SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

January 15, 2021

Marc Leishman

Waialae Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. You put yourself in contention with a pretty decent round?

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, playing good. Just happy with how I'm hitting it and how I'm putting and everything like that. To shoot two rounds like that, happy with it. Good to be back here in Hawai'i and excited for the next two days.

Q. You obviously had a bit of a suspect run the back half of last year after the COVID break but this is proving all that hard work you've put in is coming off?

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, exactly. I'm feeling good over the ball. Sort of just got rid of all that bad stuff out of my head. Ready to think about the good stuff.

Yeah, it's been a good start but a lot of work to do to hopefully leave here very happy Sunday night.

Q. What is it that you think you're going to have to do on the weekend? Wind might not come up, and obviously you're better if it does; expecting birdies?

MARC LEISHMAN: Oh, yeah, even if the wind does come up, you're going to need birdies. But looks like it's going to be pretty benign. So going to have to just attack and hope you can have that hot putter.

Q. As you said, maybe get a hold of some more par 5s to kick it into gear?

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, I played the par 5s 1-under, which is disappointing. Around here when you have 9-iron into 9 there and make par, but it is what it is. Can't dwell on the bad stuff.

Q. You must be pleased?

MARC LEISHMAN: I was even through eight yesterday and got myself back in it. When you can play like that early on but still shoot 4-under, that's pleasing. I've shot myself out of a lot of tournaments, so especially the end of last year. Yeah, happy to fight like that and follow it up with a good one today.

Q. It's good to see you put two rounds together like this. What has been the difference this week from maybe some of the struggles that plagued you late last year?

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, just getting used to playing with no crowds. Find the energy elsewhere from the crowds, and just swinging it better, really. I guess when you start playing poorly, you start thinking about the bad shots you've been hitting and when you can come off a spell and get all that out of your head, I'm thinking about where I want to hit it, not where I don't want to hit it. I think that has a lot to do with it as well.

Q. What did you expect to see from the course when you got here today and was it any different and how did you expect it to adopt going into the weekend?

MARC LEISHMAN: Pins were a little bit tougher today than yesterday. Scores are still pretty good. I thought someone might have gone really low. So to see myself this close to the lead, I was very happy.

And it looks like the wind is going to stay down the next couple of days. It's going to take a lot of birdies. You're going to need a hot putter and give yourself a lot of chances. Hopefully I can keep playing like I have been and roll some putts in.

Q. How would you describe your round today?

MARC LEISHMAN: I think it was pretty solid. Probably the only disappointing part was I didn't birdie either par 5 from pretty birdieable positions. But there's a lot of good stuff, as well. Drove the ball reasonably well and my irons have been great the last two days. Just nice to see some putts go in and hopefully we can warm that putter up for the next to days.

Q. With the low wind, did you think you could take advantage of today a little bit?

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, this golf course, I think you can take advantage of it, anyway, if you're playing well. If you're not playing well, then it can get on top of you. But especially with the wind down, you do get a lot of opportunities. The greens can be a little bit tricky but yeah, you have to be making those putts. The winner is going to be probably close to 20-under, so if you're not making those putts, you're not going to give yourself much hope.

Q. Is that a new shaft in your putter?

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, it's a prototype. Might have just come out in the last couple of days. I think it's called the OG something. It's an Odyssey. Different shaft, I think it's a little bit stiffer. I'm not sure how much of a difference shafts make in putters but it was good.

Q. What's a key for you going into this weekend?

MARC LEISHMAN: Drive it in the fairway and give my irons a lot of opportunities to shoot at pins. I think driving and then obviously whoever wins is going to have to make the putts.

But for me I think the big thing is get on the fairway and so I can let my irons hopefully get to work.