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THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPJuly 19, 2015Marc LeishmanST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND MIKE WOODCOCK: Good afternoon. Very pleased to welcome Marc Leishman to the interview room. A tremendous round today, 8-under par 64. I think that gets you into 9-under overall and one off the leaders as it stands. That putt you had on 17 looked in all the way. Were you thinking about what might happen if that went in? MARC LEISHMAN: I was definitely trying to make it, and you're right, it did look really good. Hit a good one on -- I hit two good shots into 16, as well, and hit a good putt there, just probably could have easily gone in, as well. But yeah, gave myself some really good chances there on the last three holes, and actually hit a good shot into 18, as well, just didn't bounce as hard as I thought it might have. Yeah, it was disappointing not to go a couple better, but still in the -- as far as this week goes, 64 gets me right back in it. Q. When did you let that number sort of flash into your mind for the first time? MARC LEISHMAN: It was probably when I birdied 13, I sort of thought, that was obviously a good birdie, and with 14 coming up, especially when I hit that good drive on 14, then the rain started coming down and just pulled a 2-iron and just caught that bunker and wasn't making birdie from there. But obviously the birdie on 15 was nice, and then had my chances on the last three holes but just couldn't make them. Yeah, I'd say probably 13, 14, that's when it started to enter my mind. Matty actually said something to me walking down 16. Q. What did he say? MARC LEISHMAN: Two more birdies, and that gets you that -- I knew what he was talking about. He just said, just two more birdies. It was probably a good thing because 15, 16, 17, they're not easy holes, especially where the pin is on 16 and 17 today. Thinking about making birdies instead of thinking about trying to hold on and make pars like you normally do on those holes was a pretty good mindset, I think. Q. I'm just wondering how your wife is, and going around the course, do you think of her or does it have any impact on your golf now? MARC LEISHMAN: No, I don't think about it, what happened, but it has definitely -- it's changed my whole perspective on life. I feel like I've always had a pretty good outlook on life, but now just it takes a lot more to worry me. I don't get annoyed about little things that I can't really help, when you hit a bad shot there's no real point getting frustrated about it because you tried to hit a good shot, you didn't, move on. That frustration doesn't help. And I feel like even if I do have a bad day, I can still go home and hopefully give her a hug and cuddle my boys. There for a while it didn't look like I was going to be able to do that. I think in that way, it's really helped me. That's how I've -- yeah, I don't think about it on the course, but I think it's just changed me as a person, for the better. Q. You talk about the balance a bit more of trying to shoot 62, 63, and trying to put yourself in this tournament. Obviously there's still a round to go. On 18, for example, are you trying to stick it at that pin when you go short instead of going over the back? Where was the balance? MARC LEISHMAN: That's what I had to weigh up with that shot on 18. I think my mindset as a golfer is pretty aggressive, and that helped me in that situation. I don't like to get to where it's 5- or 6-under after 9 and try and hold on. If I shoot 5-under on the front nine I want to shoot 5- or 6-under on the back. Yeah, on 18 we were contemplating just pitching it to 20 feet past it, but I only had 60 metres so it was hard to even get it to there because it's taken that big bounce and not spinning. I really liked the shot, to try and bump it into that hill, pop it up and maybe even hole it, who knows. I actually hit a really good shot and it didn't bounce as hard as I thought it was going to. You know, if you hit the shot how you want to hit it and it doesn't turn out the way you wanted it to, you can't be frustrated with that because you hit a good shot. Yeah, that's all you can do. Q. And just further on what you were talking about there, does it strike you at all as a big deal that three months ago you were near quitting the game and now you're sitting here in contention in a major? MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, it was a huge possibility that I wasn't going to be playing golf anymore. Travelling with a one-year-old and a three-year-old by yourself isn't really -- well, it wasn't going to happen. I wouldn't do that to the boys. They're too young to know what's going on. At the time it was just, righto, you're going to have to give it away and stay home with the boys and be a dad, and that was the most important thing, and I was all right with that. Obviously the outcome, Audrey is all right now and it's a lot better. Makes things -- well, it's great that she's healthy again. But yeah, that was pretty rough there for a while, thinking about everything, the boys not growing up with their mom, me not playing golf anymore, not having a wife. It was just everything. Unfortunately it probably happens every day to people around the world. We were just really lucky that she's on the mend. A lot of people -- well, we know a couple of people that their wives didn't make it, which is really sad, but it does happen. Q. Forgive the juxtaposition, I've got two questions, though. Along the lines with your wife, what is her status now in terms of her health? Is she fully recovered or is there still ongoing things? MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, she looks completely normal. She looks just like she did before she got sick. She's just got no energy, no stamina. She's exhausted by lunchtime most days, has to take it easy after that. But that's a lot better than what it was looking like three months ago. It wasn't a good outlook, didn't look good for her, and this is awesome the way she's recovering. The critical illness myopathy is one of the side effects when you're in a coma for so long with your body working so hard to just keep yourself alive, your muscles just basically waste away. She's been strengthening or building muscles for 30 years. She's a pretty strong girl. And then all of a sudden when she woke up from the coma, she couldn't lift her phone. That's how bad she was. So you go from lifting weights at the gym to you can't pick up your phone to send a text message. That was -- that sort of thing, that hits home, that that's how she went from so strong to basically rock bottom and now she's recovering really well. She's getting stronger, and it's just going to take time. Might take a year, might take two years, who knows, but she's here to tell the story. Q. We've had so many different conditions over the course the last couple days. When you went out today, was there a point early in the round when you realised, hey, we can really score today, and was there a point where you maybe changed your approach to how you were playing the round today? MARC LEISHMAN: No, not really. I think getting out with no wind was amazing. We played Thursday afternoon, or I played Thursday afternoon, and it was really, really windy, really strong, and then Friday morning it was strong, as well. So we played all 36 holes in a pretty heavy wind. So to get out with no wind, it makes everything a lot easier, but particularly putting. You can be over a 15-footer and actually feel like you're going to make it rather than being worried about getting a gust and it going five feet past. You don't want five-footers when you've got that wind. Definitely knew that there was a score out there to be had. The pins were actually reasonably tough I feel like on the -- a few holes on the front nine, and we just managed to get through them holes and then birdied the ones that were there to be had. Q. Can I just check, first of all, your family are here with you this week? MARC LEISHMAN: No. Q. They're back in Australia? MARC LEISHMAN: They're back in Virginia Beach, in America, yeah. Q. After all you've been through as a family over the last three months, what do you take to go and put another win like this tomorrow and to win The Open Championship? What would that mean to you and to everyone? MARC LEISHMAN: Obviously it would be massive. That's the goal now. Today the goal was to shoot a good round and get myself so I had a chance tomorrow. Probably wasn't quite expecting to do what I did, but really put myself in it, depending on what the leaders do today, see how far ahead they get. But if I can do the right things and do things well, there's no reason why I can't have another good one tomorrow. Yeah, it obviously means a lot to everyone, people from over here, from the UK, and Australians, we grew up watching Greg Norman win The Open Championship. It would be great to get a hold of that trophy and nice to take it back for Audrey and the boys. But there's obviously a lot that has to happen between now and tomorrow night to do that. But that would be awesome. I'm sure it would be, yeah, a pretty big party. Q. This championship has such a distinct flavour; what can you pull out of being in the mix on the final day a year ago, and secondly, how would you compare your comfort level on the links to what it was maybe when you came here in 2010? MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, well, I take a lot of good things from last year. I shot I think it was -- I can't remember how many under it was, but I think 65 in the last round last year, and obviously Rory ran away with it, but when I needed to make birdies, I was able to make a few, so you take some confidence away from that, hitting good shots under pressure. And as far as my comfort on the links compared to 2010, it's probably night and day. I've played a few British Amateurs, did okay in one of them, but never lit it up over here, and then last year I felt somewhat comfortable in The Open Championships I've played, but last year to get a few runs of birdies happening and some good scores, that really gave me confidence to know that if I was to play well this week, I could contend. It was really pleasing to do what I did today and give myself probably a legitimate chance tomorrow. Q. You've contended a couple times now in the final day in majors. What have you learnt about the mental approach, both off course preparation on the final day and what you take with you to the first tee now? MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah. Last year, you know, the confidence to hit shots under the pressure, that's probably what I took from The Open Championship last year. And from the Masters, it was -- in '13 was it when Scottie won, playing with him in the last round, having really a front row seat to see what you actually have to do to win one, that really helped me, I think. Yeah, I had a chance until a few holes to go, but to be there and see him make some mistakes and recover from them knowing that you don't have to play perfect golf was -- that was probably the big thing I took out of that one, just, yeah, you can make mistakes and still win. It's obviously frustrating to make mistakes, but you can't let one mistake ruin your day, which is what has happened to me a few times. I've gotten frustrated in the past, and everything that's gone on in my life the last six months has helped me with that, too, so I feel like I'm in a pretty good spot with my golf game and my life and mentally and all that. I'm feeling good, but there's still a lot of things that have to go right to be lifting that trophy. Q. Given what your family has endured, do you feel now that you're playing for a bigger cause than just trying to win your first major championship, and if so, how does that manifest itself in your golf game? MARC LEISHMAN: No, not really. There's probably less pressure, if anything. You know, it's great to play well any tournament that you play in, and you obviously want to play well, but yeah, I think there's less pressure. I know that obviously I want to win. There's no doubt about that. But if I don't, I'll be all right. Obviously your life is a lot better if you do and you're successful and all that, but I'm doing what I love, and I've still got my family, so that's important, yeah. Q. I know it's slightly different for an Open Championship, but what did winning the Tennant Cup in Scotland as an amateur mean to your career, and did you also play the Links Trophy here as an amateur? MARC LEISHMAN: I did, I played a British Amateur here at St. Andrews, I played the Links Trophy here and the Tennant Cup. That was at Glasgow Gailes in Killermont, yeah. So they're two completely different courses. Glasgow Gailes, I love that golf course. It's links, heather everywhere. It's an awesome course. Having won a tournament over here definitely -- yeah, it can't hurt with confidence, that's for sure. Good memories, actually. I hadn't thought about that for a while. That was a good fun trip. MIKE WOODCOCK: Marc, thank you for joining us this morning. Best of luck tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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