PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Jesper Parnevik sounded optimistic about returning to golf Wednesday after speaking to a Michigan specialist who told him he could avoid surgery for a broken vertebrae.

One day after telling a Swedish tabloid that it would take a "miracle" for him to play golf again, Parnevik said rest and physical therapy could put him back on the PGA Tour in a couple of months.

He said he would go to Detroit next week to meet with Gary Gray, who specializes in applied functional science.

"It's painful and all that," Parnevik said from his home in south Florida. "The good news is I finally found out what's been bothering me the last few years. The good thing is now I can do something about it."

Parnevik, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, had surgery on his left hip about nine years ago, and missed the second half of last year with surgery on his right hip.