McLeary seeks to maintain form

JAMIE McLeary is hoping for a good week at the Barclays Kenya Open to continue his promising start on the 2012 Challenge Tour.

The 30-year-old tied for eighth in his first event of the year, the Pacific Rubiales Colombia Classic earlier this month, and he is hoping to prolong that fine form at Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi this week.

“Normally I don’t start the season very well, so I was very happy with my performance in Colombia and, if I can put in another good week here in Kenya, I’ll be delighted,” said McLeary.

“I took a week off after Colombia and then, a week ago, I started hitting balls again in preparation for coming here.

“I’m working on a few things with my coach but we didn’t need to do too much as I’m swinging it pretty well at the moment. The ball is doing what I want it to do, so it’s just a case of doing that when the tournament starts.

“Although the weather has been great back home, the courses are still not in tip-top condition, so I’ve just been hitting balls on the range. It’s just a question of getting the rust off, then most of my preparation will be done here. I’m really looking forward to getting going again.”

McLeary is joined by compatriot Chris Doak, who is hoping to rediscover the form which yielded a tied sixth place finish in the season-opening Gujurat Kensville Challenge in January.

Four other Scots – Andrew McArthur, Jack Doherty, Scott Henry and Gavin Dear – are also in the field.