Slim Leishman fired up

MARC Leishman loves a beer as much as the next bloke... maybe even more.

The Australian golfer’s passion for the gold liquid even led him to brew his own original full strength ‘Leishman Lager.’

But six months ago, Leishman decided to cut back on the beers to shed a bit of weight ahead of the Australian Open and Presidents Cup. The world No.27 has lost 8kg and is hungrier than ever to take out the Stonehaven Cup.

“I cut down on the sugar and the bread,” Leishman said.

“I’ve also cut down a little bit on the beer.

“But that’s going to be easier said than done while I’m home in Australia.”

Minor back injuries over the last year prompted Leishman to reconsider his diet.

“I just wanted to change my eating habits … it was a conscious thing I did,” he said.

“It took a bit of time for my body to adjust golf-wise, but I feel better for it now.”

The 36-year-old is gearing up for 10 intense days of golf, playing in both the Australian Open and the Presidents Cup.

Despite his success on the PGA circuit, Leishman is yet to take out a top-tier tournament in his home country.

And, after a disappointing start to his season, the Australian is determined to finish the year on a high.

“I don’t know if there’s two events I want to win more, than this event (the Australian Open) and the Presidents Cup,” Leishman said. “Every Australian golfer wants to win the national Open.

“I’ve been on three losing President Cup teams. I really don’t want to be on a fourth.”

Leishman will tee off tomorrow in a stacked field at the Australian Golf Club and believes staying focused and driving will be key to his success. “Switching on and off between shots, not stressing about what might or might not happen, that’s a bad habit for me, doing that will help conserve energy” he said.

“I need to make sure I drive it well this week, that’s going to be important if the wind gets up. And putting is always a big one.”

The PGA Tour golfer acknowledged that in the past his downfall has been over-thinking big shots in big tournaments.

“In 2015 and 2016, I was going too hard or relaxing too much and I didn’t have that balance,” he said.

“Now, I treat most events pretty evenly, you don’t want to put any event on a pedestal.”