EXCLUSIVE: MARC LEISHMAN’S MASTER-PLAN

From playing Augusta National with his father to cutting back on practice rounds, Marc Leishman has changed his pre-Masters routine as he looks to break into the major-winner’s circle and don the green jacket.

From playing Augusta National with his father to cutting back on practice rounds, Marc Leishman has changed his pre-Masters routine as he looks to break into the major-winner’s circle and don the green jacket, writes Michael Jones.

Windows rattled and screen doors slammed as relentless winds whipped through the Victorian town of Warrnambool.

The morning of Monday April 15, 1991, was a memorable one. Paul Leishman, a more than handy golfer and winner of several championships at Port Fairy and Warrnambool golf clubs, sat glued to the television with his seven-year-old son, Marc. Neither had taken their eyes o  of the screen through the early hours of the day.

Images of Ian Woosnam filled the lounge room as the Welshman stood over an eight-foot par putt on the 72nd hole at Augusta National. It was the final round of The Masters and “Woosie” was about to defeat Jose Maria Olazabal to win his first and only major title.

They may not have realised it at the time – but the Leishmans were sharing their first-ever Masters

CHANGING IT UP A LITTLE BIT THIS YEAR WITH A DAY LESS PRACTICE BEFOREHAND SHOULD MAKE ME FRESHER ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON WHEN, HOPEFULLY, I’M IN CONTENTION.

– MARC LEISHMAN

memory together.

Nearly 29 years later, their Masters journey will be complete as the close-knit father and son share the opportunity to play alongside one another at the celebrated Georgian layout in the lead-up to the first major of the season.

“I’m actually playing at Augusta with my dad in two weeks’ time,” Leishman told Golf Australia magazine in an exclusive interview recently.

“It will be amazing, sort of a bucket list item to play there with your dad. To have that sort of opportunity is something you never even dream of, really.”

Leishman, now 36, will be competing in his eighth Masters Tournament when the 84th edition gets underway on April 9. And the Virginia Beach resident has decided to shake-up his pre-tournament routine to try and unlock the door to the major winners’ circle.

“In the past, I’ve gotten to Augusta on the Sunday beforehand and practiced Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday – which I don’t do at normal tournaments. But this year, I’m going to get there on the Monday to try and treat it like a normal event,” said Leishman, who owns two top-10s at The Masters.

“Changing it up a little bit this year with a day less practice beforehand should make me fresher on Sunday afternoon when, hopefully, I’m in contention.”

Leishman knows exactly how it feels to be in the mix on Masters Sunday, finishing fourth in 2013 alongside his good mate Adam Scott, who so famously broke the Australian duck at Augusta.

“I guess as an Australian playing at The Masters before any of us had won it, you had to ask yourself that question of when it was going to happen and if it was ever going to happen,” Leishman recalled.

“To be playing with such a good mate, I was just so happy for him. I very rarely fist-pump for my own putts, let alone someone else’s, so that was probably a little out of character. But it just shows how much that meant to not only him, but to me and all of Australia.

“I remember doing the big high-five and then having about four foot for par myself and not being able to feel my right hand … It was a pretty good high-five.

“That was an incredibly special day and the only way I would change that was if it was me making that putt (which led to extra holes with Angel Cabrera). But it was just awesome to be there for Scotty’s big moment.”

The five-time PGA Tour winner recently added the Farmers Insurance Open to his own haul of achievements, which he believes will help to alleviate some of the pressure

I’M FEELING REALLY, REALLY GOOD. THE PAST FEW MONTHS HAVE PROBABLY BEEN THE BEST I’VE HIT IT FOR A LONG TIME.

associated with playing major championships.

“I’m feeling really, really good. The past few months have probably been the best I’ve hit it for a long time,” said the a able Victorian.

“I’m excited about getting back to Augusta. Having won earlier in the year, I guess the pressure’s o a little bit. You really want to win a major, of course, and I think it’s probably easier to do that when the pressure’s o , so it’s nice to have that victory from San Diego under the belt.”

Since watching Woosnam slide into the green jacket nearly three decades ago, Leishman, who was the 2009 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, has always earmarked The Masters as one of the majors he would most like to win.

“The Masters and The Open … They’re the two for me,” he said.

“The opening tee shot at Augusta is probably the only shot of the year that I’m nervous on to be honest.

“Obviously I would love to win the US Open or the (US) PGA Championship, there’s no getting around that. I would take any major (laughs). But The Masters and The Open are the ones I grew up really looking forward to and hoping I could play in one day.

“I’ve contended in both of them and come close and I would like to contend in them again and come out on top. That would be pretty amazing.”

Despite feeling confident about his own game, Leishman isn’t getting ahead of himself. He is well aware of the strength of this year’s field.