Jesper Parnevik Prepares for Hope Defense
Jesper Parnevik is the defending champion of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic which will be played, Feb. 12-18, at the Arnold Palmer Private Course at PGA WEST (host course). The other courses being used in the five-day, 90-hole, $3.5 million tournament are Bermuda Dunes Country Club, Indian Wells Country Club and La Quinta Country Club.
Can you think about last year and recall your thoughts as you won the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic?
It was nice to win. It was great timing because I was playing very well. At the beginning of last year I made a tremendous amount of birdies. The problem I had in Hawaii was in making too many double bogeys and triples. But at the Bob Hope, I started making a lot of birdies and staying away from doubles. That was the key.
You earned $2.4 million last year and won twice, can you talk about the year?
I got off to great start. I won at the Hope and that carried over for the first 10-11 events. Then I won the Nelson and then the hip started bothering me. That's when I realized I had problems. The U.S. Open was at Pebble Beach and the British Open at St. Andrews and I didn't want to miss out on them, so I tried to play them anyway.
You and Mia are expecting your fourth child any day now?
Kids are great. We will have four kids 5 and under, so it's been hectic. My wife has really been dying for that boy and it looks like we will finally get one. She can't wait. It should happen any day now.
Have you picked a name for your baby yet?
No, we have a long list, though. It's a little different over here in the United States when you have to pick a name before you leave the hospital. In Sweden we usually kick names around for a while before we decide. Now we have to do some brainstorming this week.
How hard coming back from surgery?
The rehab went well. I feel strong. I can swing fully. I don't have any restrictions. Golf is very hard. It's the scoring ability or the ability to hole the 10-footers, or the up-and-downs, Golf is played under such a small margin of error, that missed three footers or missed up and downs or shots out of a trap make a difference.
Did something happen to your hip at the Nelson?
No, after I felt something was bothering me, I had treatment all that week. I wasn't sure what it was. It started bothering me in the follow-through. Maybe it was some exercise or I stretched wrong or something like that. I tried to rest, then it started aggravating me. I could get it around, even hitting 40-yard hooks. I almost won one that way. But it was not fun and not the way I wanted to play, so that's why I decided to have the hip surgery.
Winning Hope is difficult, yet you seem to have played well there every year. How do you do it?
My first time to Palm Desert was in 1993 when I decided to come to the U.S. tour. I had played seven weeks in a row on the European Tour with long-johns, rain jackets in freezing cold weather. Then I end up in Palm Desert and I thought I came to paradise. I always enjoy it. The pro-am format, I am not attracted by it, but I look at it as a chance to meet a lot of interesting people and had a lot of fun. The amateurs are usually qualified to play and they are there to have fun and they root for you. I've played some of my best golf in that environment. I really do enjoy myself at the Hope.
You know when you come here you have to go low, is it easier to do that when the Hope is scheduled as the seventh, rather than the first or second event?
Well, I think most of the guys like the fact that there's not a cut after two days. Everybody knows you have to go low, but there is no panic like you normally would after two days. Usually, one-under after two days is not enough, but at the Hope, one round doesn't mean as much because there is usually a stretch in four days where you will make five or six birdies in nine holes.
With your late start on the European Tour, and this being a Ryder Cup year, how will that affect your schedule? There is also a lot of uncertainty about the selection process, the wild card and all of that. Can you think about the Ryder Cup at this point?
Well it's definitely something I want to be part of. It is special to play in it. But I don't want to change my whole year for one week. I might make a couple of extra trips to Europe, but I really want to get back in the hunt for the majors. I want to have a good run at Augusta and I am also looking forward to playing the British Open. As far as the wild card, I feel you should have more than two wild card picks. Especially this year where you have guys like Olazabal, Jimenez, Sergio, Langer. It could be a tough situation. There about five or six guys you would want this year.
Security for the Belfry will be intense.In light of what happened at Brookline, is this an overreaction or is it proper?
For me, the crowd is what makes the Ryder Cup. I like the crowd rowdy. I like the energy you feel. It's just when it gets personal that I don't like it. I don't want players on any team getting harassed. Maybe it's the new fans coming to golf events and they don't know the etiquette. The rowdiness and noise is part of the Ryder Cup.
Do you have any theories on why Tiger Woods is not red-hot this year?
Like I said before, in golf, the margin between winning by 15 and not making the cut is not as big as people think. Last year he didn't know what a lipout meant. Now he is seeing a few of them. When you don't get up and down or miss a short putt. That can make a big difference. When you know things don't go your way, sometimes you start trying too hard and you lose that zone feeling. That's the main difference.
When you first came on tour, you were known for your colorful clothes. Do you think fans appreciate you for being a great golfer now?
I think they go together. In the beginning, I think they did think about me more for my clothing, and I don't mind that part at all, but I do want to win and I have been playing better every year. I think my peers know me more as a player and the public in general see me do things different in ways.
What did it mean to you and your father to win the Hope with Bob Hope in attendance?
It was great. Bob Hope was one of my father's favorite comedians. Even though I am too young, my dad always said he was one of the great spontaneous comedians that we've had.
In looking at the majors this year, how do the courses suit your game?
That's very hard to say. Sometimes you turn out to a course that you think suits your game great - St. Andrews and Pebble Beach - and you don't do well at all. You never know but I will try to get my season going for the majors. I really want to do well at Augusta. It should fit me well. It's very mind-boggling and can frustrate you. I might be too aggressive there and it can be penalizing. The others is more a case of getting there in good form.
Did your decision to play the PGA TOUR contribute to your breakout year?
My decision to play the PGA TOUR has been the key to my career. I played for five or six years in Europe and the weakest part of my game was putting and the short game. In Europe, you play a course with really good greens one week and not as good the next. Here it's more the same kind of greens and fairways every week. You can work on your game better. My game has gone to a new level because I came here. Especially in the majors where you play on tough courses with firm greens and rough around the greens. We don't play courses like that in Europe. It helped my game a lot.
February 1, 2001