much better and I find I ’ m now sticking to my game plan . “ Coach Lee Eagleton agrees .
“ Jake is a man now . He has grown up and is playing smarter golf ,” he said .
“ He drives it straight and long , and makes a lot of birdies . But like many golfers , his short game needs work and that is exactly what Jake has been doing .”
Eagleton said he has known McLeod since he was ‘ a little squirt ’ and says one of the great qualities he possesses is plenty of mongrel .
“ His swing is pretty self-sufficient and because he is now going to be travelling a lot I have been encouraging Jake to work through his game himself . My belief is that sometimes we rely too much on advice and not enough on self-belief .
“ After those good results , Jake now has that belief , and I am confident there is more success to come .”
McLeod says some of his new-found confidence has rubbed off from his NRL team , the North Queensland Cowboys , and particularly their champion skipper Thurston .
“ What I admire most about the Cowboys , and particularly JT , is they never give up . They can play flambouyant footy , but when the pressure is on the Cowboys grind away and can win in a dogfight if they need to ,” he said .
“ That can also apply to golf . Often times when the conditions don ’ t suit or a bad break comes along , it ’ s good to know I can mentally tough it out .”
McLeod intends heading off to the European Tour School in October , but has plenty on his plate before then . His next appointments are in New Zealand for the PGA in Palmerston North and the Open in Queenstown , and then home for the Coca-Cola Queensland PGA in Toowoomba from March 13 .
His only regret is that he will be in New Zealand on March 10 when the Broncos-Cowboys blockbuster is played at Suncorp Stadium .
www . golfqueensland . org . au Autumn 2017 Q Golf 15