Patrick no longer has stars in his eyes ...

but he's enjoying PGA training

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
David Patrick played in the same Walker Cup team as Paul Casey and Luke Donald but has lost the desire to try and join the two Englishmen as a Tour professional. With a family to support, he's altered his focus and is now concentrating on carving out a career for himself as a fully-trained PGA professional.
Patrick, who cut his golfing teeth at Mortonhall and now lives just outside Bonnyrigg, showed he's still a useful player when producing four solid rounds to win the Scottish Young Professionals' Championship at Letham Grange last week.
It was the 34-year-old's second 72-hole success in the paid ranks, having also won the Skandia PGA Open on the European Challenge Tour in 2005, beating Englishman Stuart Davis at the third hole of a sudden-death play-off.
But, while delighted to have shown that he was still capable of holding his game together, Patrick says his days of trying to follow the likes of Casey and Donald, two of his team-mates in the winning Walker Cup team at Nairn in 1999, on to the European Tour are now in the past.
"I played in the Tour School process eight years in a row but, in the end, the decision not to try again this year was quite an easy one to make," he said. "First and foremost, it was down to financial reasons and, secondly, I don't have the desire for that any more.
"There's no point entering if you don't think you can finish in the top 30 at the final stage and the Challenge Tour is no use to me these days as you can't be playing golf when you might be able to break even at best at the same time as having a family to support."
Patrick, who has been married to Ellie for two-and-a-half years and has a 17-month-old son, Adam, is doing his PGA training at Elie, where he played a lot of golf as an amateur, and is enjoying the coaching opportunities he's being given there by the club's professional, Ian Muir.
"My time is spread out a bit these days," added the former Scottish Under-16 champion. "As well as looking after my family, I've got my PGA training, I also do a bit of coaching and, whenever possible, I still try and play a bit.
"Considering I hadn't played that much recently, it was nice to show last week that I can still go out in a tournament and win it and a bonus from that is that I get into the pro-ams on the Tartan Tour next season."
Patrick, who is now into the second year of his training, added: "I am really enjoying the coaching side and would like to think I am fairly good at it. I'm learning about how to get a message across to people and I have been enjoying the work I've been doing with juniors and beginners a lot more than I thought I would."
Having savoured the sweet taste of success again, Patrick is now looking to finish the season strongly. He's in action in another young professionals' event at Royal Dornoch next weekend and is then teeing it up in the Scottish Alliance Championship at Gullane the following week.
"It would be nice if I could pick up some more money for a few Christmas presents," he remarked.