Marc

Leishman

The young Chilean currently ranks 19th in the OWGR, slightly down from his best of 15th following the Masters this spring. He’s played four full seasons on the PGA TOUR and made it to East Lake in each of the last three. He’s piled up 10 starts in major championships but never finished better than T23 in any of those starts. His commitment to LIV will knock him out of the Presidents Cup with Cameron Smith also making the jump today, removing two of the International team qualifiers. Playing in this week’s Boston event will result in a PGA TOUR suspension for both and last week’s TOUR Championship was the last we’ll see of them on the PGA TOUR circuit, at least for the foreseeable future. Other players to make the jump to LIV Golf this week include Marc Leishman, Anirban Lahiri, Harold Varner III, and Cameron Tringale.

World No. 6 Smith has already won this event twice and has already won twice this season, including THE PLAYERS in a near home game. World No. 45 Leishman on the other hand, began the season promisingly with top-10 finishes in back-to-back starts at the Fortinet (T4) and Shriners (T3), but hasn’t contended since and hasn’t won since here last year, so you’ve got to think that this week may have meant more to him. Now a full 12 swings adrift of leaders Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, the duo will attempt to save some face in alternate shot tomorrow, where they’ll begin two swings shy of the overnight top 10.

Finishing in a tie for fifth-place in last year’s Masters, Leishman added to his resume at Augusta National which includes three additional top-15 finishes. Playing alongside Adam Scott in the final round in 2013, Leishman was given a front row seat to what it takes to don the green jacket. Having been close in major championships before, Leishman was asked if experiencing Scott’s triumph up close and personal is something he still thinks about. The 38-year-old said, “Yeah, that’s why we do all the practice, and that’s why -- well, as a professional golfer, this is where you want to be. You want to be here late on Sunday with people screaming at you and at your good shots. It gives me a big buzz, and it’s something that I work hard for to try and get back here every year to get myself into that situation. That Sunday night after that, even from not winning, I can never sleep. I really want to know how it feels when you do come out on top.”

A perfect 9-for-9 in weekend appearances this season, Leishman has been able to collect two top-5s, a top-10, and three additional top-20 results already. With his worst finish coming out to be a T-38 at THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT, the world No. 37 appears ready to reenter the winner’s circle. In what will be the 13th straight season in which he travels to Bay Hill Club and Lodge, the 38-year-old has contended plenty of times before. Winning in 2017, this result added to a number of podium finishes as Leishman fell short to Hatton in 2020 and finished in a tie for third in 2011. With a tournament scoring average of 71.40, Leishman sits at +3500 at PointsBet Sportsbook to capture his second Arnold Palmer Invitational title.

The Aussie was T43 after an opening 70, vaulted to T10 with a 66 yesterday, and today, solidified his chances for a fourth top 10 of the season in eight events. On seven (of 14) fairways and 13 greens in regulation, he lost 0.861 strokes with the flat stick but gained 2.123 approaching and 0.938 around-the-green. The 38-year-old squared a lone bogey-5 at 15 (3-putt from 48'8"), offset by five birdies at 1, 3, 8, 14 and 18 (fringe-shot from 14'0"), three conventionally from between 11 and 15 feet, missing two other tries from inside of six feet. He owns two top 10s in 12 prior appearances, both top 5s, most recently a T4 in 2019 where he was T6 after 54 holes (69-69-67-68).

The Aussie split five (of 14) fairways and landed 12 greens in regulation today. Nothing to write home about, but he gained 1.7 strokes around-the-green and another 3.3 strokes putting to lead the charge. His most notable conversion was a 38'7" birdie bomb at the 14th but he also drained four other putts from outside of 13 feet including an 18'11" eagle splash to kick off his day at the par-5 first hole. Leishman’s 66 was bettered by just six golfers today and his round helped him climb from 43rd to 10th on the live leaderboard. He still has a lot of work to do with Joaquin Niemann running away from the field at 16-under with two days to play.

Collecting numerous close calls during the swing season, namely at the Fortinet Championship and Shriners Children’s Open, the Australian carried his strong play to Kapalua. Qualified via his team win alongside Cameron Smith at the Zurich Classic, Leishman struck the ball adequately and finished in a tie for 10th. Staying in Hawaii for the Sony Open, it was much of the same as the driver and irons cooperated, while his short-game did not. Finishing in a tie for 36th, the 38-year-old rested for a week and will now turn his attention to Torrey Pines, the site of his last solo victory. Outlasting the likes of Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy in 2020, Leishman is now set for his 14th appearance in the Farmers Insurance Open. Garnering a scoring average of 70.52, in addition to his victory, the Olympian has captured two runners-up, two top-10 finishes, and two top-20 finishes. Clearly a big fan of the San Diego area, if able to have his around-the-green come back to life, one should not be surprised if Leishman is in contention come Saturday.

The 38-year-old Leishman told media on Wednesday he was jazzed to see fellow countryman Cameron Smith win last week and was happy to take just a hint of credit for helping him get into the field after the two partnered together to win the Zurich Classic, which earned Smith entry in the Kapalua field. “It was amazing. Obviously to help him get into the tournament was good, said Leishman, who finished at 23-under and 11 shots back of Smith. “…I mean, I felt like I played really well. Maybe left a few shots on the greens. But 23-under, to sneak in for a top 10, it was just really good golf by everyone.” Leishman, a six-time Tour winner, has never missed the cut at Waialae CC with four top 10s, including a best finish of T-3 in 2019. He also finished T-4 in 2021, fifth in 2014 and T-9 in 2013. He said his strategy won’t change too much from last week, noting: “The mentality is pretty similar. The way guy about my golf is I have to pick a really small target -- kind of like a sniper: Aim small, miss small. So, I did that there last week. There’s just a bit more margin for error. Here you can till miss it in certain places. You just have to know where.”

This was the Aussie’s fifth appearance, third top 10, and third top 10 of the season in five events, joining a T4 at the Fortinet and a T3 at the Shriners, both back-door versions. For the week, he carded rounds of 69-67-65-68, totaled 27 birdies versus four bogeys, and at last glance, ranks 10th in SG: Approach (2.126) and 9th in SG: Putting (2.825), though 30th in SG: Around (-1.547). Today, the 38-year-old offset one bogey with six birdies on 17 greens in regulation, losing strokes off-the-tee (-0.709) and around (-0.731), but gaining 1.020 with the flat stick. He is in the published field at the upcoming Sony on Oahu where he finished T4 last year, one of four top 10s in the event.

The 38-year-old records his best effort at Kapalua in 18 rounds, previously 67 (x2), but is currently trailing co-leaders on the course Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith by seven shots. He found 11 (of 15) fairways and 17 greens in regulation, outflanking one bogey-5 at 12 (failed sand save) with nine birdies, four from between eight and 11 feet. At last glance, the Aussie gained 0.668 strokes off-the-tee and 3.139 on approach, but lost 0.444 around and 0.521 with the flat stick, lowlighted by a missed eagle at the par-5 last from 7'7". His best among two top 10s in four prior visits is T4 two tries ago in 2019, where he was solo 3rd, four back after 54 holes (68-70-68-71).