A trip to Scotland flicked the switch for Buchanan | Inside Golf. Australia’s Most-Read Golf Magazine as named by Australian Golfers

HE’S LIVED in Australia since he was 11 and speaks with such a broad Aussie accent that you’d wager he’d never left these shores, but Jack Buchanan was born in Scotland and remains proud of his Scottish heritage.

It was the reason he returned to his homeland this year to compete in four mid-summer tournaments on Scotland’s Tartan Tour. 

The first-year pro did well there, finishing second in the Newmachar Classic after leading into the final round, third in the Ladybank Masters and top 30 in the other two events on a tour that’s perhaps a step below our own Australasian Tour.

Buchanan’s dad Billy was a fine golfer who influenced his son to take up the game and when the family moved to Australia a decade ago, the Buchanan’s settled in South Australia, young Jack becoming a junior member at Flagstaff Hill, south of Adelaide.

“I can’t explain the accent,” he said. “Maybe I arrived here young enough to pick up the way Aussies talk.”

A member of the South Australian state team by the age of 14, Buchanan switched to the Glenelg Golf Club and enjoying an outstanding amateur career, winning the South Australian Amateur Championship and finishing a close second in the Australian Amateur in 2022. He was also a member of Australia’s silver medal-winning Eisenhower Trophy team last year.

He turned professional immediately before the 2023 Queensland PGA Championship, and enjoyed moderate success in a handful of starts last season, his best performance being fifth in the Gippsland Super 6 and 15th in the Victorian PGA. 

That all changed when Buchanan returned from Scotland. At his first outing this season he won the Western Australian PGA at Kalgoorlie, beating local hope Jordan Doull in a playoff after both golfers finished at 17-under-par

Jack Buchanan, already twice a winner on the Australasian Tour, just five tournaments into the current season.

“Getting over that first hurdle makes you believe you can do it more,” Buchanan said.

And he did. A fortnight later Buchanan shot a course record 62 in his final round to claim his second victory of the season at the Webex Players Series South Australia at the Willunga course.

“Winning at Kalgoorlie definitely helped,” Buchanan said. “It gave me so much more belief – just knowing you can do it when you need to.”

It was an extraordinary performance by Buchanan who was 10 strokes from the lead after a disappointing first round, his win taking him to top spot on the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, and a likely card for next year’s DP World Tour.

Buchanan has been supremely consistent this season. As well as his two wins, he was sixth in the Queensland PGA, 12th in the WA Open and 13th in the PNG Open. His World Golf Ranking is heading north, having leapt from 2700 before he turned professional to a current 785. 

Buchanan describes himself as an aggressive player, who seldom takes the easy option on the golf course. “I’m a good driver and a good ball striker and I generally take the game on,” he said.

He said when a golfer gets on a roll like he did in the final round in Adelaide, “it’s just a great feeling.”

A popular member of the tour, regarded as a laid-back character who is fun to be around, Buchanan says he’s ‘pretty good at relaxing’ and finds it easy to switch off from golf. He says he enjoys nothing better than ‘hanging out with my mates.’

He’s looking forward to competing on the Australasian Tour for the remainder of the season, then plans to campaign in Europe next year – almost certainly finding time for another visit to his native Scotland.