SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

January 17, 2021

Marc Leishman

Waialae Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Wonderful second shot on 18. I know you'd like that putt one more time but you gave yourself a chance?

MARC LEISHMAN: I did. I got off to a rough start. Had to chip out sideways twice on the front nine, one left-handed. I hate doing that. So that was disappointing. But fought back well. Hit a great shot on 18 and I've seen guys leave that putt before, and I was telling myself don't leave it short and it's a really slow putt. Yeah, that's really disappointing. See how it ends up. I don't think it's going to be good enough but happy to get the competitive juices flowing again and put me in a good spot going into Torrey Pines in a couple weeks.

Q. Your first Top-10 since Bay Hill on TOUR. What do you take way from this week that gives you confidence with the defense coming up in two weeks?

MARC LEISHMAN: Hitting good shots again. Management on the course was nice. Just getting that -- drawing that energy from the situation. I've been playing poorly the last six or eight months and when you're not playing great and nowhere near the lead, it's hard to pull that energy from anywhere. It was nice to have that. Take a lot of good stuff away from this. Hit the ball really well and just nice to get back in the hunt again.

Q. Did you see on 18 on that putt?

MARC LEISHMAN: I was between clubs. I wanted to try and make 3. Went with a 3-iron. Hit a little bit of a sort cut, perfect shot. Couldn't hit that any better. Yeah, the putt, I would like that over again. I've seen guys leave that short before on TV. Told myself, don't leave it short, and it's a lot slower than I thought it was. Yeah, that caught me. Pretty disappointed with that.

Still a good week; the way I've been playing the last six or eight months and nice to get a sniff of the lead again.

Q. A couple wayward shots on the front nine, nice fight back. Are you able what you were able to accomplish after a rocky start?

MARC LEISHMAN: It was a rocky start. A couple of tee shots that caught limbs and if finished right up against trees. I had to chip one out left-handed and the other one was from between tree roots. That was not the start I was after. Proud of the way I fought back. Might have been 6-under or 7-under for the last ten.

Yeah, 6-under for the last ten, so that was good to do that, fight back and gives me a lot of confidence going into San Diego in a couple weeks.

Q. Your title defense in San Diego, what might be a couple things you want to work on prior to that?

MARC LEISHMAN: Always working on the driving. If you can drive it well around there, it's a really big advantage. I'll do a little bit of work on the driver if the weather permits. Who knows what it's going to be like in Virginia Beach. I'll probably have a bit of a spell, just rest up and pretty happy with where my game is at to be honest.