| 1 October, Southern Farm Bureau Classic, 2nd Round 71 (-1)
My driving and short game was good today, but my approach play let
me down. Starting from the 10th I made a good up and down at the
10th and 12th for par, with a nice pitch a putt birdie at the par-5
11th from 7 feet. From there I could not get anything going and
had to rely on my short game to get some pars. At the par-5 18th
I was in the back bunker in 2, but could not get up and down. I
felt I needed to play the back nine in 2-under to make the cut,
but bogeys at 2 and 3 made that a tough task. I pulled my approach
at 2 and did not get up and down and then missed from 4 feet for
par at 3. However with two par-5s to come I felt I could still make
it. At 5 I made birdie with a nice up and down from the bunker and
at 7 I hit a great chip from 30 yards left of the green in the rough
to 6 feet and made it for another. I had a good chance at the par-3
8th but missed it and the 5 foot birdie putt I missed at the last
did not really matter as I missed the cut by 2. I am really disappointed,
because although I did not play well I could still have made the
cut. Three events left so I will just have to take what I can from
this week and hopefully make the weekend at the next event in Greensboro.
Niclas 13 October, Chrysler Classic of Greensboro
Back in the States again for the last three tournaments of the season
and first out is the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro at Forest Oaks
CC in North Carolina. I have a tough goal to reach as I need at
least another $300.000
to keep my card on the PGA Tour for the season 2005. Trying not
to think too much about it though, it is the reality but I’m
relaxed and looking forward to play a lot! Have been working on
my putting and things are heading in the right direction. The rest
of my game feels OK. Didn’t play the PRO AM today, Wednesday,
but as there was no shotgun I managed to play nine holes on the
course and the rest of the day was spent on the practice facilities.
I’m off the 10th tee tomorrow together with Curtis Strange
and Michael Allen. See you then! Niclas. 14 October, Chrysler Classic of Greensboro, 1st Round 70
(-2)
I mixed good and bad today, but overall a step forward compared
to the last played events. Made many mistakes on my first nine holes
and made bogeys on 12, 16 and 17. Recovered a little bit with birdies
on 13 and 15 and made the turn on +1 which was frustrating. Played
all right the last nine holes and made birdies on 3, 4 and 8 after
hitting the ball close to the pin. Actually, I think I should have
scored even better the last few holes as I gave myself really good
chances also on hole 1, 5, 6, 7 and 9, with none of them longer
than a 12 foot putt for birdie. But, as before, my putting caused
me a little bit of a trouble and I finished at -2 for the round.
Not too bad start. I’m off the 1st tee tomorrow Friday at
1.20 pm, hopefully I can score better then. See you, Niclas. 15 October, Chrysler Classic of Greensboro, 2nd Round 71
(-1)
What a day! I started with missing a 1 metre putt for birdie on
hole number 1 which obviously wasn’t what was I was hoping
for. It took me a few holes to get back into my game again and my
hunt for birdies didn’t succeed until
the ninth. Played much better after that and made another birdie
on 11 to go to -4 in total. Was a little bit taken back after 12
where I failed to make a very short putt for par. Saved par on 13,
bogeyed 14 and knew at the time that I had to fight to make the
cut. Felt good after 15 and 16 where I had two birdies, especially
16 where I hit drive, 5-iron and finished with an 8 metre putt for
birdie. Had a bad tee shot on 17, a bad second shot that landed
on the green but rolled off the front and I had two putts from there
to save bogey. Finished with par on 18. I made a good effort today
and I was really fighting hard. I made the cut for the weekend and
I’m of course happy for that, but I’m now trying to
focus on two good weekend rounds to climb up the leader board. Talk
to you tomorrow! Niclas 16 October, Chrysler Classic of Greensboro, 3rd Round 73
(+1)
Didn’t really achieve what I was hoping for today. Started
off with two pars and two bogeys on my first four holes. Tried to
keep myself in a good mood and felt like things were slowly heading
in the right direction after birdies on 9 and 12. Had a couple of
good chances, but didn’t hole any of the short putts I gave
myself. On the tricky par 3 17 I hit a bad tee shot and, as yesterday,
I had to work hard to 'only' making a bogey. Got another good birdie
chance at 18 that I unfortunately missed. +1 for the round today
was a bad score and mainly a result of bad putting. I will therefore
spend a lot of time on the practice grounds today to be able to
improve my game tomorrow. See you then, Niclas. 17 October, Chrysler Classic of Greensboro, 4th Round 74
(+2)
Started off in a good mood with a birdie on my first hole. On the
2nd, I made a bad chip and had a 2.5 metre putt for par but didn’t
make it. Then it was, of course, very difficult to get the momentum
back. Made some really good putts to save par, which was good, but
on the other hand I had seven putts for birdie that lipped out from
a very short distance. Disappointing, of course! On 16 I putted
for birdie but the ball passed the hole and I left myself with a
1 metre return and missed it to drop another shot. On 17 I was disturbed
on the tee because of a clock that was chiming. I tried to re-focus
but obviously not enough. My tee shot landed long in one of the
green side bunkers and from there I chipped in towards the flag
and three putted from three metres. Finally, I got robbed on 18
after a good birdie attempt and 74 left me at even par and tied
62nd. I’m now heading off for the airport to go to Orlando
and next week's tournament, Funai Classic. Still have some hopes
for a good finish to the season! Niclas. 20 October, Funai Classic At Walt Disney World, Florida
Went down to Orlando, Florida last Sunday to play this weeks Funai
Classic on the PGA Tour. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday practicing
on the two different courses that we are going to play, Disney's
Magnolia and Palm Courses. Two very different courses if you compare
the grass on the greens. Magnolia is definitely more tricky and
difficult because of the way the grass is growing. Apparently they
will re-make the greens next year. Everything feels OK with my game
and I have been practicing as usual, especially the putting. I’m
just trying now to have fun these last two events for the season
and enjoy myself playing. Of course I’m still focusing on
my big goal, to keep my card in the States, but I will take whatever
comes out of it. Off the 1st tee tomorrow at the Palm Course together
with my fellow Swede, Carl Pettersson and two amateurs. See you
then, Niclas. 21 October, Funai Classic, 1st Round 71 (-1)
My first round was a disappointment with too many missed short putts.
I played with a lot of patience and just tried to find my game.
Played great but missed too much on the greens. Started my front
nine with birdies on 1, 3 and 8 and made the turn on -2 after a
bogey on 9. Had many good chances on my back nine as well, but after
the second bogey for the round on 12, after missing a two metre
putt for par that I didn’t make, it was very hard to get the
focus back. -1 on the Palm Course is not a good result as it was
quite easy today and it is no surprise I am tied 101st. Will try
to re-focus until tomorrow and play better on the Magnolia course
instead. Talk to you then, Niclas.
22 October, Funai Classic, 2nd Round 70 (-2)
I played great today. My driving accuracy was 93% and greens in
regulation weren’t too bad either, 78%. But, as yesterday,
my putts didn’t drop. I started off the 10th tee with two
birdies, played solid all the way and made the turn on -3 for the
round. I knew I needed at least another birdie on my back nine,
more likely two, and was therefore very disappointed when I made
bogeys on 3 and 5, especially after a three putt on 5. Made another
birdie on 7, but -3 wasn’t enough to qualify for the weekend.
I will stay down here in Orlando until tomorrow Sunday and will,
of course, practice a lot. I will not take the time to go to any
of the theme parks this week; my family is at home in England, waiting
for my return in one week’s time. Talk to you next week, Niclas.
27 October, Chrysler Championship, Florida
This week it is my last tournament for the 2004 season, Chrysler
Championship at the Westin Innisbrook Golf Resort, Palm Harbor in
Florida. Drove here last Sunday and have been practicing most of
the time since. Played the Monday Pro-Am, had a long day on the
practice facilities Tuesday and will take some time to rest today,
Wednesday. I’m off the 10th tee tomorrow at 12.15 together
with Aaron Baddeley and Bo van Pelt. Hope to play good of course,
as always, and hopefully my putting will be good enough for me to
put a decent score together. See you then, Niclas. 28 October, Chrysler Championship, 1st Round 74 (+3)
Had another disappointing day on the greens and didn’t play
my very best. I missed a few short putts in the beginning of the
round, which gave me some bad self-confidence. Started off the 10th
tee and bogeyed 10, 14 and 15, birdied 12, 18 and 1, which took
me back to level par. I then thought my game where heading in the
right direction but was taken back after a sand wedge from the rough
that flew over the green and gave me a difficult two putt for bogey.
Finished off with two more bogies on 6 and 8. +3 and tied 97th place
is of course no good if I want to qualify for the weekend, but I
will make a good try tomorrow and do my very best. Wish me luck!
See you then, Niclas.
29 October, Chrysler Championship, 2nd Round 74 (+3)
Needed a very good round to get anywhere on Friday. Got off to a
running start with a birdie on 1 after a wedge to
four inches. Nothing really happened after that until some bad putting
caught up with me. It was mainly downhill from there and nothing
would really happen. Some average long play and bad putting saw
me shoot another 74 and a missed cut meant the season is officially
over. Very nice indeed! However strange it may sound after this
horrible season I’m actually very positive for the future.
I’ve done a lot of development work all autumn and it is starting
to show. My motivation is good and I will start my winter practice
right away when I get home to England. I know what to do and how
to go about it, and some time away from tournament play will really
give me a chance to settle nicely. I will start off playing on the
European Tour next year. I see this as the natural way for me to
get my game back and I also look forward to play more on my home
tour again. However I hope that I will start playing well early
and get into some World Golf Championship events and majors later
in the year. Thanks for all your support this year and I will catch
up with you soon. Niclas
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