When Robert Bolton left Rockford he recommened Fred McLeod as his replacement. McLeod arrived in New York on 18th March 1903 and travelled to Illinois where he remained as greenkeeper and pro on the nine-hole course at Rockford Country Club until 1905.

On 16th May 1903, McLeod grabbed the headlines in the Rockford Morning Star by setting a new record 32 for the nine hole course. Only weeks after his arrival McLeod entered the U.S. Open at Baltusrol G.C. and in July at the Western Open played at Milwaukee C.C., he tied for 5th place with Willie Anderson. McLeod, a wisp of a man standing 5 feet 4 inches tall, made himself into a tremendous player.

In July 1905 McLeod met up with Bob Bolton again when they played in the Western Open at Cincinnati Golf Club where Fred finished fifth. In an interview McLeod said "I used hickory shafts and many times they became warped. Like all pros of my day, I made my own clubs and I took care of them. I had only seven clubs, but we made full use out of our irons - we closed the face for some long shots and opened it for shorter distances."

In November 1905, Fred McLeod won the inaugural matchplay Western Professional Golfers Association Championship at Chicago G.C, Wheaton. The press described McLeod as 'the 23 year old boy from Willie Anderson's town who once beat no less a player than Robert Maxwell'. Although Fred McLeod lived in the same stair as Anderson in North Berwick, he did not see much of him due to the disparity in ages, Anderson was three years older - "and that makes lots of difference when you are kids," said McLeod. But Fred saw plenty of Willie and his skill in America, especially when both were attached to mid-western clubs. In 1906, McLeod transferred to the Midlothian Country Club, Blue Island near Chicago where he remained until 1909.

The tables were turned on 29th August 1908 at the U.S. Open, played at Myopia Hunt in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, when Anderson was going for his fifth U.S. Open victory. McLeod set out from Chicago on the thirty-six hour train journey to Boston weighing 118 pounds and finished the championship tied with Willie Smith on 322, weighing 108 pounds.

On the first day the high winds caused scores to soar and McLeod trailed the leader Willie Smith by five strokes after a pair of 82's. On the second day McLeod took advantage of the players struggling in the conditions and carded an 81. Going into the final 18 holes McLeod trailed Willie Smith by one and his brother Alex by two. McLeod was able to match the best round of the championship with a 77, while Smith managed 78 to force a tie on 322. The playoff was tight until McLeod played the last five holes in one-under-par to post 77, to Smith's 83 and McLeod lifted the national title and $300 prize money.

At that time Myopia was one of the toughest golf courses in America. In winning this event, McLeod had only one round under 80, but there were only 5 rounds under 80 contributed by the big field. His winning score was 82-82-81-77-322, and there were only three under 330, the other two being Willie and Alex Smith.

There were seven North Berwick pros in the field, Willie Anderson finished 4th, and Jack Hobens was 6th. The conditions were so tough the remainder failed to qualify for the final two rounds, including Robert Thomson, George Turnbull, James Thomson, and James Campbell.

Before the Open, the members of Midlothian chipped in to help with Fred's modest expenses. A youngster from the club was his caddie, a boy who was accustomed to receiving 35 to 50 cents a round. The entrance fee was $5, but the Open championship did not require a qualifying round, and admission was free for spectators. They played 36 holes on Thursday, 36 holes on Friday and the 18 hole play-off on Saturday. Playing time for 36 holes was about five hours.

In 1909, McLeod won the North and South Open at Pinehurst NC. He finished a shot out of a play-off in both the 1910 (Philadelphia Cricket Club) and 1911 (Wheaton Golf Club) U.S. Open's. Philadelphia Cricket Club was the first club to allow the pros into the clubhouse and give them locker room privileges. Fred McLeod also won numerous open tournaments including the Atlantic (GA) Athlectic Club Open (1909); Florida Open Championship (1910); Highland G.C. Indianapolis (1910); Atlanta Open (1910); Beaumont C.C. TX, (1911).

In 1912, Fred was the first winner of the Shawnee Open despite his first round 85, which was nine strokes behind James R. Thomson from North Berwick (Philadelphia CC) and eight a drift of James Milligan from Gullane (Wyoming Valley CC). McLeod followed with three rounds of 76 to take the inaugural title. In 1914, he won Spring Lake Golf and Country Club Open, (NJ) and in 1915 the Houston C.C. Open (TX). In 1919 McLeod was runner up in the PGA Championship at the Engineers C.C. in New York and in March the following year, he won the North and South Open for the second time.

On 2nd December 1912, McLeod was appointed to Columbia Country Club, Chevy Chase in Maryland. He accepted the position at fifty dollars a month with no contract being signed for over fifty years, he retired in December 1967. Fred finished third in the 1914 US Open (Midlothian Country Club), and tied for second place with Walter Hagen at the 1921 National Championship, played over his home course at Columbia C.C. In 1924 McLeod won the St. Petersburg Open and in 1927 the Maryland Open, he also tied for the Middle Atlantic PGA title losing out to Leo Diegel. McLeod played regularly in the U.S Open until 1931, finishing among the top ten no fewer than eight times.

With the Columbia Country Club being situated a short drive from Capital Hill in Washington, the membership included distinguished officers of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, Ambassadors, Foreign Ministers their Secretaries, representatives of Justices of the Supreme Court, Senators and former Presidents. Fred's wife Catherine was from Louisiana and they lived at 2501 Calvert Street W, Washington D.C. His brother Patrick also moved to America and was pro at Lincoln Memorial, a nine hole public course in Washington for 'coloured people'.

Tom Stewart the club maker in St Andrews forged a set of clubs with Fred McLeod's signature and stamped "Special Hand Forged in Scotland" for sale while McLeod was at Chevy Chase.

McLeod returned to America in July and was runner-up in the 1921 US Open played over his home course at Columbia Country Club. The winner was Cornishman Jim Barnes who was serenaded on the 18th green by a Marine band and is the only winner of the US Open to be presented with the trophy by the President of America. A few days later Jim Barnes and Fred McLeod were invited to the White House to have lunch with President Warren G. Harding.

Although initially the international match played at Gleneagles did not catch the public's imagination, Walter Hagen continued to support the idea. When Sam Ryder offered a trophy for such an encounter, Hagen jumped at the opportunity to put a team together and a match was arranged between United States and Great Britain in 1926, when McLeod again took part.

Owing to the uncertainty of the situation following the General Strike in May 1926 it was unknown up to a few weeks before the event was to start how many Americans would travel, so Sam Ryder decided to withhold offering his trophy that year. Rather than cancelling the 'inaugural match' the United States team invited other players to make up the numbers. Fred McLeod was in Britain to play in the Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St. Annes, where he finished seventh behind the winner Bobby Jones. During the long waiting time between the regional qualifying rounds, McLeod was invited to take part in the Anglo-American tournament at Wentworth. The match took place on 4th and 5th June, when the British won thirteen and a half points to the visitors's one and a half. The American team included four expatriate Brits and one Australian; A. Watrous, C. Walker, W. Mehihorn, T. Armour, R. Cruickshank, E. French, J. Farrell, F. McLeod, J. Kirkwood, J. Barnes and W. Hagen. The Americans who missed out were G.E. Sarazen, MacDonald Smith and R. Cruickshank.

In the singles, Fred McLeod was beaten by Arthur Havers 10 and 9, and in the afternoon foursomes McLeod partnered by C. Walker were beaten by T. Ray and F. Robson 3 and 2. 'Wild Bill' Mehihorn scoring the only point for his side and Emmet French halved his singles match with Arthur Havers. To compensate the Wentworth Club presented each team member with a medal and the Ryder Cup was presented the following year at Worcester C.C in Massachusetts.

During this period McLeod wintered at Temple Terrace, Tampa, Florida (1925-26) where he worked with James Kelly Thomson from North Berwick. It was in Florida that McLeod was involved in the first 'Professional Golf League' in 1925. As the number of golf courses increased, many of top pro's were signed up in the winter months to represent the Florida clubs in a team competition. Walter Hagen and Joe Kirkwood were signed up to Pasadena, Jim Barnes and Fred McLeod played for Temple Terrace C.C and Gene Sarazen and Leo Diegel represented Hollywood C.C. Although exhibition matches were still popular this team format increased the pros earnings as they received 60% of the two dollars spectators paid at the gate.

Bill Strausbaugh took over as head professional from McLeod at Columbia C.C where they instituted the McLeod Strausbaugh Memorial Fund to provide scholarship and bursary facilities for the ground maintenance staff and caddies wishing to attend college. Something the young caddie from Edington's Cottage in North Berwick would have been proud.

Sadly, McLeod's father did not live to share in the success of his son's career, he died when Fred was fifteen years of age. For many years, his mother remained at 98 High Street, North Berwick where Fred returned to visit on numerous occasions.

In 1962, Columbia laid on a dinner to celebrate McLeod's 50th Anniversary with the club. Among the invited guests were Gene Sarazen, Chick Evans, Jock Hutchison, Jim Barnes and Jimmy Thomson from North Berwick.

McLeod retired as head pro in 1967 and the Columbia Country Club provided an apartment for him at the clubhouse and a generious pension. Although he reduced his work schedule, Fred played 18 holes three days a week. After a serious fall at his quarters McLeod was moved to the Westwood Retirement Home in Bethesda where he lived until he was admitted to Sibley Hospital. In April 1976, the Washington Post reported that Fred McLeod had suffered a heart attack and died on 8th May at the age of ninety-four. Fred left a grand nephew Richard Leathers in Houston, and two nieces in Scotland and England.