Danny Willett has opened up about his struggles since recovering from a serious shoulder injury following his superb opening round at the BMW PGA Championship.
Willett, who lifted this title in 2019, was in contention during the first day of last year's edition and was sitting at six under through 12 holes before aggravating the issue when teeing off at the 15th at Wentworth Club.
He persevered to complete 72 holes - he finished in a tie for 64th - before undergoing surgery the following week, which ruled him out for the rest of 2023.
The shoulder injury proved more severe than first thought, but he battled back to return to the scene of his only Major success at the Masters Tournament this April.
Willett surprised himself with an opening 68 at Augusta National before coming home in 45th place and he has managed his workload ever since.
However, the 36-year-old showed signs of his brilliant best when he rolled in six birdies and two bogeys during Thursday's first round at Virginia Water to sit three shots adrift of clubhouse leader Matthew Baldwin at four under.
"Tougher than I thought," Willett said about his return to golf. "Yeah, the first six-seven months when I weren't doing anything was phenomenal.
"Just sat on the sofa, go to the gym every day, working out, do our bits but zero pressure. It could take as long as it wanted to.
"I think once I started getting back into trying to get ready to play, we just realised how insane this golf game drives you and just not quite being able to put my finger on it.
"Obviously played Augusta but played because conditions were perfect for me to have a chance. It was firm, it was fast, it was windy, and then other golf tournaments I've played I've obviously not performed and not taken much from.
"It's tricky because then you come home and for the life of you, you want to go practise and do everything well but by the same token, you want to be at home and do everything that you can with (wife) Nic and the boys.
"It's been a tricky little juggling act, but I feel like I'm finding a nice little way around it, a nice little place.
"I've got a few nice weeks coming up in Europe to play and yeah, just nice to be back, see friends and playing in front of people who like you.
"The last few weeks, I've still been building up to be better as a general whole blueprint.
"Moves are coming back. Speeds are coming back. You know what you're doing. So you're not as anxious about playing because you know if you make a certain move, it's going to do something.
"It's just taking long. Even silly things; putting, reading greens and different pins. It's everything really and then it's a juggling act of, I've got to play enough to keep competitive but I can't play too much because that takes your numbers off. Just trying to figure it all out."
