Everyday life can be pretty hum-drum.

You need a good amount of stiff-lipped perseverance and dogged determination just to keep trudging on. It’s a bit like this in the world of golf and, as the season shudders to a conclusion, this kind of old fashioned fighting spirit is likely to be rewarded for one Scottish pro who has refused to buckle in the pursuit of his ambitions.

At 34, Craig Lee can hardly be considered as the new generation, particularly in an era when a young upstart like Tom Lewis barges through the European Tour door and wins a title in only his third event in the paid ranks.

But the Stirling man’s return to the European circuit for the 2012 campaign through the Challenge Tour rankings sends out an encouraging message for all of those hammering away at the coal-face.

Having dined briefly at the top table back in 2008, after coming through all three stages of the qualifying school process the previous winter, Lee, who lost his card at the end of that year, was left feeding off scraps. His category was so low that he was effectively relegated three divisions.

In 2009 he played in only two Challenge Tour events and one main tour event and was forced to cobble a schedule together back home on the Tartan Tour.

Lee’s nomadic existence continued last year as he adopted the admirable attitude of playing in everything that he possibly could in an effort to clamber back up the golfing ladder. You half expected him to pitch up at The Herald sports desk’s spring outing.

After juggling action on three fronts, his self-financed endeavours paid off. The former Scottish Boys’ Strokeplay champion won on the third-tier EuroPro Tour and finished second in the Challenge Tour’s English Challenge which earned him promotion back to the second level.

The up-shot of that was that he gained vital funding as part of the Team Scottish Hydro scheme for the 2011 season.

Lee has seized the opportunity. With tournament expenses now covered, the former Northern Open champion has racked up a full schedule of 23 events and sits comfortably inside the promotion-winning zone of the top-20 on the money list, at No.12, with just next month’s Apulia San Domenico Grand Final to come.

“Craig has got his nose down and has applied himself superbly,” said Iain Stoddart, Team Scottish Hydro’s project director. “He has appreciated the support and it’s definitely made a difference to his season. He’s not looked for invitations to the main tour and has just focused on the job in hand. Every event on the Challenge Tour counts and he’s benefited by sticking to the one tour.”

Ahead of the Grand Final, Lee has admitted that the rigours of his season -- he has played more Challenge Tour events than anyone -- are taking a toll on the body. While he won’t be travelling to the Italian showdown with a nibbie in his bag, Lee is hoping he can “limp over the finishing line”.

The Scot is just €730 outside a top-10 place on the rankings that would secure a vastly superior category for next year’s European circuit. One last push will hopefully be rewarded with the ultimate ticket to tour.

AND ANOTHER THING

 

In theory, the Scottish PGA Championship’s move to an end-of-season slot from its usual July-August spot had its benefits. With the circuit’s order of merit up for grabs, and the three places in the PGA play-offs still to be decided, it gave the 72-hole shoot-out renewed vigour and an added sense of importance.

The reality, however, makes for a very different ball game, as witnessed at Gleneagles last week. Sodden fairways and rain-ravaged greens on the King’s course, which left many of the players quietly muttering that putting had become “a lottery” was, unfortunately, not the ideal stage for what is one of Scottish golf’s most celebrated and cherished contests.

In this meteorological minefield of a country, good weather is never guaranteed but it must be in everyone’s interests to pencil in a summer date again and give the event a fighting chance.

The King’s is a superb venue, with its old-fashioned charm and abundant challenges. It must have been highly disappointing and frustrating, then, for tournament officials, the hard-pressed green keepers and the Gleneagles high-command that the product they battled to produce for the Tartan Tour’s showpiece was severely compromised.

That was a shame for a proud championship that remains the biggest and most eagerly-anticipated in the careers of many of the players involved.