COAST UP AGAINST LEISH FAMILY TIME
THE world’s best couldn’t stop Marc Leishman at the BMW Championship but time with a two-month-old may stand between golf’s latest moneybags and a Gold Coast appearance.
The knockabout Aussie yesterday celebrated the biggest win of his career, defying a star-studded field in Chicago to score a birdieladen five-shot triumph at the US PGA Tour’s penultimate playoffs event.
The rich success rocketed Leishman up to No.14 in the world rankings and heightened hopes he may join Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia at the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Pines Resort from November 30 to December 3.
Leishman has been a constant backer of the game Down Under and talks are ongoing between the 33-year-old’s management and PGA Australia officials about a Gold Coast appearance.
Leishman’s wife Audrey – who endured a near-death drama with toxic shock syndrome in 2015 – welcomed the couple’s third child, “miracle” daughter Eva, in July and devotion to family has always taken priority.
PGA Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman said talks over a Royal Pines appearance were “really good” but admitted family time may win out.
He was just going to reevaluate his schedule before he committed,” Kirkman told the Bulletin.
“He hasn’t missed one of our seasons for a long time and where he would normally say ‘yeah, I’ll jump in’, he said ‘let me just get through the next few weeks and then I’ll be able to commit’.”
Leishman, who fired rounds of 62-64-68-67 yesterday to shed his staggers from Boston two weeks earlier, admitted his ranking surge may be as good as it gets for a player devoted to family.
“I always thought I was good enough to get into the top 20 so that’s pretty cool to go into the top 15,” he said.
“I’ve never been one to say ‘I’m going to get to No.1 in the world’ or anything like that. I feel like with the (family) life I live that’s probably very hard for me to do.
“I don’t practise a lot on week’s off ... I spend a lot of time with my kids.”
Kirkman, though, insists the venue could yet swing things in the fight to get Leishman on the Gold Coast.
A two-time winner on the US PGA Tour this season, Leishman’s now also a leading contender for Australian golf’s Greg Norman Medal, with the awards held at Royal Pines on November 28.
“The players are really falling in love with the facilities,” Kirkman said.
“It’s very familyorientated – it’s 10 minutes from the ocean so it’s a beautiful location for when players are looking to spend a bit more family time.
“(Gold Coaster) Adam (Scott) has just had a child too (and) he loves the Gold Coast and can sleep in his own bed; he can probably have a surf in between rounds.”
Leishman’s immediate concern is now his shot at the $12.46 million purse on offer this week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta after claiming No.4 in the FedExCup seedings.
No Aussie has won the FedEx Cup.