2 March, Dubai Desert Classic
Traveled last Sunday to Dubai with my family and my swing coach Graham Crisp, for the Dubai Desert Classic played at the Emirates Golf Club. I have played this tournament several times before and it's always a fascinating place to come back to. I have also some good memories from my last time here in 2002, when I finished second. Have practice a lot and everything feels great. Played in the Pro Am today, which was nice as always. I'm off the 1st tee tomorrow at 12.35 together with Ernie Els and Jean-Francoise Remesy. See you then, Niclas.

3 March, Dubai Desert Classic, 1st Round 72 (Even)
Started my first round very well with two straight birdies on holes 1 and 2. A visit to the water on 4 cost me two shots, but I got one of them back with a very good birdie on 5, which is a very difficult hole. I made a 25 feet long putt for birdie after landing the ball in the middle of the green. After that things didn’t really go my way. Made a few mistakes from the middle of the fairway, missed some birdie chances and had another bogey on 9. Made the turn on par, but got back on track again after two good birdies on 10 and 12 where I holed a 30 feet long putt, fast downhill and very difficult. Finished off the round with two three putts on 16 and 18 for bogey and tied 55th. Overall I am very disappointed with what I have achieved today, especially with my putter. But, my game is still there and I hope to score better tomorrow. See you then, Niclas.

4 March, Dubai Desert Classic, 2nd Round 66 (-6)
Started off the 10th tee with four straight birdies, great! On my third hole, number 12, my second shot with a 7-iron hit the flag and was close to landing straight in to the hole but stopped two feet from the pin. On the par three 15th I made the first bogey of the round after a visit to the green bunker. Made birdie on 17 and 18, where I reached the green in two and was close to making an eagle, but my putt stopped a couple of inches from the hole. Made another birdie on 2 after a long putt. On 8 I made a very good save from a very difficult position in the green bunker. Used my 9 iron for the bunker shot and holed a 7 feet putt for par. I’m very satisfied with my game today and everything feels great. I have moved right up the leaderboard to tied 7th, so I hope to play well tomorrow as well. See you then, Niclas.

5 March, Dubai Desert Classic, 3rd Round 73 (+1)
Started the day with a stiff neck that affected me throughout the day. Not to much however, so I thought I was going to be able to play well anyway. But it wasn’t to be. After a bad start with two bogeys on my first two holes I started playing well and made birdies on 3 and 9. Made the turn on level par for the round and could have been several shots better. On the back nine I just couldn’t get the score going. Hit my second shot into the water on the par five 13th and made bogey. Finished the round with a three putt on the 18th for par. Disappointing score but I still feel my game is really strong. I am tied 32nd and Hope to make a good finish of the tournament tomorrow. See you then, Niclas.

6 March, Dubai Desert Classic, 4th Round 69 (-3)
A 69 on Sunday and tied 22nd was a decent finish to the tournament. It was however the easiest 69 of my life. I played my best long game in years hitting almost every fairway and green and several par fives in two. I just couldn't get the putts to drop though, but I think I'm on top of it. Reached the par four 17th with my tee shot, but only got par. On 18 I hit my second shot with a three wood just over the back. But a chip and two putts only gave me par again for a slightly disappointing 69. The game feels very strong now though and I'm very positive for the future. I'm off now to Qatar for next week's tournament. See you then, Niclas.

9 March, Qatar Masters
Arrived last Monday to Doha after a relaxing day in Dubai with my family.
It’s many years since I last played this tournament, but it’s nice to be back. Have practiced a lot during Tuesday and Wednesday and played the Pro Am today as well. The course is in good condition, but tricky if the wind blows (which it usually does here!). I’m off the 10th tee tomorrow morning at 6.55 am together with Richard Green and Simon Yates. See you then, Niclas.

10 March, Qatar Masters, 1st Round 68 (-4)
Started off the 10th tee today with three birdies and a bogey on my first four holes - quite good! The bogey I had was on 11 where I missed a three feet putt for. Continued to play well with many good chances, but the ball didn’t drop. After making the turn on -2, I missed the green on hole 1 from 30 yards, but proceeded to chip it in the cup for a birdie anyway! Had loads of chances on my back nine and finally made my last birdie for the round on 7 after an excellent sand wedge approach to six feet. 4-under for the round leaves me tied 5th and everything feels alright for my second round tomorrow. Bye for now, Niclas.

11 March, Qatar Masters, 2nd Round 71 (-1)
Started off the 1st tee today with a bogey, recovered a bit with a nice birdie on 4. Was immediately taken back to over par for the round again on 5, where I hit a 9 iron to the back of the green and needed three putts from 25 feet! Had another bogey on 8 and started to wonder what was happening really, my game felt good and I was expecting much more of the day than making the turn on +2. But things started to happen immediately on 10 and 11 where I made two straight birdies. Holed a 25 feet long putt for birdie on 17 and was robbed on 18 where the ball just didn’t drop as it should have, it stopped on the edge of the hole! -1 today and -5 in total for tied 8th. I have some work to do over the weekend, but the chance is definitely still there. See you then, Niclas.

12 March, Qatar Masters, 3rd Round 69 (-3)
Played brilliant my first nine, but didn’t get much out of it except for a birdie on 1. Felt very positive about my game after the turn, but made two very disappointing bogeys. On the easy par-5 10th I made a approach shot from the middle of the fairway and made bogey. After 11 and another bad bogey I put myself together and finished off very strongly with four birdies on my last seven holes. On 15 I holed a 35 feet putt across the green which really got me going. On 16 I made a chip and a 6 foot putt. On 17 my tee shot landed in the bunker, the ball plugged and with an uphill lie, but managed to save par with a brilliant putt from 10 feet, downhill left to right. Had also a good chance on 18 to finish off with another birdie after a nice wedge shot towards the pin but missed the putt. I’m now on -8 in total, two shots off the lead. Of course, I’m looking forward to it tomorrow and will do my very best to win the tournament. See you then, Niclas.

13 March, Qatar Masters, 4th Round 76 (+4)
This was a horrible day when everything that could go wrong, went wrong. None of the putts dropped and no shots ended up close. It was a hard day at work. The wind was very strong today, but I can’t blame my bad score on the weather. Started on 1 with two good shots, the latter one landed in the greenside bunker and after my bunker shot I had a 10 feet putt for birdie that I missed. On 2 I hit a very bad tee shot and didn’t manage to get it right after that and made double bogey. On 3 I went in to the water with my tee shot and after a drop and some average play I got my second double bogey of the day. On 14 I hit a three-quarter 6-iron from the middle of the fairway, the ball landed nine meters long in the rough and downhill with a tailwind it was easy to three putt, which I did for bogey. On 15 I had a chance for birdie, which I missed. On 18 my third shot from the bunker was excellent and landed close to the pin and I could at least finish off with a birdie and tied 16th. Overall, a very disappointing round of golf, but I feel that when I get it right, I will win again. We are now heading back to England and I will have a two week break before the Portuguese Open. Will rest and do some practice. See you then! Niclas.

30 March, Estoril Open De Portugal
I traveled to Portugal last Monday for this weeks tournament, Estoril Open de Portugal Caixa Geral de Depositos, probably the longest name of a golf tournament I have ever played. First time on this course and a couple of years since I last played in Portugal. Have had two weeks off, which I really needed and I have spent a lot of time together with my family. We went to Sweden for a couple of days, my father turned 60 and we also christened our baby daughter, Amanda. Have practiced as usual at the Wisley at home in England and feel very positive about this week. Played in the Pro Am today and we had a really good time on this beautiful course, overlooking the sea. I’m off the 1st tee tomorrow at 1.30 pm together with Barry Lane and Charles Schwartzel. Speak to you tomorrow, Niclas.

31 March, Estoril Open De Portugal, 1st Round 70 (-1)
I played well today and my swing felt alright, but I didn’t score at all. I hit 11 fairways out of 13 and had 14 greens in regulation and as a contrast I needed 34 putts. I single putted holes 1 and 18 and in between I had sixteen two putts. The three birdies I made on the par fives, 7, 8 and 16 were all two putts. On 8 I hit a very good drive - we had tail wind and my drive went 350 yards. I guess they didn’t measure our driving statistics on that hole, because the ball also landed in a down slope. I then had a 6-iron left and an easy two putt. On 14 I had a very unfortunate bogey when my tee shot, an 8 iron, went long after landing close to the pin but on a hard green. On 18 I had another birdie opportunity when my chip, 20 metres long, stopped 5 centimeters from the pin. Easy par. It was a very slow round today, 5 and a half hours. I heard there was a lot of ruling issues on the course, but my game was not involved in any. Hopefully it will be a little bit quicker tomorrow! See you then, Niclas.

Next Month
Back to Tour Diary