Marc Leishman

Marc Leishman (born 24 October 1983) is an Australian professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour. In 2009 he won the Rookie of the Year award on the PGA Tour. He was the first Australian to win the award.

Career

Leishman was born in Warrnambool, Victoria. He had a very successful amateur career in Australia, winning many junior tournaments. He won the Warrnambool Club Championship as a 13-year-old while playing in the same group as his father. In 2001 he won the Victorian Junior Masters, the South Australian Junior Masters and was the Victorian Boys champion.

He turned professional in 2005. He played on the Von Nida Tour in 2006, winning two tournaments and topping the order of merit. In 2007, he played his rookie season on the Nationwide Tour finishing 92nd on the money list. He won his maiden title on the Nationwide Tour in 2008 at the WNB Golf Classic by a record-equaling (with Chris Smith) eleven shots. He finished the year 19th on the money list to earn his PGA Tour card for the 2009 season.

Leishman was voted the Rookie of the Year in 2009 after recording three top-10 finishes, which included a runner-up finish behind Tiger Woods at the BMW Championship, the third of the four FedEx Cup playoff events. Leishman subsequently qualified for the season ending Tour Championship. He ended the year 53rd on the money list. He recorded his second runner-up finish of his PGA Tour career at the Farmers Insurance Open in 2010. He finished inside the top 100 on the money list in both 2010 and 2011. He reached the BMW Championship in both seasons.

Leishman won his first tournament after 96 starts on the PGA Tour in June 2012 at the Travelers Championship, coming from six strokes back of the 54 hole leaders to win by a stroke. He shot a final round of 62, which included eight birdies and no bogeys to match his career best round and second best comeback in the tournament's history. He became the second Australian to win the event after Greg Norman in 1995.

At the 2013 Masters Tournament, Leishman was the co-leader after the opening round, alongside Sergio García, as he shot a six under total of 66. He maintained his challenge over the second and third rounds to go into the final day two strokes behind the leaders. He finished T-4 with Tiger Woods, four shots off the lead.

In July 2015, in The Open Championship at St Andrews, Leishman finished as joint runner-up after losing in a four-hole aggregate playoff during a Monday finish to the delayed tournament. After coming close to missing the cut after the first two rounds, Leishman shot a 64 during the third round and a 66 in the final round to finish in a tie for first place with Zach Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen. Leishman did have the sole lead of the Championship with six holes to go during the final round but bogeyed the 16th hole to drop back to 15-under-par and an eventual tie. In the resulting four-hole playoff, after finding a divot with his tee shot at the first hole, this led to a bogey while Johnson and Oosthuizen opened with birdies to open up a two-stroke gap over Leishman. A further bogey at the third hole left him three strokes behind on the final hole and out of contention but his tie for second place gave him his best performance in a major to date.

Personal life

Leishman is married to Audrey and they have two children. They live in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA.

On 31 March 2015, Audrey admitted herself to hospital suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome. Leishman returned from preparations for the 2015 Masters Tournament to be with her. She was put in an induced coma, and toxic shock began to affect her organs. She was given a 5% chance of recovery. In mid-April, she had recovered enough to return home, and Leishman resumed the Tour in New Orleans.

Amateur wins (4)

• 2001 Victorian Junior Masters, Victorian Boys Championship, South Australian Junior Masters
• 2005 Lake Macquarie Amateur

Professional wins (9)

PGA Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

European Tour wins (1)

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

1 Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour.

Sunshine Tour wins (1)

1 Co-sanctioned by the European Tour.

Nationwide Tour wins (1)

Von Nida Tour wins (5)

• 2006 Cairns Classic, Nth Qld X-Ray Services Cairns Classic, Toyota Southern Classic
• 2007 Toyota Southern Classic
• 2008 Victorian PGA Championship

Korean Tour wins (1)

• 2006 Jisan Resort Open

Results in major championships

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (twice, current)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)

Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
Yellow background for top-10.

Team appearances

Professional

• Presidents Cup (representing the International team): 2013, 2015
• World Cup (representing Australia): 2016