Jamie comes home after leaving Tour scene behind

Jamie McLeary will swap a European Tour spot for the PGA Assistants’ Championship when he tees off on home turf at Livingston’s Deer Park Golf Club.

McLeary says he wanted to spend more time with his family after 14 years playing his golf on the Tour and Challenge Tour, and chose the PGA course as he prepares to focus on teaching.

The 37-year-old first year assistant lines up at Deer Park on May 16 for the Scottish qualifier with a view to playing in the £32,000 Birdietime-supported final which will be played at Farleigh Golf Club in Surrey between July 3-5.

“This is my first year when I haven’t been travelling, I’ve got two kids aged five and eight and I haven’t really seen them as I’m away 30 weeks of the year,” said McLeary.

“I hadn’t been getting to see them growing up much. That was my main reason for stopping playing, to see them a bit more. Plus my wife’s been a golf widow for the best part of 16 years.

“It’s also competitive on Tour and a lot of people want to do it. It’s not easy and you have to put everything into it, and if you’re not then you get left behind.

“In the end, I hated the travelling so I knocked it on the head.

“I wanted to into teaching a little bit more and felt the PGA was the best way to get a diploma behind me.”

McLeary says the Deer Park course has recovered well from a harsh winter and should prove to be a good test for the field.

“A few weeks ago, the greens were like blancmange, you were sinking down in some of them, but now they’ve firmed up, the guys will be quite happy with how they are,” he added.