LEE James – who once played alongside Jack Nicklaus and Vijay Singh at the Masters – is this Sunday set to turn out for Dorset after making a surprise return to amateur competition.

Poole-born James featured at Augusta National Golf Club in 1995 having won the prestigious Amateur Championship the previous year, going on play on the European Tour alongside some of the sport's household names.

The 44-year-old, whose biggest professional payday was 32,000 euro at the Irish Open in 2008, has not played on the second-tier Challenge Tour since 2010, a circuit on which he won six titles.

After leaving that behind, James busied himself with a hugely successful streak on the likes of the Players' Tour and the Jamega Tour, eventually taking a step back a year ago.

However, the Broadstone GC player missed the excitement of competition. And he is due to be part of the Dorset team which taked on Hampshire in a County League South clash at Liphook GC on Sunday – off the back of a Dorset Open triumph last weekend.

James told the Daily Echo: "It was nice playing social golf but I have always liked having a scorecard and something to compete for, which is what I've done since I was 12.

"It's always nice to have a scorecard in the hand and setting goals for myself instead of having a casual knockabout where it doesn't matter what I do. I'd had a year of playing casually and I suppose I got a bit bored.

"I still get the odd question from people who know roughly who I am but it's such a long time ago that not a lot of people know about it!

"I only remember bits and pieces. Once the Masters was over with, I was trying to get on the European Tour and time goes quite quickly after that."

Another claim to fame for James is that he won the 1995 Walker Cup with Great Britain and Ireland, his team conquering a United States side which included Tiger Woods at Royal Porthcawl GC.

Now working in operations at Marks & Spencer in Poole, James was convinced to make himself available for Dorset by county captain Tom Leech.

James added: "I met Tom on the range at Parley late last year. He introduced himself and asked if I was going to play county and initially I said I was just going to play club golf.

"But we chatted for about 40 minutes and he talked me round. I did all the county training and matches through the winter and now I'm ready to play against Hampshire."

James was tied for the lead after round one of the Dorset Open at Dudsbury GC having shot a three-under-par 68, Weymouth GC's Sean Dimmick joining him on the same score.

And an effort of 70 in the afternoon handed James victory by a single shot from Michael Watson. It was only the third time the event had been won by an amateur.