per

Sunday 27 July - Greater Hartford Open 74 (+4)
Simply a bad day today. Out in 3 over 38, my back was against the wall all the way and i just couldn't find the groove I had had over the previous days. I made my one and only birdie at 12, but gave another couple back at the 14th and 16th to shoot a disappointing 74. I went straight to the airport and am now back in West Palm. I checked the stats and I actually moved up a couple of spots on the Monay List to 112, despite finishing in a tie for 42nd. A promising start to the week and let's hope I can get it closed more successfully in the coming week. I plan on playing the Buick and the International before a couple of weeks of which should fit well with the imminent arrival of our first child. Thanks for all the emails this week, Bye for now, Per

Wednesday 30 July - Buick Open, Grand Blanc, Michigan
The golf course here at Warwick Hills will produce some low scores. It is in great shape, has four par 5s and you can be sure some guys will go low. Let's hope I am one of them. Despite a poor last round at the GHO my game feels good. I arrived here late so I could be with Jill as much as possible before the birth. She is doing well. The tee times are out and I have a late/early playing with Dave Stockton Jnr and John Maginnes. We are off at 1254 from the 10th and then 0754 from the 1st. I hope to see some of you out there. Bye for now, Per

Thursday 31 July - Buick Open, 1st Round 72 (Even)
A quick update today as I have to run! A mixed day with 5 birdies, a double and 3 bogeys for a level par 72. This puts me on the bubble and in need of a solid mid 60s round tomorrow. A good birdie on 18 really helped and gives me a good shot of making a move on Fridays early start. I'll give you more of an update after round 2. Gotta fly! New competition posted for August - check it out, Per

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