However, he was unable to reproduce the form which saw him become Rookie of the Year and win the World Cup and Dunhill Cup in 1991, and after hip surgery in 2004 was forced to play on the second-tier Nationwide Tour to scrape a living.

The 39-year-old has therefore decided to return to his roots in an attempt to revitalise his career, and began promisingly with 34th in last week’s Celtic Manor Wales Open.

“I played here for 10 years and I thought I had a pretty good career and I just wanted to do something different, so I followed Jesper (Parnevik) over to America and got my card there and played there from 2001 through 2004,” explained Johansson, who is married to Parnevik’s sister Jill.

“But I had hip surgery in 2004 and had a medical extension last year but I didn’t keep my card through the tournaments I had to play so I have been struggling a little bit since then.

“I’ve been playing a little bit of the Nationwide Tour last year and this year but it is not as fun to play the Nationwide Tour as it is to play the European or the PGA Tour so I decided to come over here.

“I usually go to Sweden every summer on vacation and play the Scandinavian Masters but this year I told my wife that I wanted to come over a little earlier and try to get into some other events in Europe.

“I am playing in Austria this week and Gleneagles and the K Club because I won there, and then I’ll try to qualify for the Open at Sunningdale and then the Scandinavian Masters and the KLM Open. That is up to seven or so and so I will try to get at least four more to play 11 events.

“If I can play well enough I would love to try to get into the Volvo Masters but I don’t know. I haven’t really decided anything but it is nice to just have the chance to play golf.”

It was his failure to play the required 11 events for tour membership which led to his ban in 2003, but there are clearly no hard feelings.

“The European Tour has been great finding me some spots and other invitations are pending so it’s a big thank you to the tournament directors who have been very kind putting me in their fields,” added Johansson, who still sells his trademark backwards hats on his own website.

“I didn’t play that good in America to be honest. I only had five top 10s. Actually I was so down on my game that to get some momentum going I looked at results from my time at the European Tour and from 1991 to 2000 I actually had 49 top 10s.

“I had no idea I had that many and that got me thinking that maybe I wasn’t that bad after all. I looked at some tapes where I had won, not really at my swing more at the results and to see who the players were I had beaten in these tournaments.

“Golf wise I am still quite young, I’m only 39. In football I’d be done 10 years ago but I still think I have five or six good years in me.”

Whether that will be enough time for Johansson to regain top form and qualify for another Ryder Cup remains to be seen, but he would love to see the contest staged in his native Sweden for the first time.

The next available date is 2018 and there can be little doubt the contribution of Swedish players to the European cause, and the massive crowds which would be guaranteed, make it a strong contender.

“Well we need it there because we’ve had Swedes in the Ryder Cup since 1993 apart from the last one, and if we can keep producing good players and getting in the team we need the Ryder Cup to go to Sweden and then we must find a suitable course for it,” added Johansson, who beat Davis Love in the singles at Valderrama in 1997.

“That is the key, to find a good course which is good for the spectators too. The Solheim Cup did great at Barseback but I think we could do better than that.

“Barseback is good but I think for the Ryder Cup, the 18th hole has to be spectacular. Look at The Belfry and all the other courses that have been used.

“It has to be tough and good and Barseback’s 18th is not the best Ryder Cup hole in the world even though it is a pretty good golf course overall.

“Maybe Jesper and I could be co-captains. Everybody would have to wear funny hats in that team!”