1 August, Scandinavian Masters, 4th Round 70 (-2)
Started today's round with an explosion of birdies on holes 1, 2, 4 and 5. I was -8 for the tournament and was getting close to the leaders. Hit the green on the par-4 6th, but a lapse in concentration cost me a three putt and the spell was broken. Played OK after that but nothing really went right for me. Dropped the odd shot and fell back to -4 after 13. It just wouldn't happen. However I managed a good finish with birdies on 14 and 17 to get back to -6 and tied 8th. It was good considering all the things I have been working on this last few weeks. Having a week off in Sweden now before I go over to the States for the USPGA Championship. I am looking forward to that! Niclas

11 August, USPGA Championship, Wisconsin, USA
This is the last major for the year and I have really been looking forward to play. Unfortunately my world ranking at the moment doesn’t give me opportunities to play all the majors, but I qualified for this one after finishing tied 10th at last year’s tournament. Arrived in the States last Monday with my family and have practiced a lot since. The golf course is difficult, demanding and one of the longest I have ever played. But it will hopefully suit the Europeans a little bit more because it gives you the feeling of a links course in Scotland or Ireland. I am off the 1st tee Thursday morning together with Craig Thomas and Brendan Jones. Talk to you then, Niclas.

12 August, USPGA Championship, 1st Round 74 (+2)
I had a very tough night after being food poisoned on Wednesday evening. As a result I didn’t get much sleep and felt very weak out there today. Started off the first tee and made one bogey on number five. Had a bad double bogey on 11 but recovered a little bit with a nice birdie on the par-3 12th, thanks to a tee shot that almost spun back straight into the hole. Bogey on 13 and the score was heading to high numbers, but I managed to finish off with another birdie on the par-3 17th from another great tee shot. Played as well as I possibly could due to the circumstances and hung in there well. I hope to recover tomorrow to be able to fight back and get a more decent result. No practice today though, I will go straight back to the hotel and get some sleep now - the best medication for tomorrow's swing! See you then, Niclas

13 August, USPGA Championship, 2nd Round 70 (-2)
I started off the 10th tee today with the intention of giving it all I had, although still being a little week from the food poisoning Wednesday night. It was possible to score today, despite tougher pin positions and that some tees had been moved back a little bit. I gave myself two good birdie chances on 10 and 11 which unfortunately, I didn’t make. Parred every hole until the 18th where I dropped a shot after missing a 10 foot long putt for par. Started off my back nine with a good run of birdies on 1 and 2. Pared number 3 and made another birdie on 4. Had very good chances on 5 and 6 and finished off with three more pars. Finished on -2 and my score after Friday is level par in total for tied 44th. I’m feeling confident with my game and have a good chance to move up the leaderboard during the weekend. I’m paired with Tiger tomorrow. We have never played together before so I am looking forward to it. Talk to you then, Niclas.

14 August, USPGA Championship, 3rd Round 73 (+1)
Out with Tiger today. Started off playing really well and had many birdie chances. The putts didn’t want to drop though and on 6 I had a bad three put to go to +1. Kept playing well and putting badly but got a birdie, finally, on 10. But bogeyed 11 and 12 after more bad putts and couldn’t get it going. Played very well and finally got a put to drop from over thirty feet on 18 in front of the crowds. Possibly they were really there to see Tiger? Anyway, a nice day with good play but a horrible day on the greens. Spent a long afternoon practicing on the putting green so hopefully it will be better. I am tied 56th at the moment, so early start for the final round at 10am with Patrick Sheehan. See you tomorrow! Niclas

15 August, USPGA Championship, 4th Round 72 (Ev)
I played OK today. It was mixed good and bad on the greens, but still a step forward. I missed a lot of tee shots on my back nine, as opposed to the front nine where I also had a lot more birdie chances. The course was playing a little bit more difficult today with much tougher pin positions and a stronger breeze. My best shot of the day was a six iron on number 8 from 200 yards up to nine feet from the pin. Easy birdie! I also birdied 1, 5 and 9 and bogeyed 3, 4, 14 and 15 to finish tied 44th. Overall, it was yet another tournament where the game looked really promising, but it is not quite happening for me just yet. I am flying up to Cleveland, Ohio with the family for the next tournament, the WGC event NEC Invitational. Speak to you from there, Niclas

18 August, WGC NEC Invitational, Akron, Ohio
The Firestone Golf Club is definitely one of my favorite courses as it really makes you think. It has got difficult but fair greens, it's long and you have to hit the fairway because the rough is very deep. All in all very demanding but it also extremely beautiful and well kept. I had a long practice day today and much of my focus has been on my putting. Together with my caddie, Dave McNeilly, I have been working a lot lately on my wedge play, but focus is now shifting towards the putting as the wedges are starting to work nicely. I played 15 holes today and feel well prepared for tomorrow. I’m off the first tee at 10.45 together with Brad Faxon. Tonight I will relax as much as I can and spend time together with my family. Talk to you tomorrow! Niclas

19 August, WGC NEC Invitational, 1st Round 75 (+5)
I had high expectations for today, but the result became the total opposite. I started off the 10th tee with a couple of good sand saves for three good pars and then bogeyed 13 and 14 after missing the fairway and not getting up and down. Didn’t feel at the time that I was playing as bad as the score was showing, had some bad tee shots but my iron play was really working well. On my back nine I really started to struggle though. Bogeyed 1 after missing from 4 feet, 5, 9 and had a double on 8 after another poor tee shot meant I took four to get to the green and then missed for bogey from 6 feet. However I birdied the par-5 2nd after hitting the green in two and the par-3 7th after a great tee shot to 7 feet. To finish at +5 for the round was really not what I was hoping for. I managed to finish my first round but most of the players have to go out there tomorrow morning to complete their round, as the tournament has been suspended a couple of times due to heavy rain and thunderstorms. Hope to play better tomorrow. Niclas.

20 August, WGC NEC Invitational, 2nd Round -3 thru 11
Started the day with two hours practice on my tee shots and putting. I immediately got feedback on the course as I started my round on the 10th tee with birdies on 10, 12 and 14. I was close to making another one on 17 and was a little bit disappointed after a bogey on 18 as my game really felt solid. Made the fourth birdie of the day on 2 to go to +2 in total. Then the second round was suspended due to inclement weather, but today I didn’t manage to finish my round before the break. The play will resume tomorrow Saturday at 8 am local time. I hope to keep my good flow going when we restart - a birdie putt is waiting for me on the third green...Niclas

21 August, WGC NEC Invitational, 3rd Round 70 (Even)
I finished my second round with two birdies and two bogeys. It was very disappointing as my game felt really good and I had many more birdie chances. Got into the club house on +3, it could easily have been level par instead. Started my third round off the 10th tee today, just like yesterday, but today I started with two bogeys on 10 and 11. Recovered a little bit with a birdie on the par three 12th after a tee shot that stopped 25 feet from the cup, a good birdie! Had a run of four pars after that until 17, where I made my third bogey of the day after missing my tee shot in to the left rough. My second shot landed in a greenside bunker and I didn’t manage to make up and down from there. Made the turn on +2 and finished off with two birdies on 6 and 8 and had, except those, about seven more really good chances. Really good play on my last nine holes. So hopefully I will be able to score a little bit lower tomorrow. I’m off the first tee at 11.40 am together with Jimenez. See you then, Niclas

22 August, WGC NEC Invitational, 4th Round 79 (+9)
My fourth round was disastrous, +9 today and +12 in total for the tournament. I’m exhausted after a couple of tough weeks with a lot of practice and changes in my swing, and I was tired already when I started my fourth round. Made the turn on +1 but after that there was a total lack of energy on my back nine and I was unable to recover from the bogeys I made on 10 and 14. Made a double on 15. Next, I hit two balls in the water on the par five 16th and left the green with +4 to go to +12 in total. Pared 17 and 18. Need a lot of rest and will take Monday off. Taking a flight to Connecticut tonight for next week’s tournament, the Buick Championship. Hopefully a better finish then! Niclas

25 August, Buick Championship, Cromwell Connecticut
I’m now up in Cromwell, Connecticut to play the Buick Championship at TPC River Higlands. I took last Monday off to rest, that was well needed. Feel better now and I’m totally focused on this week’s tournament and hope to play well. Didn’t play the Pro-Am today, so I went with Dave, my caddie to a golf course close by to practice. We have specially been focusing on distance control, something that really has improved in my game the last couple of weeks. It’s a very nice golf course this week, but they had huge amounts of rain last Saturday and hopefully that will dry out during the week. I’m off the 1st tee at 07.00 am tomorrow morning together with Pat Bates and David Sutherland. See you then, Niclas.

26 August, Buick Championship, 1st Round 69 (-1)
I played really well today and started my first nine with birdies on 2, 5 and 6. Continued to play well on hole 7 through 11 but didn’t score with all the chances I had. Missed one of only two fairways for the day on the 12th, and left with a bogey after a three putt. Had then lost my momentum a little bit and made another bogey on 15, a par four that is reachable from tee. Played a lot better on my last three finishing holes but didn’t make any more birdies. Today was a big step forward for me; my game felt really good and I feel like I’ve got my energy back. I will now focus on only one thing, play golf and have fun meanwhile! I’m off for my second round at 12.00am tomorrow, see you then! Niclas

27 August, Buick Championship, 2nd Round 73 (+3)
It was a quite disappointing day today as I failed to make the cut. Had some difficulties in my putting and didn’t score at all the chances I had. Started off the 10th tee and made bogeys on 12 and 18 and a double bogey on 13. My only birdie of the day came on hole 1 where I holed a 12 foot putt. Finished off with a 25 foot putt for par on 9. Will practice tomorrow Saturday on a golf course close by, take Sunday off and then drive to the next tournament, Deutsche Bank in Boston. Hopefully I will be able to give you some more positive news then! Niclas.


Next Month
Back to Tour Diary