Leishman aims to win back-to-back titles
Australian at home in Korea as he eyes CJ Cup
JEJU ISLAND: Australian Marc Leishman has a simple aim at this week’s CJ Cup — improve by one rung from last year’s outing in the inaugural edition.
Twelve months ago, Leishman came up just short with a play-off loss to American Justin Thomas but having claimed a fourth PGA Tour title at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia on Sunday, he is in the mood to extend his winning form at the Nine Bridges Golf Club.
“I’m excited to be back in Korea — I have a lot of good memories here. It’s going to be a good week. Hopefully, I can play well again and go one better than last year,” said Leishman.
“The course is amazing. I think the fairways are firmer than they were last year and they’re a little shorter. The greens are perfect again. Looks like they’ve changed a few bunkers. I’m excited to get out there on Thursday [for the first round] and get into it. Hopefully it’s going to be an exciting week and we can give all the Korean fans a good show.”
The Australian’s affinity to South Korea isn’t confined to his near miss at last year’s CJ Cup. Over a decade ago, he cut his professional teeth on the Korean circuit where he embraced the culture and made good friends, many of whom he has remained in close contact.
“The KPGA [Tour] was a very good experience. It was the first tour I had ever been on and I was very excited to be up here. I met a lot of friends, a lot of Korean golfers that I’m still friends with now. It taught me a lot playing on the Korean tour.
“Travelling in a foreign country by myself teaches you things very quickly. I’ve got a lot of good memories from 2006 when I played,” said Leishman, who moved up to second place on the FedEx Cup points standings after his Malaysia victory.
Leishman was thrilled his wife Audrey and oldest son Harvey had woken up early Sunday in the US to watch the live broadcast of his five-shot victory.
“That was good. I probably wouldn’t have even thought to wake him up at 2am, but that was really good of Audrey. I know how excited he was to have me in the lead,” said the 34-year-old father of three.
“I spoke to him on Sunday morning and all he could talk about was how I should win because I was already leading, so it was a little bit of extra pressure, but maybe a little bit of extra determination as well.”
Other players in the CJ Cup, which starts tomorrow, include Brooks Koepka, winner of two major championships this year, and 12-time PGA Tour champion Jason Day, Billy Horschel, Brandt Snedeker, Xander Schauffele and Adam Scott.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Im Sung-Jae, who grew up on Jeju island, intends to make another strong impression on the PGA Tour following his fourth-place finish at the Safeway Open two weeks ago.
The 20-year-old won the Web.com Tour money list recently following two victories to secure his PGA Tour card.