Peter Hanson hopes to put his back problems behind him at the Nordea Masters, which this year is being played within a stone’s throw of the Swede’s home town of Svedala.
PGA Sweden National, on the outskirts of Malmo, is only minutes from where Hanson grew up.
But any hopes of a glorious homecoming have been tempered by the Ryder Cup star’s ongoing back problems, with Hanson having not registered a top-ten finish since January.
“It’s great to be back home,” said Hanson. “I grew up in the forest at the back of the course here, so this really is home for me.
“I played this course quite a few times and I am a member here. The course is looking in great shape and I’m really looking forward to playing this week.
“My good rounds are pretty good and my bad rounds are pretty bad. I had a bit of a nightmare on Saturday last week and the week before in Dallas was the same.
“It comes down to a lack of practice with the back issues I’ve had. My lowest level of my game is not good enough. I’ve not been able to take the bad rounds and turn them into level par or one under. That’s hurt my results lately.
“The back is holding up good. I had a setback a month ago and had to do some aggressive decompression to get the vertebrae moved away from the disc. It’s stable now. I’ve some issues with the joints around.
“It doesn’t restrict me playing-wise. I swing pretty good but can’t transfer weight to the left thigh. A lot of the misses I have are to the left. It’s the brain’s way of protecting the back.
“I’m hoping that being here and playing in front of the home crowd maybe can help me and will improve my game a little bit.”
