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What did you learn from holding, and losing, the 36-hole lead at the PGA Championship at Medinah last year? Starting the third round, I was tied for the lead and I just went for a shot over a bunker on the first hole to try to make a birdie. Instead I hit it in the sand and made bogey. That's the danger in a major. When you have the lead, you feel you want to play aggressively. But major courses can bite back. I was 2 over after four holes and never got going. In the future, I will play a little more conservatively and try to grind out some chances to get myself in contention coming into the back nine on Sunday. Because you are not going to win the tournament if you birdie the 37th hole on Saturday. I got too greedy at the PGA. But at least it signaled a return to form.
Your play at the 2006 Ryder Cup did, too. Do you feel robbed of glory because with all the attention on Darren Clarke no one remembers that you holed the winning putt? It doesn't really matter that it has gone unnoticed. We would have won anyway with or without that putt. It would have been nice to have a moment like Paul McGinley at the Belfry in 2002. But the team won, and that is the most important statistic.
How has a small country like Sweden produced so many top golfers? It is definitely down to how easy it is to play when you are a youngster. It is cheap and accessible. It's amazing. We are only 9 million people. Golf is becoming so international now. China and India will produce top golfers in the future, too. Tiger has influenced that. He has attracted more kids to watch the game. And, hopefully, the rest of us will bring in a handful, too.
What does Jesper Parnevik think about you having displaced him as the highest-ranked Swede ever? I haven't run into him yet. But I will tease him when I see him next. Maybe that will motivate him to come back. He has always been the biggest influence on golf in Sweden.
Are all Swedish Tour pros a little kooky? I am one of the more sensible ones. I don't do the dippy stuff. I wouldn't dress in extreme ways like Jesper and Jarmo Sandelin.
You're not fooling anyone — we know about your reputation as a prankster. OK, but I can't tell you about most of [those pranks].
Give us one. OK, when we were playing in China once, I went to a market and bought a pen that gave you an electric shock when you clicked the top to make the point come out. I went along the range all week getting guys to write down their e-mail addresses. [Laughs.] No one trusts me with a pen anymore.
Why do you wear those wraparound shades? My eyes are very sensitive to light so it's better than squinting all the time. I've had them since 1997.
It doesn't do you any harm that they also hide your poker-playing eyes, right? Yeah, I guess so. It can help you focus better and block out distractions. But that's not why I wear them. And I don't wear them if it's raining. Oakley will have to design ones with wipers on the front.
Do you want to be famous? It's nice to be recognized because I know it will be because I have done well. But I'm not running after you guys to do interviews and get photographed. It must be really tough for Tiger having so much focus on him all the time with people watching every step he takes. I'm far away from that sort of fame.
How did Fanny Sunesson, Nick Faldo's former caddie, end up on your bag? I needed a new caddie after the 2006 Masters and her name just came up. She hopefully saw potential in my game and wanted to have one last go on Tour with a Swede.
Perhaps she can get some of Faldo's magic to rub off on you. I am a hard worker like Nick, so she doesn't mind spending hours and hours on the range. I used to follow Nick — and Seve — when I started playing. I hope I can take the consistency of Faldo and then do some of the other crazy stuff that Seve used to do. You know, hitting it sideways and getting up and down from all over the place.
In other words, the kind of game you need to win majors. Are you ready to take that next step? I got a taste of what it is like to lead a major at the PGA. I enjoyed the experience, and I now know what to expect when I get in that position again. I wouldn't mind being the first Swede to win a major.
