Team bonds over video call
MARC Leishman says breaking the bad news to Adam Scott he would not be playing for Australia at the World Cup of Golf was a hard phone call to make.
But the pain was quickly eased when a heart-warming video chat with Cameron Smith laid the foundations of a close bond Leishman believes can help deliver Australia a sixth World Cup title in Melbourne this week.
With world No.21 Leishman the best-ranked player at Metropolitan Golf Club and Smith close behind at No.33, the Australians are betting favourites in the event featuring 28 pairings.
Leishman became Australia’s top eligible player when Jason Day declined his invitation.
The top player from each nation can choose their Cup teammate and he picked Smith instead of Scott, despite the Queensland pair being neckand-neck on the rankings.
But Leishman said Smith’s consecutive third-place results in the opening US PGA Tour play-off events forced his selection.
“It was a very hard phone call to make to ‘Scotty’; I’m great mates with (him) and Cam,” he said.
“Cam pretty much made it impossible for me not to pick him when he was next in line on the rankings.
“(After phoning Scott), I FaceTimed Cam and my (sons) Harvey and Ollie came up behind me and we asked Cam did he want to play.”
Smith admits a profanity may have slipped out in earshot of Leishman’s sons in the jubilation of being told he would make his professional debut for an Australian golf team.
“It probably was not the response the kids were hoping to hear but there was a bit of excitement there,” he said.
“It was on my radar all year; I really wanted to make the team.”
Australia last won the Cup under a different format when former world No.1s Day and Scott combined to lift the trophy at Royal Melbourne in 2013, while Day earned the individual title.
Leishman and Smith will face stiff competition from tournament heavyweight England, whose team will feature Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter and rising star Tyrrell Hatton.
American duo Matt Kuchar and Kyle Stanley also loom as a force, as do defending champions Thorbjorn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen, for Denmark.
The World Cup is an unofficial PGA Tour event featuring a $9.6 million prize purse with $1.5 million going to each member of the winning team.