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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE

May 30, 2019

Marc Leishman

Dublin, Ohio

Q. Terrific opening round, 67, 5-under par. What did you do particularly well today?
MARC LEISHMAN: Happy with that. Hit my irons really well. The putter was great. Holed putts that you should make. And drove it in the right spot. It was all in pretty good spots in most holes. That's important around here.

Q. As far as playing conditions, how was it?
MARC LEISHMAN: Probably as easy as it gets. Soft fairways, soft greens, smooth greens. And basically no wind. So able to shoot a good score. You needed to do it today.

We'll see what the weather does the rest of the week. The conditions are as easy as it will get around here.

Q. Having said that, if you leave the fairways, it's pretty nasty?
MARC LEISHMAN: The rough is brutal. I was in the rough a couple of times, and it's not much fun. If you hit it well, shoot good scores, like you see guys out there doing. But if you're not driving it great or missing greens, really, it's hard to get up and down. That rough is really tough.

Q. This is your 11th time here. The early years, not great results. Three top 15's in the last four. Have you figured something out about this place?
MARC LEISHMAN: I've just always loved it. Early on when I didn't play great here I really enjoyed playing here. I don't know if there's anything I've worked out. But I think in the last three or four years in particular I'm driving a lot better. And if you can get it on the fairway here, they're generous fairways, but if you miss them, they're very penalizing. I think I missed a lot of fairways in those early years.

Q. Solid day, five birdies, one bogey. All in all, great start for you. Your thoughts?
MARC LEISHMAN: Played well. Hit my irons really well and the putter was pretty hot. I made a great putt -- great par save on 18 from about 25 feet. And just made all the putts that you should make from inside ten feet. I was pretty solid today. When I missed it, it was in the right spot. If you miss it in the wrong spot, that's when things can get out of hand.

Q. The conditions out here today, when I'm watching tee shots land in the fairway, they don't roll anywhere. What's it like to play in these conditions?
MARC LEISHMAN: It's very soft, but the conditions are perfect. The greens are perfect. Fairways are great. And the rough is brutal. So it rewards good play and punishes bad shots. So that's a good thing. No wind helps, as well. Today was a day that you could really shoot a low one.

Q. Earlier in the season I think you had four top 4's, you were just on fire. What's the state of your game right now as we head into the end of May, beginning of June?
MARC LEISHMAN: It's coming back around. I had a couple rough months there. My body wasn't feeling great. I wasn't driving it as well as I would have liked, and the putter was cold. That's not a very good combination for good results. I changed my putter to one that I used a few years back and worked pretty well today.

Yeah, my game feels good right now. Hopefully I'll get in a good four rounds in here. I would love to leave here with a great result, a win. But it will be a pretty good warm-up for what is going to be probably a pretty brutal Open.

Q. How do you assess your round today?
MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, pretty good. I drove it well without being fantastic. But irons were really good. And I putted well. So just holed the putts you need to hole, I guess. So it was a good day.

Q. Softer conditions out there than you've maybe seen in the past years?
MARC LEISHMAN: Yes, definitely. Easier to hit fairways like this, and no wind, as well. So, yeah, it was a day that if you're going to -- you needed to have a good score today, I think. It's set up in a way that if you're hitting it really well, you can shoot a really low one, and if you're a little off the rough is really penalizing. So rewards and punishes bad play, which is a good thing.

Q. This part of the season we're into now, you're trending in the right direction for the rest of these big events?
MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, I feel good. Body is feeling good again. Putter looks like it's starting to warm up. There were some good signs there today. And I'm happy with where I'm at at the moment. Pretty disappointing last few months, especially after the start of the year. But looking to have a big few months.

Q. Was it good to put a good run in front of Ernie out there?
MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, it was. We don't want to be falling down. But it was good. It's always nice to play well in front of an idol of mine. Yeah, I hit some really good shots out there today. It's nice to do that. And we had a good chat. I don't know about the Presidents Cup, but chatting about a lot of things.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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