Kenny Leseur will not be competing at this week’s North & South Men’s Amateur Championship at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in North Carolina.

The top local player earned exemption into the event for winning the Bermuda Amateur Match Play Championship at Port Royal Golf Course in April but is now ineligible after turning professional.

Leseur’s recent decision means the Bermuda Golf Association was unable to field a male player at the event with that right was reserved solely for the winner of the Bermuda Amateur Match Play Championship, which Leseur won after beating James Godwin 3 and 2 in the final.

That leaves Bermuda Amateur Match Play women’s champion Tracy Burgess to fly the island’s flag alone in the North & South Women’s Amateur Championship, which also takes place at Pinehurst this week.

The experienced golfer will begin her campaign on Tuesday when she tees off in the first of two qualifying rounds of stroke play, with the top 32 players advancing to the match play stage of the competition at the iconic Pinehurst 2, which has hosted the US Open on three occasions.

Burgess is looking forward to the challenge of pitting her skills against younger collegiate players on tough courses and searing heat.

“I am going into the competition to enjoy the experience in a very tough field on very tough golf courses,” she told The Royal Gazette.

“Playing against collegiate players will definitely put my game to the test. The extreme heat will also play a factor on the metal elements of the game.”

Burgess earned the right to represent Bermuda in the event after winning the Bermuda Amateur Match Play women’s round-robin tournament with an unblemished 3-0 record.

“It is a privilege to represent Bermuda in this very prestigious event,” she said.