Former World Deaf Golf champion Jack McLeod hopes to break down barriers for deaf people within golf when he joins the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia as an exempt player this week.

A graduate of the Qualifying School staged at Moonah Links in April, McLeod joins defending champion Ben Eccles, DP World Tour rookie Haydn Barron, former winners Brett Rumford and Jarryd Felton and 2023-2024 tournament winners Cameron John and Kerry Mountcastle at the CKB WA PGA Championship at Kalgoorlie Golf Course starting on Thursday.

It is a remarkable moment for the 28-year-old who was born profoundly deaf and received his first Cochlear implant when just 11 months old.

McLeod received a second implant for his left ear at the age of 11 and since then has lived a life largely unencumbered by his inability to hear without assistance.

A talented soccer player growing up on Sydney’s northern beaches, McLeod chose to pursue golf as a career, first trying his hand at greenkeeping before undertaking the PGA of Australia’s Membership Pathway Program. He became a full Vocational Member of the PGA in 2023 and had been working as the assistant professional at Mona Vale Golf Club before dedicating himself to playing full-time this year.

It was only at the insistence of Mona Vale head professional Gerard Kelly that McLeod entered Q-School. He finished tied for 17th at first stage and then equal 29th at final stage to earn status for the 2024-2025 season.

“The last thing I want is to be five years down the track going, I wish I gave it a go, but that week was so stressful,” McLeod said of his Q-School experience.

“I thought I was gone after 12 holes in the last round [of final stage]. One of the boys came up and asked if I’d made par on the last and I said, ‘Yeah, that’s me done.’ He goes, ‘No, you’re in. You’re on the same score as me. You’re in.’

“It didn’t sink in until a couple of days later that I was like, Wow. I’ve got a tour card. I’m a tour player.”

To his playing partners this summer, McLeod will present as just another competitor. With his implants connected to the external units that sit behind his ears, McLeod has 95 percent hearing in his right ear and 42 percent hearing in his left.

Background noise is an issue when he works in the Mona Vale pro shop and when he takes them off – in the shower, swimming at the beach and to sleep – he is completely deaf.

Somewhat ironically, the only time McLeod has played golf without his implants was when he played the World Deaf Golf Championship for the first time in 2012… and won by 13 strokes.

“A week before we went, my coach said, ‘We’re going to spend every afternoon after school on the golf course without them on’,” McLeod recalled of his first experience playing golf in complete silence.

“It was so different. So different. You lose your balance a little bit, but I think it’s more so relying on feel to know if you’ve hit a good shot. And obviously it’s peaceful. You can have a car drive past you and not hear a thing.”

McLeod has played two PGA Tour of Australasia events in the past 18 months through the Associate program prior to attaining his full PGA qualifications and made the cut at the 2021 Queensland Open.

Since obtaining his tour card, he has played extensively on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series, registering top-five finishes at Teven Valley and Ocean Shores and was runner-up at Ballina in August.

It has instilled a sense of confidence that he can enter his rookie season knowing his best golf is more than good enough to compete with the elite of Australian golf.

“At Q-School, I was going down there to have a crack, whereas after the past couple of results I’ve had, I’m starting to feel more confident that I can play with these guys,” McLeod said.

“The mentality sort of changed a little bit. Now it’s gone from hoping to make cuts to now wanting to win. That’s a different mentality I’ve got to have.”

His primary goal this season will be to retain his card, but McLeod knows that he represents something more.

“Just being an example of what we can achieve is a big thing,” he added. “Losing one of your senses is pretty hard. And I think hearing is probably one of the bad ones that you can lose because you’ve got to communicate.

“Being an example would be a good title to have. We’re all ambassadors in our own right. We’re all trying to promote golf together; we just don’t quite get the recognition that we deserve.”

That might be about to change.