Jesper Parnevik’s father was a famous comedian while he claims that both his daughter and his wife are now outstripping him in terms of notoriety, but 20 years after he was at his golfing peak the Swede remains an instantly recognisable figure.
Cap peak upturned duckbill fashion, as ever, he remains lithe and athletic looking, in spite of a back injury suffered during what he admits was an ill-advised work-out with a pair of cage fighters last month, as well as a generally questionable approach in terms of lifestyle.
“I do everything wrong,” laughed the 51-year-old.
“I love wine. I'm out in the sun all the time, my cap is not blocking out the sun, so I don't know what's going on there actually. Maybe that's the recipe, be out in the sun and drink a lot of wine.”
Since he also had a sailing accident a few years ago and came close to cutting off a finger in which he no longer has any feeling, damaged some ribs subsequent to that as a result of falling off a Segway (one of those two wheeled contraptions that are piloted while standing upright) and has done little practise of late because of that latest back problem, what is perhaps most remarkable of all is his continued competitiveness.
An eagle at ‘The Spectacles’, Carnoustie’s famous 14th hole, was the highlight of a bogey-free four-under-par second round of 68 that took him to six-under for The Senior Open, one of six players who are just one off the pace set by Japan’s Khoki Idoki and American Joe Durant.
That Idoki, whose unwillingness to travel in his younger days meant he never played in a major during his career on the Japanese Tour, is performing so well is an indication of just how benign conditions have been at Carnoustie, as he acknowledged.
“I came into the tournament with only thoughts of trying to make the cut,” the 54-year-old admitted.
“The wind was blowing in the practise rounds and I was making bogey after bogey, however the last two days it has been much calmer and I’ve played well.”
Durant, too, is a far from familiar figure in these parts, having played in only half a dozen Open Championships, making the cut just once when tying for 59th at Muirfield in 2002, but Carnoustie remains a challenging proposition even when its defences are down, as the performance of Colin Montgomerie underlined, the Scot who made the cut at the Open itself last week at Troon, missing out this time around.
Consequently, in seeking to explain the unexplainable, Parnevik reckons he is drawing upon what happened across the country last weekend as he seeks to complete what he has dubbed a Swedish trifecta, following on from Henrik Stenson’s victory at Troon and that of Alex Noren at Castle Stuart in the previous week’s Scottish Open.
“I didn't know what to expect,” he said.
“All I can say… probably Stenson inspiration and Scottish/British inspiration. I always love coming here. I love this type of golf.
“I always loved this golf course, even though it was a little bit of a torture in '99, but it's a great golf course. It's a lot of fun. I get inspired just coming here.”
He remains, too, comfortable in the spotlight which is hardly surprising given that he is part of a family of entertainers.
Along with his wife Mia and their children he has created a Swedish reality television show, naturally entitled ‘Parneviks’ in which they invite celebrities from their homeland to be house guests and it has taken off.
“It's funny how my dad was very famous in Sweden, then he kind of became, you know, ‘Oh, you must be Jesper's dad.’ And now, everybody in Sweden is talking about me as being Peg's dad, because she's touring now in Sweden,” he said.
“She's now a singer. She's been No. 1 in Sweden for the last four months I think and she's now big into Australia and Germany, which is unbelievable. It was part of the TV show, she did a song, and it became No. 1 the same week. It's still No. 1.
“And my wife now, she's become so famous, she's probably more famous than I am. She's going to have her own TV show this fall, so there you go.”
Perhaps it is little wonder, then, that he has headed back to the place where he is the undisputed best in his family and still capable of mixing it with the best in the world.
“It's coming around,” was the 1993 Scottish Open champion’s assessment of his form.
“I'm starting to get more and more confidence on the shots. I've got to go to the range and sort some stuff out. I was a little stiff in the back today. Apart from that, I'm very happy to be where I'm at. I couldn't ask for anything more than that.”
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