Gabriel Hjertstedt Prepares
to Defend Tucson Open Title

By Rodney Campbell,
Staff Writer

Gabriel Hjertstedt

Hjertstedt, the winner of last year's Touchstone Energy Tucson Open, was back in the Old Pueblo on Monday fresh off a sixth-place finish at this past week's Phoenix Open. The 28-year-old spent the morning promoting the Tucson Open, which will be held Feb. 24-27 at Omni Tucson National.

"Tucson was the first cut I made,'' said Hjertstedt, who has two career victories. "There are some very warm, friendly people here.''

It's hard not to get a warm, fuzzy feeling after walking away with $495,000, which is what Hjertstedt did last February when he won the Tucson Open in a one-hole playoff with Tommy Armour III.

Hjertstedt birdied the 18th hole, the first playoff hole, after double-bogeying the 18th during the final round. He also pocketed $41,728 in Phoenix last weekend by finishing six shots behind winner Tom Lehman.

"You really have to bring your 'A' game to Phoenix,'' Hjertstedt said. "It's a tough course and it really prepares you to play (in Tucson).''

The West Coast has been very good to Hjertstedt, who played in the Mercedes Championship for the first time last month.

"The West Coast swing is cool,'' Hjertstedt said. "The people (in Arizona) and California are a lot different than people on the East Coast. The people out here are a lot more vocal on the course.''

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"Sunday is Burger King day," Gabriel Hjertstedt said jokingly.

If he is to repeat this year, Hjertstedt will have to wade through some tough competition. Long hitter John Daly will join Casey Martin and Gary Nicklaus in the 144-player field. Tournament organizers are also hoping to lure other big names, including Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite and Tom Watson.

This year's purse has been raised to $3 million, only $200,000 less than the largely hyped Phoenix Open. This year's Tucson winner will take home $540,000, easily the most ever offered by the 54-year-old event.

But playing isn't just about money, Hjertstedt said.

"That's not why you start playing," he said. "You play for the love of the game. It's when you start getting paid that a little bit of hate mixes in."

Not that Hjertstedt is ready to give back some of his earnings. He won $933,033 last year, not bad for a player who used to sleep in his car a few years ago while struggling on the European Tour. He's currently 40th on the PGA Tour money list and will play three of the next four weeks in an effort to maintain that position or move up. Hjertstedt will tee it up at Pebble Beach this week and the Nissan Open in Los Angeles the week before Tucson.

"I'd like to win twice on Tour this year," said Hjertstedt, who became the first Swede to win on Tour at the 1997 BC Open. "When you're a little kid playing, you dream about winning, not finishing fifth."

Kuzmic puts him through a rigorous program that includes only one day off, either Thursday or Friday depending on which day he has the earliest tee time at a tournament.

"Look at Greg Norman. He was way ahead of everyone when it comes to training,'' Hjertstedt said. "When you look at old golf tapes, you can't tell me Arnold Palmer and Gary Player weren't lifting weights.''

Last year's victory also helped the mental side of his game.

"Sometimes after you win, you expect to do it all the time,'' Hjertstedt said. "You always try to hit the perfect shot. I've done a lot of mental work over the past year and I realize you don't have to be perfect all the time.''

Gabriel Hjertstedt file

Exempt status:
Through 2001 (1999 tournament winner)
Height: 6-0
Weight: 175 pounds
Birthdate: May 12, 1971
Birthplace: Umea, Sweden
Residence: Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Family: Single
Turned professional: 1990
Career wins:
1997 BC Open, 1999 Tucson Open