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AT&T BYRON NELSON

May 18, 2018

Marc Leishman

Irving, Texas

SHARON SHIN: I'd like to welcome in Marc Leishman to the Interview Room of the AT&T Byron Nelson.

Marc, you had your career low round of 10-under, 61 yesterday, followed up by another great round today.

Comments about how it felt out there.

MARC LEISHMAN: It felt good. Obviously, yes, was a good round and then it's always tough to follow up a really low one with another good one.

So, happy to shoot 5-under again today and just keep momentum going. Played well, struck the ball very well and reading the greens well and hitting good putts. So it's a pretty good combination for a good score.

SHARON SHIN: Looked like it was a little bit more windy out there this morning. Obviously teeing off in the morning today, how did that affect your playing conditions?

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, it was a little bit different. It was a bit softer than it was yesterday afternoon and, like you said, quite a bit windier. Even when we were the fifth hole of the day, me and Matty and Scotty actually commented on how tough that's going to play this afternoon if the wind gets up.

So, yeah, I think it's going to play a few shots harder today. So that makes, you know, me even happier with the score that I had.

SHARON SHIN: We'll open it for questions.

Q. Marc, there's a distinctive Australian presence at the top of the leaderboard with you and Adam Scott. How do you feel about that and what was it like playing with him today?
MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, it's always good playing with Scotty. We've become really good friends over the years and haven't been paired together a whole lot. To play together and both play well was really good and hopefully we can both keep it going on the weekend.

It would be nice to be paired together in the last group Sunday but we'll have tomorrow first and see how we go.

Yeah, it was great playing with Scotty and I think this course has got a real Australian flavor to it. Reminds me a lot of home. So, that might have something to do with it.

Q. Marc, did you see this coming?
MARC LEISHMAN: Actually played really well last week at The Players. I finished 63rd but the signs were actually there. I hit a lot of good shots.

Like I said to my wife Sunday night, I feel like I should have finished in the Top-10 and finished 60th.

You know, coming here I was confident that -- when you come off a week like that where you played well and got nothing out of it I think, you know, I wasn't -- I was expecting to play well but I wasn't expecting this, I wouldn't say, so it's nice to get off to such a good start and put myself in good spot for the last two days.

Q. Marc, the winds are supposed to pick up tomorrow. Do you consider that more of an advantage for you as the leader or for the chase pack?
MARC LEISHMAN: If I play well it's an advantage for me. Yeah, I mean it could work both. I don't think it really matters too much what the conditions are. You just got to play well, strike the ball well.

Really, really important to hit it well off the tee here because there is plenty of room on the fairways but if you get off them you're in trouble.

So, it's important to hit good tee shots and then that leads to being -- putting you in a good position on the green and give yourself birdie chances. I'm not disappointed that the winds forecast to get up. With it down, I've done okay.

Q. Can you talk about the birdie putt at 12? I assume that was a big spark to the rest of the round.
MARC LEISHMAN: It was, definitely. Hit two good shots into 10 and didn't make the putt and then I was between clubs on 12 there and hit the shorter club because long is no good. Left myself about 60 feet, I think it was.

So, just trying to get it up there. Obviously trying to hole it but just hoping to get it within three, four feet. Tracking pretty good most of the way and then it always makes you happy when putts like that drop in. That really did get the round going today.

Nice to -- anytime it's nice to hole a big putt like that, especially after a low round yesterday and knowing how hard it is to back up a good round like that with another good score. Yeah, that definitely got things going.

Q. You also alluded to this yesterday when you say this course has a real Australian flavor to it. Can you be slightly more specific or couple of examples of shots you hit that would remind you of types of shots you would hit back in Australia?
MARC LEISHMAN: It reminds me of courses just south of Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula and "Ballernin" Peninsula. Probably 13th Beach Golf Course, the National down in -- that's on the Mornington Peninsula. Everything looks like you can get it to the pin and you feel like you should be aiming at every hole but you can't.

If you do that you can bring big numbers into play. So you have to be pretty conservative, like the second shot into the 1st today, there's not a whole lot of trouble up there but, you know, I was aiming 50-foot left of the pin with a 5-iron.

Just shots like that. You got to -- very rarely aiming straight at a pin. You're always trying to play a little bit safer because you know how bad it is if you were to miss the green and then it runs off.

That's probably the big thing, the runoffs around the greens.

Q. Marc, outside of making 55-footers, what's been the key for you to turning things around on the greens this week?
MARC LEISHMAN: I think just I'm reading them really well and then my speed has been great. Last week at The Players I hit a lot of really good putts that lipped out and this week they're going in.

My speed is a lot better but just being comfortable on the greens. Looking at a putt and knowing that it's going to break a certain way or it's up or downhill.

Some weeks you read them really well like I am this week and some weeks you're -- you're not sure if it's 10-footer is slightly uphill or downhill and that affects your speed and line and everything.

So, I think just, yeah, just reading them well.

SHARON SHIN: Anymore questions? All right. Thank you for your time and good luck this weekend.

MARC LEISHMAN: Thank you.

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