Golf: Geary relishing defence of WA Open title

Josh Geary has a chance to earn well in the Australian tournaments and boost his ranking. Picture / NZME.

With his American dreams on hold again, Josh Geary will focus on the PGA Tour of Australasia this summer.

The Tauranga professional was off the pace during the first round of qualifying for the Web.com Tour in the US last week, which means he won't return to the second-tier circuit next year.

Following his disappointment at the Standard Club in Georgia, Geary arrived in Perth for today's Western Australian Open where he's the reigning champion.

Last year's victory in WA provided Geary with a string of starts throughout Australia - something he dearly needed at the time - and he returned to Perth this week with fond memories.

"It's been good to come back and get another crack at defending [my title], it's a good start to the week having that feeling," he said.

Having little status on any overseas tours meant Geary spent most of the winter in New Zealand where he was able to link regularly with coach James Cooper, something he hadn't been able to do in seven years as he was always on the road.

"We've spent a lot more time working on things and things have progressed pretty well. So I feel good about my game."

In a bid to avoid New Zealand's cold weather, the 30-year-old did manage to get away for the odd tournament in the Pacific Islands while he also played a collection of pro-ams in Australia.

"Obviously just making some money and getting the game sharp for the summer was the biggest part of it all," he said.

Cash-rich tournaments such as this month's Perth International and November's Australian Open loom as great opportunities for a player like Geary to earn some decent money and boost his ranking on the tour's order of merit; he is ranked 67th.

The PGA Tour of Australasia is a stepping stone to overseas circuits such as the Japan Golf Tour, which provides a great incentive to perform.

This week's event at the Cottesloe Golf Club, which has a purse of A$110,000 ($122,325), will have numerous Kiwis in the field including Gareth Paddison, Ryan Fox, Mark Brown and Ben Campbell among others.