Kenny Leseur has been ruled out of the local qualifying event for the PGA Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course.

Family sources have confirmed that the promising player is unavailable because of school studies abroad.

Leseur qualified for the inaugural championship last year, having finished as joint medallist along with Michael Sims, the former Korn Ferry Tour player, and top amateur Jarryd Dillas.

Daniel Augustus, a first alternate, and Dwayne Pearman were both included for the

tournament on a sponsor exemption.

Sims, Augustus, Pearman and Dillas have returned to compete in the two-day qualifier, which gets under way at Port Royal

tomorrow.

Augustus is heading into the event in good form, having come from seven shots back to win the Johnnie Walker Classic at Ocean View Golf Course last month.

“I have another shot to play in a PGA Tour event with the end goal of being a member of the PGA Tour and to win on the PGA Tour consistently,” he said. “This [qualification] means that I’m one step closer to realising my goals and achieving them.”

Others expected to be thick in the hunt for the qualifying spots up for grabs among the 24-strong field include professionals Camiko Smith, Scott Roy and Mark Phillips, and amateurs Jevon Roberts and Eric West. Tariqah Walikraam is the sole female competing.

West is also coming in with momentum having won the Bermuda Amateur Championship at Port Royal and his division in the Johnnie Walker Classic, where he finished second overall behind Augustus.

“Just being able to compete for the opportunity to play feels like a blessing that I’m grateful for,” he said.

“I look forward to teeing it up with my colleagues and grinding it out.”

Three qualifiers from the 36-hole strokeplay event will secure spots in the PGA Tour event, scheduled for October 26 to November 1.

“We are ecstatic that once again the BGA and BPGA have secured the right to host a local qualifier that will enable three golfers in Bermuda to fulfil their dreams and participate in a PGA Tour event,” Craig Brown, the BGA president, said.