Jamie McLeary is still in the numbers game - but not in golf

In the start of a new Where Are They Now series, we talk to former European amateur No 1 about life away from the course

He’s still working with numbers but no longer ones that are written on a golf scorecard. And, despite being pretty damn successful with a driver, iron or putter in his hands as he produced some eye-catching scores, Jamie McLearly now freely admits he wouldn’t want to be a professional golfer if he had his time all over again.

The Peterhead-born player was once ranked European No 1 as an amateur, beat Edoardo Molinari into second place in a Challenge Tour event on Scottish soil and made the cut in his one and only appearance in The Open. But, after gradually drifting away from the game, he now works as an investments data analyst for a nationwide pensions company.

“I kind of always wanted to play and I never really saw myself doing anything within golf if I wasn’t playing,” admitted McLeary, who now lives in Kirkcaldy. “I did maths at uni and, when I was playing golf, I was always big into strokes gained and stuff like that. So, when I decided I was going to leave golf, it was always going to be something data-led, hence why I started to do a lot of studying and I find myself where I am now.”

Jamie McLeary pictured during the 2016 Italian Open at Golf Club Milano - Parco Reale di Monza at a time when he was playing on the DP World Tour. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

As an amateur, he won the Scottish Youths’ Championship in 2001 before getting his hands on the St Andrews Links Trophy three years later. After turning professional, he then landed two triumphs on the Challenge Tour, including a two-shot victory over Molinari in the 2009 Scottish Hydro Challenge at Macdonald Spey Valley in Aviemore. Oh, and don’t forget making it to the weekend in the 2014 Open at Royal Liverpool as a qualifier and finishing three shots ahead of Tiger Woods.

“Not as much as I’d have liked to,” replied the 42-year-old to being asked if he looked back on his achievements with a sense of satisfaction. “I was always in that bracket where I was probably never good enough to have as it as my full career, but I was never bad enough to just completely give it up. I just seemed to be bouncing about between one thing and another. I think that’s quite a hard place to be and, looking back on it, if I was to have my time again I probably wouldn’t even have got involved in golf and done something similar to what I’m doing just now. I know that’s not what people expect to hear from someone who has been a pro as they think it is glamorous, but the stress of having to pay for everything takes a toll on you.”

Had there been times over the years when he even found himself falling out of love with the game? “When it is your career and passion and love, I wouldn’t say I ever fell out of love with golf,” he insisted. “But I did find the financial side of it kind of stressful. I got quite a lot of help from Scottish Hydro (through it backing a group of Scottish professionals for a spell) back in the day and, when I played on the European Tour, you obviously got a bit of help. But it’s difficult when you’ve got bills to pay for at home and your mortgage to pay. That’s the bit I found stressful.

“I think the one thing I would probably have concentrated on more was kind of sourcing sponsorship. Having a plan of how I was even going to take on that financial burden that comes with playing as a professional golfer. It’s fine if you’re in the top 50 or 60 on the European Tour as you are making a certain amount of money every year, so it becomes less of an issue. But, even guys at that level, if they fall out from there it can become tough.”

Jamie McLeary made the cut and also finished ahead of Tiger Woods in his sole Open appearance at Royal Liverpool in 2014. Picture: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images.

Like so many others, McLeary fell into the trap of feeling he needed to make changes to his game as a rookie professional, hence why his achievements in the game are “tinged with a little bit of regret” whenever he reflects on them. “I tried to make myself better by working on my golf swing when I was in my early-20s and I never really recovered from that,” he admitted. “I had a decent enough career, but I felt that if I hadn’t made those changes, I would have gone on and done a little better. You have to make decisions in life and deal with the consequences, but I guess everyone in life has regrets and that’s probably my biggest one when it comes to golf. I kind of tinkered with things I was good at rather than trying to improve my weaknesses, which is probably the advice I’d give to people coming through now as well as having a plan and sticking to it through thick and thin.

“I’m not complaining about my golf career. I got to play in The Open and I got to play on the European Tour and those were probably my two biggest dreams when I started out. Look, I’ve had a lot more success than a lot of people. I appreciate that, but it was just not as successful as I’d liked it to have been.”

Most recently, McLeary had been playing on Paul Lawrie’s Tartan Pro Tour but, despite landing a win in St Andrews in the circuit’s launch season in 2020, his eyes had already been opened by an improvement in the overall standard in the paid ranks. “When I first turned pro and played on the PGA EuroPro Tour, basically I could turn up with a set of golf clubs and was pretty much guaranteed to finish in the top 15 and make a profit for the week with what I was earning,” he said. “But now you’ve got to properly play golf as the standard has gone through the roof. Instead of there being 10-15 guys who could win, all of a sudden there’s now 100.”