Parnevik fears embarrassment on return

FORMER Ryder Cup star Jesper Parnevik took his first tentative steps back into competitive golf yesterday and admitted: “This could be very embarrassing”.

The 45-year-old Swede feared his career was over in February when he was found to have a fractured vertebrae. But just two days after hitting his first shots since then Parnevik was testing himself in the Nordea Scandinavian Masters pro-am yesterday afternoon and would then decide whether to play the tournament itself today.

The 1994 Open runner-up was saved from spinal fusion surgery by a Michigan doctor who recommended a rehab programme instead, but Parnevik said: “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.