HE’S LIVED in Australia since he was 11 and speaks with such a broad Aussie accent that you just’d wager he’d by no means left these shores, however Jack Buchanan was born in Scotland and stays pleased with his Scottish heritage.
It was the explanation he returned to his homeland this yr to compete in 4 mid-summer tournaments on Scotland’s Tartan Tour.
The primary-year professional did effectively there, ending second within the Newmachar Basic after main into the ultimate spherical, third within the Ladybank Masters and high 30 within the different two occasions on a tour that’s maybe a step beneath our personal Australasian Tour.
Buchanan’s dad Billy was a positive golfer who influenced his son to take up the sport and when the household moved to Australia a decade in the past, the Buchanan’s settled in South Australia, younger Jack turning into a junior member at Flagstaff Hill, south of Adelaide.
“I can’t clarify the accent,” he stated. “Possibly I arrived right here younger sufficient to choose up the way in which Aussies discuss.”
A member of the South Australian state group by the age of 14, Buchanan switched to the Glenelg Golf Membership and having fun with an excellent newbie profession, successful the South Australian Beginner Championship and ending a detailed second within the Australian Beginner in 2022. He was additionally a member of Australia’s silver medal-winning Eisenhower Trophy group final yr.
He turned skilled instantly earlier than the 2023 Queensland PGA Championship, and loved average success in a handful of begins final season, his finest efficiency being fifth within the Gippsland Tremendous 6 and fifteenth within the Victorian PGA.
That each one modified when Buchanan returned from Scotland. At his first outing this season he gained the Western Australian PGA at Kalgoorlie, beating native hope Jordan Doull in a playoff after each golfers completed at 17-under-par
Jack Buchanan, already twice a winner on the Australasian Tour, simply 5 tournaments into the present season.
“Getting over that first hurdle makes you consider you are able to do it extra,” Buchanan stated.
And he did. A fortnight later Buchanan shot a course document 62 in his closing spherical to say his second victory of the season on the Webex Gamers Sequence South Australia on the Willunga course.
“Profitable at Kalgoorlie undoubtedly helped,” Buchanan stated. “It gave me a lot extra perception – simply understanding you are able to do it when you should.”
It was a rare efficiency by Buchanan who was 10 strokes from the lead after a disappointing first spherical, his win taking him to high spot on the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Benefit, and a possible card for subsequent yr’s DP World Tour.
Buchanan has been supremely constant this season. In addition to his two wins, he was sixth within the Queensland PGA, twelfth within the WA Open and thirteenth within the PNG Open. His World Golf Rating is heading north, having leapt from 2700 earlier than he turned skilled to a present 785.
Buchanan describes himself as an aggressive participant, who seldom takes the simple choice on the golf course. “I’m driver and ball striker and I typically take the sport on,” he stated.
He stated when a golfer will get on a roll like he did within the closing spherical in Adelaide, “it’s only a nice feeling.”
A well-liked member of the tour, thought to be a laid-back character who’s enjoyable to be round, Buchanan says he’s ‘fairly good at enjoyable’ and finds it simple to modify off from golf. He says he enjoys nothing higher than ‘hanging out with my mates.’
He’s wanting ahead to competing on the Australasian Tour for the rest of the season, then plans to marketing campaign in Europe subsequent yr – virtually definitely discovering time for one more go to to his native Scotland.
