Nice day! 4 under and happy! Played good today, kept control of the ball and the temper:) It was a windy day here in Dubai and the sand was blowing around like crazy. Sharing the lead with McIlroy and Schwartze at the momentl. Some holes played so short today in downwind and some holes played unbelievable long into the wind. Had a wedge in on nr 6 where I usually have 4 or 5 iron left. But then it was the opposite on some other holes. Our hole group played well today. Hansen was -3 and Jaidee -2 so we helped each other a lot it felt like. 

8.37 AM. Windy but no sandstorm yet. 

Around 9.15 AM. Windy and sandy!

Now I understand why the camels have that special eye lid.

Heard that Tom Watson came in on +1. Not bad in these conditions. One of the media guys working for the European Tour said he liked my preview but after reading his preview mine felt a bit weak. I think I have to include his preview on the blog for the next tournament. 

I have a new swing drill by the way. I always have new drills but this one, I’ve actually used for three days in a row now. That could be a record. The drill is to swing to the top, paus for 2 seconds and then swing down and try to hit a normal shot. That feels like the best drill I’ve tried so far in my life. My swing coach Pete likes it since I get shorter in the backswing and stronger in the change of direction and my physio Pierre likes it because my core looks stronger doing that. I like it because I hit it better. I really don’t care exactly how it looks, I like a clean solid strike, which I haven’t felt in a long time. 

See you soon! Bed time. 

alex