Golf: Johansson revises for Ryder test

TWELVE months ago Per-Ulrik Johansson was paired with Seve Ballesteros in the opening rounds of the English Open at The Belfry. The Ryder Cup team was about to be finalised and Ballesteros's task was to run a rule over the 24-year-old in his debut season as a professional and see whether he was worthy of becoming his country's first Ryder Cup player.

David Gilford, another Ryder Cup candidate, won the tournament and grabbed a place in Bernard Gallacher's team at Kiawah Island. Johansson finished fifth. 'I'm glad I didn't get selected,' Johansson, 25, said at The Belfry yesterday. 'I wasn't ready for it. I got so nervous then.'

A year on and Johansson is more than just older and wiser. He's a better golfer, too. His 68 in the second round of the Murphy's English Open took him to five under par. He trails his countryman Fredrik Lindgren by two strokes and Mark Roe by one. Johansson is level with Silvio Grappasonni, Barry Lane, Rodger Davis and Brett Ogle. Ogle humiliated the inward nine holes by covering them in a mere 30 strokes.

'My game is much more consistent now,' Johansson said. 'Maybe it's because I'm a year older. I'm not saying I'm a better player but I can handle the pressure better.'

This was a surprise to anyone who had watched Johansson play. He had always seemed so calm and purposeful, a man wise beyond his years in the way that Jose-Maria Olazabal is.

'I am not afraid of winning,' he said. 'If you're afraid of winning, of getting into the Ryder Cup team, then you shouldn't be out here. The Ryder Cup has been one of my goals for years and I want to be in it next year.'

Yesterday, Johansson was paired with Vicente Fernandez, a wise old fox, who journeys from Buenos Aires to compete on the European Tour each year. 'His great strength is that he is so consistent,' Fernandez said generously. 'And he has a wonderful putting touch.'

There was a touch of envy in Fernandez's voice, despite the fact that his round of 72 had left him on an aggregate of three under par, only two strokes behind Johansson. 'How good he becomes depends on how good he wants to be,' the 46-year-old Argentinian said. 'He is already a very good player but from now on it depends on how hard he is prepared to work and how committed he is to it.'

It was a cold, windy and intermittently showery day, a November-like day, one that presented this controversial course at its most testing. The wind direction made the 18th a stern test, requiring a wooden second shot for most players as they hit across water for the second time on the hole. Johansson guided a three- wood on to the putting surface, as he had on the long 17th, and steered a 20-yard putt to within holing distance for a resolute four, just as he had on the long 17th.

It's not just good golfers who know about putting. Willie Thorne, the snooker player, is a self-confessed bad 18-handicap golfer. But after watching Mark Roe play in the Dutch Open recently Thorne knew what Roe's weakness was on the greens. 'Your putting is like your snooker,' said Thorne. 'You're lifting your head.'

The next week, by now back in England, Roe hit hundreds of putts under the watchful stare of Thorne. The result was as if scales had been lifted from Roe's eyes. 'Now I'm very confident, particularly on the long putts,' he said. To prove his point, Roe went round The Belfry yesterday in 69 and, at six under par, is one stroke behind Lindgren. He had three birdies and not the hint of a bogey.

ENGLISH OPEN (The Belfry) Qualifiers after second round (GB and Irl unless stated): 137 F Lindgren (Swe) 69 68. 138 M Roe 69 69. 139 S Grappasonni (Ita) 70 69; P-U Johansson (Swe) 71 68; B Ogle (Aus) 72 67; R Davis (Aus) 67 72; B Lane 70 69. 140 A Murray 70 70; K Waters 71 69; P Broadhurst 69 71. 141 V Fernandez (Arg) 69 72; R Chapman 72 69; S McAllister 70 71; R Winchester 75 66; P Price 72 69; C Moody 72 69; S Bennett 71 70. 142 C Rocca (Ita) 72 70; L Tinkler (Aus) 70 72; C Montgomerie 71 71. 143 G Cali (Ita) 71 72; M Poxon 69 74; C Mason 75 68; D Gilford 72 71; C Williams 72 71. 144 S Bowman (US) 70 74; M McLean 71 73; S Luna (Sp) 73 71; J Parnevik (Swe) 73 71; J Rutledge (Can) 74 70; M Hallberg (Swe) 72 72; V Singh (Fiji) 73 71; H Clark 73 71. 145 P Way 74 71; A Hunter 73 72; G Evans 70 75; R Allenby (Aus) 75 70; K Trimble (Aus) 74 71; K Dickens 72 73; G Ralph 73 72; B Gallacher 74 71; T Levet (Fra) 74 71. 146 S Hamill 73 73; G Levenson (SA) 75 71; P Mitchell 75 71; G J Brand 75 71; M Mackenzie 73 73; J Haeggman (Swe) 70 76; J Robinson 74 72; J Coceres (Arg) 72 74; S Little 76 70; J Berendt (Arg) 75 71; M Lanner (Swe) 75 71; A Sorensen (Den) 74 72; P McGinley 72 74; R Claydon 73 73; P Lonard (Aus) 72 74; D R Jones 72 74; A Binaghi (Ita) 73 73. 147 I Palmer (SA) 76 71; J Rystrom (Swe) 69 78; S Tinning (Den) 76 71; J Robson 75 72; W Westner (SA) 74 73; W Grant 75 72; S Field 75 72; M Miller 73 74; D Mijovic (Can) 73 74; J Townsend (US) 72 75; J Bland (SA) 72 75; R Lee 75 72; J Van de Velde (Fra) 71 76; P O'Malley (Aus) 75 72; M Davis 72 75; S Torrance 75 72; R Willison 75 72; J McHenry 72 75; D Curry 74 73.

(Photograph omitted)