Wonder Land

At his home club in Stockholm, Arlandastad GC, he posed with junior members after a clinic.

Regardless of the inner turmoil, Karlsson rediscovered his game. In 1997 he won his second European Tour event, the BMW International in Munich. But even then, his underlying problems were apparent.

"I thought I'd be happy if I won golf tournaments," he says with a smile. "But I wasn't. When I won the BMW, I was on a high, at least at first. Then, later that evening, I got back to my room, put the trophy on top of the television, sat back and thought, 'Is that all there is?' It was an empty feeling. What did I have? An empty envelope from the European Tour, a metal trophy and CNN for company."

Ironically, Karlsson would return to Munich two years later for what was, to that point, the most devastating blow of his career. He finished 11th on the European Ryder Cup points list—one place from an automatic spot—but captain Mark James passed over Karlsson for a wild-card pick, choosing Parnevik and Andrew Coltart instead.

Another career crisis would come along in 2000, when he finished 114th on the money list, but for Karlsson the true nadir did not occur until 2002. Ten years after a fifth-place finish at Muirfield in the 1992 British Open, he returned to the East Lothian links only to miss the cut by two shots, courtesy of a double bogey on the final hole.

Karlsson's solid 2008 play made a captain's pick unnecessary. Photo: Darren Carroll

"I don't think I said a word until Sunday," he says. "I watched television and ate ice cream for two days. I lay on the couch the whole time feeling so p----- off. I couldn't believe what I had done. I knew I should have hit the 3-wood off the last tee. If only I had done that. Over and over and over again." Watching this rather childish and pathetic scene, Ebba, then his girlfriend, decided to take action.

"I had a friend who had been unhappy for a long time," she recalls. "But when she came to visit one time, she had changed. You could see it in her eyes. She was radiant. So I asked her what she had done. And that is how I came to meet Annchristine. I knew right away that this was what I was looking for.

"Robert and I held a seminar in our house, and we went from there. A lot has changed since then," Ebba says. "We have done a lot of experimenting and exploring. A game no longer makes him unhappy. And we are able to live our lives and be content, even when we are apart."

Still, with that inner glow has come controversy in the shape of Lindstrom, some of which has carried over into a project close to Karlsson's heart. Started in 2006, the Opening Key Foundation is financed by between 10 and 15 percent of Karlsson's tournament earnings.

Opening Key's goal is to give all kinds of people in all walks of life a boost when they most need it. A Russian childrens' home has benefited. So has a Turkish professional golfer whose tenuous grasp of English was holding him back. Karlsson also paid for the construction of Vuollerim's cart track. And a young singer helped with lessons was good enough to land the lead role in a Swedish version of "High School Musical."

Sadly, a local school near Vuollerim turned down the offer of help because of the adverse publicity surrounding SVC. "Robert was very hurt when he tried to help and was not allowed," says a friend.

Through it all, however, Karlsson has remained loyal to Lindstrom, the woman he credits with turning his life around. And why not? In their time together, Karlsson's career has taken off, to the point where his comfortable qualification for the upcoming Ryder Cup was almost taken for granted by those on the European Tour.

"Robert is many times the player he was back in 1999," says James. "It is hard to imagine him needing a captain's pick these days."

This time, too, he figures to be even more of a presence than he was at the K Club, where he emerged with an 0-1-2 record. "It is a nice feeling to know that I have been successful enough to make it into the side twice," says Karlsson. "It validates my career. And it proves that I am no fluke."

Nor, it should be noted, is he a flake.