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DELL TECHNOLOGIES CHAMPIONSHIP

September 3, 2017

Marc Leishman

Boston, Massachusetts

MARK WILLIAMS: We'd like to welcome Marc Leishman into the interview room at the Dell Technologies Championship.

Marc, a 6-under 65 to be 12-under and currently tied for the lead. Just talk about your day today. Bogey-free, pretty impressive in these conditions.

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, it was a good day. Drove the ball really well. Well, everything was pretty good, but especially the putter. You know, made all the putts that you probably expect to make for birdie and then rolled a couple of big ones in there.

That turned a pretty good round into a really good round, so that was pleasing. Hopefully I can keep rolling the ball like that tomorrow and see where we end up.

MARK WILLIAMS: Before we take questions, started the week at No. 20 in the FedExCup, currently projected in the top five. Just talk about the importance of that going into East Lake.

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, you know, dropped a few spots last week, missing the cut. Knew coming in here that I needed to play well to try and obviously rise up the rankings, but you know, firstly, get to THE TOUR Championship. So you know, happy with my start, but I need another good round tomorrow to really turn it into like a good chance to contend in that FedEx.

Q. What's the forecast for tomorrow, do you think? I'm not talking about the weather. I'm just talking about that leaderboard.
MARC LEISHMAN: The forecast, score-wise? I think you're going to have to -- I'm at 12, I would think you would have to get to at least 16 -- 15, 16. It's a funny game. You never know. That would be my plan to just try and do what I've been doing. You know, give myself as many chances as I can and try and make them.

You know, there's some gettable holes on the front nine but there's some really tough ones on the back. So yeah, I think you would have to get to, yeah, 15, 16, at least.

Q. This place, players coming from behind, Rory last year; is it a course where, you know, someone can get a jump on you and then all of a sudden you look up and holes that you think you should birdie, when you don't birdie them, things slip into your mind?
MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, definitely. You know, it's a course where if you play really well, you can shoot 8- or 10-under. So you know, with that being said, being at 12-under and there's a lot of guys, I guess, what, around 9, 10; you know, they are well in it. 18 holes, a lot can happen. So you know, there's no -- yeah, I'm just going to try and keep moving forward (laughter).

Q. A little bit later in the day, everybody sort of condensed today, but as the roars are going on, are you aware of the score board? Is it setting up expectations in your mind when you see, for example, a guy shoot 63 or 65, do you stay patient and just block that out, or does it encourage you to say, you know, what there's scores out there; what I'm seeing is still going to be there when I come down to the end.
MARC LEISHMAN: I've always been one to watch the leaderboards. Yeah, I mean, you see the guys making birdies, and it just makes you more determined, really. You know, like I said, 18 holes is a lot, and someone could shoot 8-under, get to 18 early, and who knows.

So yeah, definitely, just you look at that as motivation, not as a deterrent.

Q. Just curious, you've never known the PGA TOUR without the FedExCup Playoffs. So from the first time we had them, has it changed at all your philosophy and taken on a greater meaning?
MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, definitely. I think now, like everyone's been talking about the Player of the Year recently, and I feel like that there's obviously a lot of guys in the running. I mean, myself, I would look at winning the FedExCup like winning a major. I think it's become that big. I think a lot of players, you know, because it's a season-long race, I feel like it's got a lot of meaning.

Obviously the majors are what everyone wants to win, but I feel like if you win the FedExCup, it's almost -- you know, it's very close to a major.

Q. What do you think's harder to win?
MARC LEISHMAN: I mean, they are both tough. You know, the courses we play in the majors, obviously really tough. But you know, it's only one week. The FedExCup, you can't just have one good week and contend. You have to firstly play well to get into the Playoffs, and if you don't play well in at least two of the Playoff events, when you know what it means, you're not going to win.

So I feel like harder to win probably the FedExCup. I don't know about which one has more pressure, but yeah, definitely, I feel like you have to play well all year to win the FedEx.

Q. Kind of a trap question, is what you're trying to say. When you're in the mix, anywhere within, say, if your name is among two or three of the lead, do you look at numbers in terms of what their score is, or do you look at names? And does any have more bearing than the other?
MARC LEISHMAN: I mean, I guess you look at both. Probably more so numbers. You don't want to worry about names. Obviously there's a lot of good players at the top of the leaderboard, this week, especially, and last week.

But you know, the end of the day, we're all just people trying to get a ball into a hole, really. That's how I try and look at it. I don't look at it like I'm playing against -- like today I was playing with Phil Mickelson, or, you know, whoever it might be. You know, whoever plays best on the day is probably going to come out on top.

Yeah, you can't -- I don't think you can take too much into the names.

Q. Did you feel academically challenged listening to Phil and Bryson talk today?
MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, they are both a bit smart for me. Keep my distance. (Laughter)

MARK WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mark, appreciate your time.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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