Hypnotist gets McLeary thinking straight again

Jamie McLeary: Hypnotism. Picture: Getty

The 32-year-old Midlothian-based player finished third in last week’s event in Northern Ireland, having also secured top-ten placings in Switzerland, Finland and France in recent weeks.

He’s up to 27th on the money list and, with the big-money Kazakhstan Open looming on the horizon, the 2009 Scottish Hydro Challenge winner is confident he can follow in the fresh spikemarks of Scott Jamieson, Craig Lee, Scott Henry and Chris Doak by earning a step up to the main Tour. “My game has been great since the middle of July and there’s two big reasons why I’m 77 under par in seven events since then,” said McLeary ahead of the latest second-tier event starting in France today.

“I started working with a hypnotist, Andrew Fogg, the day after I missed qualifying for the Open by a shot after leading through one round [at North Berwick]. I felt my game was good but I had far too much negative self talk going on.

“I now listen to the files of him talking every night while I fall asleep and wake up every day feeling great. I started feeling confident almost instantly and even when I play average I shoot a couple under. Due to this I feel great about the end of the season. I’m starting to close in on the top 15 and finishing the season off well is a plus. I also managed to secure a sponsorship deal for the next five years with Asset Assured. They’re a financial investment organisation from Aberdeen. They’ve given me the peace of mind to just go out and play golf.”

In addition to McLeary, Andrew McArthur (26th) and rookie Duncan Stewart (43rd) are the other Scots on course to make the Challenge Tour Grand Final at Al Badia Golf Club in Dubai at the end of the season.