Golfer Connor taking a break before heading out to Africa

The 25-year-old, from Drumoig, is enjoying a break at home just now, having played for 14 of the last 17 weeks on the European Tour.

The tour is being sidelined to accommodate the US Masters, so Connor reckons it’s important to have a decent rest before resuming practice and trying to get into mental and physical shape for his next contest.

He leaves on November 22 for the Alfred Dunhill Championship, staged at Leopard Creek, Malelane, South Africa, from November 28 to December 1.

He maintains it is “nice to have a wee bit of time at home”, despite the wet autumn weather contrasting sharply with the Mediterranean sunshine he was bathed in for the last couple of weeks.

“As a Scotsman, you get sick of the good weather at some point,” he said. “You can dcope with the bad weather for a couple of weeks, but it’s always nice to come back.”

Connor bowed out, along with fellow Fifer Calum Hill, after 36 holes at the most recent event, the Aphrodite Hills Showdown in Cyprus, won by Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre.

However, despite mixed feelings about how he played, he liked the experience.

“It was actually a really enjoyable format,” he said. “If you were in the top 65, you were still down as a main cut, but you had to be in the top 32 to make it to the Saturday.

“I kind of enjoyed it. It was something to push for, with only 32 people making it through. I’ve played loads of amateur tournaments like that. It was a bit unusual to be playing it at pro golf.

“There have been a few formats kind of similar, but I think this one was quite enjoyable. With it being two weeks round the same course, it was a nice wee addition.”

Connor felt he needed some time off and hadn’t played too well but dropped shots at only two holes.

“It’s just the way it goes sometimes. I was not quite in it, in a format like that, but I guess I can take a little bit of confidence from that,” he said.