January 2004

Sunday 4 January - West Palm Beach
Happy New Year! Jill, Stella and I are back from a great Christmas in Sweden. It was fun to catch up with all of our families and Swedish friends. The weather was cold and snowy and so there was no golf. Now we are back home in WPB after a long, long trip home. I am now practicing for my first event which will be the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. The folks there have given me an invitation, which I am very grateful for. I'll get back to you in the next few days with some thoughts on the year ahead. I look forward to having you all aboard this year for another year on TOUR! Bye for now, Per

Wednesday 14 January - West Palm Beach
My schedule is beginning to take shape now and I thought you would like to know what the first few weeks looks like. Two events have given me an invitation to play, the Bob Hope Classic and the FBR Phoenix Open. A huge thank you to the folks at these events for giving me this opportunity. I really appreciate it. So, I will start next week at the Bob Hope, then it's off to Phoenix, then AT & T. Maybe I will get into the Buick Invitational and I am awaiting news from The Nissan Open, then onto Tucson. Following that is the Florida Swing. Thanks for all the emails enquiring about when I am starting out on the road to regaining my full card. I am feeling good and have renewed energy for 2004. Catch up with you next week from California, Per

Tuesday 20 January - Palm Springs - Bob Hope Chrysler Classic
Well, tomorrow I start another year on TOUR. My tee time is a mid morning one at 1045 from the 10th tee on the Bermuda Dunes course. It's a 5 day event this week and for the first four days we play with amateurs in a giant pro-am. The event is played over four courses and you can watch the coverage on USA network. Jill, Stella and I are enjoying the sunshine here, but it's a little chilly in the mornings in the shadow of the mountains. Over the last 3 days I have played the courses and refreshed my memory from last year. I feel ready! Catch up with you after round one, Bye for now, Per

Wednesday 21 January - Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, 1st Round 67 (-5)
A great start on the Bermuda Dunes course, going out in 34 and coming home in 33 for a 67. I played well and have yet to make a bogey in 2004! This week will produce some low scores and it's great to be off to a good start on one of the easier courses that we play this week. On Thursday I have an earlier time at 933am on the La Quinta course - I hope to see you there. Catch up tomorrow, Per

Thursday 22 January - Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, 2nd Round 74 (+2)
A bad day today on the hardest (and my least favorite) of the four courses we play at the Bob Hope, La Quinta. I was actually off to a reasonable start from the 10th tee and was out in 1 under 35 with birdies on 11, 15 and 16. Heading around the turn was where it all went wrong with a double after an out of bounds on the 2nd (my 11th) followed by a bogey on the next par 3. Still, I managed to get in at only 2 over and with another couple of solid scores on the more straightforward coures I have time to pull up the leaderboard. After the golf Jill and I went to dinner with the Jacobsons. It's a record on TOUR this week for the Swedish players. There are 8 of us playing in this event! Thanks for all the encouraging emails as the season begins. It's great to know you are all out there supporting me. Bye for now, Per

Friday 23 January - Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, 3rd Round, 64 (-8)
What a difference a day makes! On the Indian Wells course today I shot my best ever tound on the PGA TOUR, a 64. I have shot 65 a number of times and with a birdie at the 18th I managed to go one better today. It was a beautiful day here in the desert and I was playing with 3 very nice amateur partners. I was actually off to a slow start with 3 pars before making 4 birdies in a row from the 4th. Out in 32 I then dropped my only shot of the day at the 10th before my putter really got red hot - I should say white hot, because it is the Odyssey 2 Ball with the white face! Coming in I made birdies on 12, 14, 15, 17 and 18 to be back in 32 and post my best ever number in the US. For the record the best score I have shot so far was a 62 in the Dutch Open in 1992. The score moved me up in to the top 40 and into a much better position with still 2 rounds to go. I am playing PGA West on Saturday and hope to keep the good scoring going. Have a great weekend and I'll keep you all posted, Per

Saturday 24 January - Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, 4th Round 68 (-4)
68 sounds like a reasonable score, but after the start I made today on the back nine it was disappointing. I came out hot with birdies on 10, 11 and 12, added another on 14, before making a great 35 footer on the par 5 18th for eagle. This put me out in 30, which is 6 under par. Turning for home my game desereted me and I couldn't use the par 5s to my advantage and make a couple of birtdies. With 2 bogies on 3 and 7 I was back in a poor 38 and posted a 68. This moved me up a few spots on the leaderboard, but after that start I was hoping for more. It's a good week so far for the Swedish contingent with 7 of the 8 starters making the 4 round cut. After the round, I headed to the range and then all the Swedes met up for dinner. I'm looking forward to round 5 at the Bob Hope and following the round, Jill, Stella and I will drive over to Phoenix, ready for next weeks event. Catch up later, Per

Sunday 25 January - Bob Hope Chrysler Classi, 5th Round 74 (+2)
The end of an up and down week. This was one of the down rounds! I started at the 10th today and was out in a dreadful 40, compared with 30 on the same 9 holes yesterday! No excuse, I just played poorly and with bogeys on 10 and 17 and a double on 15 (the par 3) and no birdies, the result was plus 4. I did play better on the back nine and with back to back birdies on 1 and 2 I was back in 34 to shoot 74. This was not what I was looking for on a day when the scoring was low. I ended up down the field in 69th, but I can take some positive thoughts away from the week. My putting was solid and I shot my best ever round on TOUR - and I made a cheque!. Straight after I had finished, we headed off to Phoenix for the FBR Open. I am playing in the pro-am on Monday, so it's going to be another busy week. I hope to see all you Sun Devils out there! Per

Thursday 29 January - FBR Open 1st Round 70 (-1)
A solid start this morning with a one under par 70. I just came from the range and my game is getting closer. My driving is still not quite right, but the putter has been keeping me in the game. I'm playing on an invitation this week and a huge thank you to the Tournament Director, Greg Hoyt and his committee for giving me one of the valuable spots. I always enjoy coming back to Phoenix. I was here at University in the last 80s and early 90s and I am a die hard Sun Devil! The round today was steady, with an early bogey on 11 and a birdie on 13 to put me out in level par. On the way back I made bogey on 5, but hit back with birdies on 6 and 8 to post my under par score. It sure can be noisy out here with over 100,000 fans each day, but it's great fun to play in front of such a huge crowd, especially as many of them know I am Sun Devil. I have a late tee time tomorrow from the first tee, so I can have a late start for a change. Bye for now, Per

Friday 30 January - FBR Open 2nd Round 73 (+1)
I made a dreadful start today with a double, double, bogey run from the 2nd which dropped me to 4 over. I knew the cut would be around level par so I just tried to grind it out, but it was not until the 10th that I made a birdie and I was still 3-over for the tournament with 3 to play. At 16 I hit it close and made a great 2. Then at the short par-4 17th I made another birdie but unfortunately I could not squeeze another one out of the last and me and 19 other guys were one shot too many for the cut. I am really disappointed as I have to take my chances to make cuts this year, but you can't throw in two doubles on a course like this and I will have to get some practice in before my next event. Speak to you soon, Per.

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