Leishman happy to head home
WORLD No.13 Marc Leishman has turned his back on Tiger Woods’ rich tournament to fill a void on his resume and address a gnawing gut instinct.
Leishman was yesterday officially unveiled as the latest heavy hitter to join the Australian PGA Championship field at Royal Pines on the Gold Coast from November 30 to December 3.
The in-form Victorian joins reigning US Masters champion Sergio Garcia, Australian superstar Adam Scott, defending champion Harold Varner III, former winner Greg Chalmers and Queensland young gun Cameron Smith in the best field assembled for the event since it moved to the Gold Coast.
After his stellar 2017 that included two wins on the US tour, Leishman was entered in the elite 18-man field for the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas where Woods will make his comeback.
The Hero World Challenge directly clashes with the Australian PGA but Leishman has opted to head to the Gold Coast to claim his first toplevel victory in Australia and avoid a bout of homesickness.
“Originally I wasn’t planning to come home but I had a change of heart. I felt like I was going to be missing something not going home … it gives you that empty feeling not being in Australia for a whole year,’’ Leishman said.
“I was actually entered for his (Woods) tournament, possibly still am … we’ll need to fix that. But it just wasn’t sitting right in my stomach that I wasn’t going home this year.”