Took up golf at age 10 near course where he lived in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Father, Lars, a low-handicap golfer, was an executive for Volvo Trucks Division, resulting in the family living in England between ages 10-14, then moving to Greensboro, North Carolina, for his last two years of high school when the company transferred his father. Was the 1996 state 4A medalist for Grimsley High School.