February 2004

Wednesday 4 February - AT&T National Pro-Am
Greetings from fantastic Pebble Beach, California. We are sharing a house with my friend and fellow Swede Richard Johnson and having a great time. I am very excited about this week...it's a fantastic format across three great courses in one of the best golf resorts in the world. If you've never been here you must come. Hoping for a better result this week. Check back tomorrow for results. Bye for now, Per.

Thursday 5 February - AT&T National Pro-Am, 1st Round 73 (+1) at Poppy Hills
An average day today. Not a great deal happened out there at the toughest of the three courses we play this week in what many still refer to as "The Crosby". It's a shame that old Bing's name isn't still on the event the way that Bob Hope's is on the Chrysler event. One more bogey than birdie and a resulting 73 leaves me down the list and in need of a better score at Spyglass Hill, the second easiest course. As there are only there courses on the rota, I guess that also makes it the second toughest! Jill, Stella and I are enjoying the California sunshine now after a couple of days of rain. There is a new competition posted for those of you who would like the chance to win a PU hat. Catch up with you after my early morning start at Spyglass. Bye for now, Per

Friday 6 February - AT&T National Pro-Am 2nd Round 71 (-1) at Spyglass Hill
A better round today at Spyglass and a score that will leave me close to the cut mark and in need of a good one at Pebble on Saturday. Twice today, I made birdie and followed it up with a bogey which is very annoying, at 14 and then again at 9 (my last hole of the day). A gorgeous, Tourism Board day here on the Monterey Peninsula and my score leaves me in good shape to be around on Sunday. Let's hope the wind stays down for my round at magnificent Pebble Beach. It is an inspiring course once you head out to the ocean - my game is coming back and I'm ready for a great score ! Hope to see some of you out there, Per

Saturday 7 February - AT&T National Pro-Am 3rd Round 71 (-1) at Pebble Beach
It was a game of two halves today - well almost! It was actually the first 10 holes and then the final 8. Starting from the first I was off to a great start at magnificent Pebble Beach. Despite the greens showing the effects of several hundred pairs of shoes, I managed to knock in a few putts and birdied 3, 4 and 5 to be out in 3 under. I made another at the 10th and after that it was a question of hanging on in there as my game and the greens deteriorated. I made bogey at 12, 13 and 16 to make the unusual 3 round, 65 man cut on the number and give myself the chance to make a good check on Sunday. This is the first time I have made the cut at the AT&T, so that feels good. It's a tough, slow format playing with amateurs and as much fun as it can be it's hard sometimes to really keep your mind on the job in hand. Tonight we plan on having a home coked meal with our Swedish friends at our house, which we rented for the week - you can't beat home cooking! I'm off with a marker tomorrow because I was the last one in past the cut mark and there is an odd number of players. Should be interesting, See you then, Per

Sunday 8 February - AT&T National Pro-Am, 4th Round 81 (+9) at Pebble Beach
Ouch! What a day it was! The round took over 6 hours and my game was not there from the first hole. I won't go into too many details, let's just say that out in 41 and back in 40 isn't good! Let's look on the bright side. I made a check, moved up the money list ... and the round is over! Jill, Stella and I headed to San Jose after the round to fly back to West Palm for a week off. I'm looking forward to that before heading back to the West Coast for the Nissan Open at one of my favourite courses, Riviera. I'll catch up with you all later in the week form home. Bye for now, Per

Tuesday 17 February - Nissan Open, Riviera
We are enjoying our time here in LA. We're staying in Westwood at a fun hotel. I had a good practice round on Monday in the Nissan pro-am. The tee times are out and I am playing with Paul Stankowski from Dallas, Texas and Woody Austin from Derby, Kansas. We are all playing from the 10th tee at 8.30am. I'll report back later in the week - Gotta go now - for an early dinner, Bye for now, Per

Wednesday 18 February - Nissan Open, Riviera
A relaxing day today. With the Pro-am being played on the wonderful Riviera course, I used the time to practice in the rain. I actually didn't last too long in it, because it really started coming down. Following practice we had an excellent dinner at the W and then a bunch of us got together and went to The Comedy Store. A friend of Jespers was performing and we really enjoyed his act and a couple of the acts - a couple were the usual alternative comedy, (ie not funny). We were in bed by 10.30 ready for the early start on Thursday. Catch up after the round, Per

Thursday 19 February - Nissan Open, 1st Round 71 (Even)
An up and down day. I started from the 10th and dropped one early on, before my Odyssey 2 Ball putter got going and in the course of the next 10 holes I made 3 putts of 20 feet or more, including a beauty on the 1st hole (my 10th) . This is a classic par 5 played from a tee about 75 feet above the fairway. I hit a fairway wood for my second shot to the right of the pin that was tucked behind the front bunker and knocked it in for eagle. Par after par followed until the 7th, where I somehow touched the ball whilst completing the hole and incurred a one shot penalty and a double to put me back to level for the round. The course is playing well and relatively easy with the rough being more forgiving than usual. I am playing on an invitation this week, so a huge thank you to Tom Pulchinski, the Tournament Director and his staff for making us feel so welcome. I will be fighting hard on Friday to move up the board and make the most of this opportunity. Bye for now, Per

Friday 20 February - Nissan Open, 2nd Round 68 (-3)
A very solid day today and a 68 put me inside the cut mark comfortably. Starting from the first, I was off to a good start with birdie up one. I gave it straight back at 2, but continued the birdie push with a pair at 5 and 7. I was out in 34 and my solid play continued on the back nine where I also came back in 34. The course continues to play well and someone is going to go low again on the weekend. It might as well be me as I strive for a top 10 position once again in this event. ( I was 6th here a couple of years ago). I have an early tee time on Saturday from the 10th tee, because a large number of players made the cut. From LA, Jill, Stella and I will head for Tucson next week for the Tucson Open. I'll catch up with all after the round today, Per

Saturday 21 February - Nissan Open, 3rd Round 71 (Even)
Another up and down day. The rain started when we drove to the course this morning, but got worse and worse as the day went on. I really started well in the poor weather and was 3 under through 5 holes on the back nine (I started from the 10th). Unfortunately, I gave them all back over the course of the next 13 holes as the rain came down. Still, the 71 didn't hurt my position for Sunday and if I can post a 67 or better I will move up to a reasonable position. I love playing this event and there is no question that Riviera is one of the best courses of the year. We went out to eat early, an Italian on Westwood Blvd, with Rickard Johnson and Linda. We went there with the Jacobsons on Friday night and the food was excellent. Because of the TV coverage the tee off times are once again early on Sunday. I am teeing off from the 10th tee for the third time in four rounds. It's a great, short par 4 - one of the best in tournament golf. I'll try to update the site after the round, before we head to Tucson. Bye for now, Per

Sunday 22 February - Nissan Open, 4th Round 72 (+1)
A reasonable finish with a one over par 72. I earned another check and moved up the Money List a few spots. I still need to be doing a better job of closing on the weekend, but my game is moving in the right direction. I stated from the 10th and struggled a little shooting 2 over on my front nine. I pulled a couple back on the back nine with birdies at 4 and 6 to come back in one under. After the golf, Jill headed home early as both of our parents are coming to visit from Sweden. I drove a few hours to Tucson for the next event and will give you an update from the sunshine of Arizona. Bye for now, Per

Wednesday 25 February - Chrysler Classic of Tucson
I arrived a couple of days ago here at the Omni Tucson National Golf Resort & Spa. What a nice place it is and this week I am sharing a room with my Swedish buddy, Richard Johnson. We have similar tee times off the 10th tee on Thursday and 1st tee on Friday. I'm playing with two Davids, Sutherland and Berganio at 1230 and then 0800. The course is really good, especially after some rain on Monday. My game feels good and I have been working hard with my new coach, Trevor. With the top 64 in the world away at La Costa, this is a great week to make an impact and I hope to improve on my early positions so far. I've been making cuts, but need to keep it going on the weekend. I hope to see some of you out here this week. A big thank you to Louis Goldner for the new picture you see on the home page. Louis took it when we played together at Scottsdale in the FBR pro-am. It was a fun day and I hope he gets a kick out of it being on the site. It's a good memory for me too, Louis. Catch up later in the week, Per

Thursday 26 February - Chrysler Classic of Tucson, 1st Round 65 (-7)
What an extraordinary day. In the end I shot 65, which is 7 under the card of 72, but I could have equalled a couple of PGA TOUR records, but for a double bogey at the last. My front nine was uneventful, out in one under. The fireworks started on my back nine ( the front nine of the course). I made birdie on 1, 2 and 3, made par at 4 and then holed my second shot for eagle at 5. Another 3 birdies at 6, 7 and 8 and I stood on the ninth tee needing a birdie to be back in 27 and to equal the TOUR record. At this point I had also had only 18 putts in 17 holes! (Needless to say I didn't know about either of these until I got in) The Odyssey 2 Ball sure did its stuff! I played really nicely and as we turned into the sun down the last I misjudged the tee shot and hit it too long in to the water with 3 wood ( I'll be hitting 3 iron tomorrow!). So, after a drop I knocked a 5 iron on the green and after all of that good putting throuighout the day, I managed to 3 putt! Not the best way to finish and I was really disappointed not to be back in 29. Still, I am in second place right now and in good shape for a strong event. Thanks for all the emails - I guess many of you saw the golf on USA Network last night. I am off in the morning and hope to keep the good scoring going. Catch up on Friday, Per

Friday 27 February - Chrysler Classic of Tucson 2nd Round 69 (-3)
A very solid day of fairways and greens today and a resulting 69 put me at 10 under for the event and in the top 10, with a number of players still to finish. It was a day that promised poor weather and at the end of the day it came and there was a lightning delay that left quite a number of players on the course and the prospect of an early start. Fortunately, I was not one of them and with my early morning tee time I had left the course by the time the poor weather advanced. No bogeys on my card today and just 3 birdies in my 69. It's tough to reapeat the kind of scoring fireworks I had yesterday and I'll take 69 to keep in good position. I need to go low over the weekend and right now I am only 3 back from Heath Slocum, who is leading. My game felt solid today and I realise that this is a big opportunity for me and one I need to take. Catch up after the round on Saturday, Per

Saturday 28 February - Chrysler Classic of Tucson, 3rd Round 69 (-3)
Another 69 and a move up the board to tied 6th. That doesn't tell the whole story though, because with one hole to go in the third round I was in second place at -15. The last is one of the hardest holes on TOUR all year and I unfortunately made a mess of it to drop back to -13. Still, let's look on the positive side of things. I am only 2 back from the lead, going out in the penultimate group and am playing well enough to win the event. I made my second eagle of the week at the 2nd today and was out in one under after dropping one on the par 3, 4th. I really got going on the back nine with birdies on 10, 13, 14 and 16. Obviously, it was disppointing at 18 - but it's gone and those shots are never comng back. The key when you make a mistake is to put it behind you and hit back positively. I'm excited to be in contention to win and am ready to make the US breakthough. I tee off at 10.30 mountain time with Carlos Franco and Mark Hensby. Should be a good day, so keep in touch with live scoring on PGATOUR.com. I need to go low and am feeling good out here in the desert. Catch up after the round, Per

Sunday 29 February - Chrysler Classic of Tucson, 4th Round 68 (-4)
I feel good after finishing here today with a couple of birdies, especially on the 18th, which I made a mess of yesterday! Like I said, you just have to move positively forward and keep making birdies. I was off to a relatively poor start on a day when there were plenty of birdies being made and was out in level par 36 with 2 bogeys and birdies. My game got going over the closing nine and I'm pleased that this was the case as it's the first time I've been in contention for a while. I birdied the par 5 10th and then the 14th. Coming to the 17th tee being only 2 under on the day, I figured I must have fallen a few places and with 2 tough holes to go I needed to focus. I hit a great tee shot into the 17th and made a 15 footer and then split the 18th fairway and hit a great iron shot into 13 feet. I made that too and the result was a tied 6th position and my best check of the year. I looked up the PGA TOUR stats later and this has moved me up to 83rd in the Money List, a big jump from 140. Thanks for all the emails of support. I read them on the charter flight I caught to Miami, ready for the Ford Championship. I am playing on invite around the famed Blue Monster and feel good for another solid week. Catch up later in the week, Per

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