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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE

June 1, 2019

Marc Leishman

Dublin, Ohio

Q. 3-under, 69, if we could get some comments on your round, please?
MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, played good today. Drove it really well. Got off to a pretty good start and then just caught off a bit on the back nine. The wind was moving around a little bit. I'm right in there, I think. Good one tomorrow and see what happens.

Q. Literally Harvey said to me, My dad can win from eight shots back, which is true (inaudible) something you are ready for?
MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, for sure. I've won both ways, one from behind, one from ahead. Thanks, Harvey, for throwing me under the bus. But it's possible. Hopefully -- I don't think 7- or 8-under will be leading at the end of the day, but 5 or 6 is definitely gettable, especially on this golf course. I've played here a lot, and I know what it takes to shoot a good score and also a bad score. Hopefully I can learn from those bad ones I've had and shoot a good one.

Q. Not to discount Martin, but would you enjoy going head-to-head with Scotty down the stretch tomorrow if it was to be that way?
MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, yeah, anyone, really. It's nice to be back in the hunt again. It's been a while. I think LA was probably the last time I was around the lead.

So I'm looking forward to that, really. I don't mind who it's against. I'm just glad that I'm playing good again and I'm relevant again on a Sunday. I haven't been relevant for a while. So I'm looking forward to that.

Q. What does it take to shoot a good score here?
MARC LEISHMAN: Well, I mean, this year in particular you have to drive it well because the rough is so brutal. When you hit the fairways, every hole is a birdie hole. If you're missing it, you're hacking it out and trying to fly it for a par.

That's important, good iron play and making putts. Making putts, any day, is important, but particularly on a Sunday. It looks like the wind is going to be up a bit. The course is drying out, so that's good.

Q. The U.S. Open is two weeks away?
MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, it's good. Also had a dry spell there for a couple of months. I'll take good play anytime. But especially leading into two of the next three tournaments are majors, after this one.

So, yeah, it's nice to be playing good again. Golf is so much more fun when you're on the fairway and making some putts. Yeah, I'm looking forward to the weeks coming, but particularly tomorrow.

Q. Did you follow any of the early coverage? People were talking about how the greens were markedly quicker. So by the time you teed off, were you aware of something --
MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, you could tell that. I did watch the early coverage. Harvey wanted to watch the golf this morning, so we were watching that. I did notice that there were a few putts getting raced by. Would race one by on the first. They would have been a lot quicker today. A little bit firmer and, yeah, noticeably quicker, which is good. That's how this place should be, it should be quick greens. It's important where you miss it. The first few days it didn't matter where you missed it. You had a chance. But when they're quick, you know to miss it in the right spots.

Q. What do you think about when you're in contention to get your mind away from things?
MARC LEISHMAN: I have three kids at home this week, so that's pretty easy. I don't know, you just -- couple of beers and just relax on the couch, really. Yeah, nothing -- it's just -- I don't know, it's just golf. Obviously I want to play well and do really well. I think that's when it's good for me that I've got a pretty relaxed personality. This sort of stuff doesn't bother me too much. It's different when you're five in front. I didn't sleep very well that night at BMW. I'm a pretty good sleeper generally and take things as they come. I think that helps me in those situations.

Q. You can't get Harvey interested in cricket?
MARC LEISHMAN: He likes playing it. We play it in the backyard. We have a bat and a few balls at home. So we do play. It's hard to watch on TV. You have to do the wide screen. And he doesn't understand the rules, really.

Q. On the back nine, you had the bogey and you followed up with a birdie, otherwise it was all par. How important was it to rebound from one tough hole like that?
MARC LEISHMAN: That was really important. I had a terrible tee shot there yesterday in the water. Two days in a row hit it in the same spot. That's a wide fairway, and I hit a 5-iron today. That was pretty frustrating.

I had a really good two-putt from about 40 feet for bogey. So that could have easily been a double. And hit a bad tee shot on 15 but managed to get a birdie. That was a tap-in birdie there after a pretty bad stretch of probably three or four shots.

Q. Would this be the biggest win of your career if you were to go on to win?
MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, Bay Hill, BMW, here, all big events. Lots to do tomorrow before I have to worry about that. This week I've just been trying to enjoy my golf. I haven't been enjoying it that much the last couple of months, just the way I've been playing and not making too many putts. It's nice to enjoy it again. That's all I'm going to be doing tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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