Jesper Parnevik puts pain behind him after fears of humiliation

Good to be back: Jesper Parnevik enjoyed a solid start in Sweden
Marco Giacomelli13 April 2012

Jesper Parnevik feared his return to golf could be "very embarrassing" but the former Ryder Cup star was holding his own at the Scandinavian Masters today.

The 45-year-old was just one over after 14 holes in Stockholm and that performance was a massive relief to the Swede.

At the beginning of the year, Parnevik feared his career could be over after he fractured a vertebrae.

The 1994 Open runner-up was saved from spinal fusion surgery by a doctor who recommended a programme of rehabilitation instead.

It's been a painful process for Parnevik and ahead of his return to the course today he admitted: "It's going slower than I was hoping for.

"I've also got sciatica down a leg and I'm pretty much only here because it's my home event.

"I had liquid put into my spine and an injection into my hip as well. A few doctors thought I should fuse it, but then I found this guy and he thought I could postpone the operation. The first time I saw the specialist he said I had five per cent functionality and then in May he thought it was about 15 per cent.

"So the rehab is going in the right direction and he thinks I can get back to about 80 per cent in time, but if I feel like I can't break 80 then there's no use playing.

"And even if the hip does not flare up I'm going to have to rethink my practice habits because I've been known to hit a lot of balls."

Parnevik actually reached the turn today one under and his form was in stark contrast to his last competitive performance.

"There was no way I could continue playing the way I was," he said. "In the second round at Riviera [his last event] the last few tee shots I hit only went about 100 yards.

"It was either going straight left or the dreaded duck hook because I couldn't get through the ball.

"They don't know when the fracture happened, but the hip was just worn out."

In Stockholm the early pace was set by Australia's Richard Green, who was five under after 15, leaving him one ahead of Edoardo Molinari, who had played through 16.

A strong performance by the Italian could lift him into an automatic top nine spot on Europe's Ryder Cup table at the expense of England's Luke Donald.

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