MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 9, 2022

Marc Leishman

Quick Quotes

Q. With Marc Leishman after round 3. 1-under today. That's a really good score. How was it out there?

MARC LEISHMAN: It was tough, cold. The greens quickened up overnight back to, I would say, Masters speed. Yeah, happened to play good, a couple of three-putts, but putting was pretty difficult out there with the wind. I'm a lot happier today standing here than I was the last two afternoons after missing a lot of putts.

Q. So what sort of shots were required out there today? Like you couldn't go at every pin. They were in some tricky spots.

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, they're at a speed where you could use the slopes today, which was nice. You get so used to -- the only time I play this golf course is during the Masters, and you get used to using slopes when the greens are running as quick as they are, and we sort of weren't able to do that the first two days.

So you could hit shots on the slopes and get it at the tough pins, like 14 for instance. I mean, you just had to draw -- get it good in the fairway so you could actually spin the ball a little bit to hold it against the wind and was lucky enough to do that.

Then made a couple of putts and shot under par, which felt like a lot better than a 71.

Q. So tell us what's par today?

MARC LEISHMAN: I don't know, there's some tough holes out there, a lot of tough holes. I mean, probably 2-over would be a pretty decent score. If you shot 2, you wouldn't be too frustrated, I wouldn't think. Anything better than that is going to probably pick up spots.

Yeah, I think 1-under should jump up a few spots throughout the day. It's not getting any warmer or the wind's not dropping. Having played this morning, I'm pretty happy to say that.

Q. (No microphone)?

MARC LEISHMAN: 15, I think if there was no wind, it would be all right. We're playing that straight into the wind. So I think the design of that is great. I think both the changes on 11 and 15 are unbelievable. I think both made them better holes.

Yeah, 15's just so hard because it's into the wind, and if you hit it off the back of that green, you can very easily chip it into the water. I think you'll see quite a few guys do that today. Even if you layup, you're worried about spinning it back into the water because of that wind. Third aim it straight off the left off the tee, so you can't really sling it round the corner. And then if you do, you've still got a long iron in. So the par-5s are playing tough this week.

Q. Laying up on 15 is something --

MARC LEISHMAN: I try and avoid it at all costs. That wedge shot is my least favorite shot, probably all year.

Q. Where do you try to get it?

MARC LEISHMAN: Normally if I'm in between clubs or can't quite get there, I'll normally aim for that right bunker and try to get it back over there. I don't love being up over the back of that green. I mean, sometimes you have no option. You have to layup, but it's a really difficult wedge shot.

Q. Do you know where you want to layup?

MARC LEISHMAN: I do know where I want to layup, yes.

Q. How did you play it today? You went for it in two?

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, I went for it today. I tried to get it to the right edge of the green, and I pushed it a bit. I made 5, which I think there today is actually a pretty good score. If you hit it over the back of that green, you'll see guys chip it in the water, and guys laying up you'll see spinning back into the water. I mean, you'll see some birdies too.

Q. How do you think it will affect people in contention? If you're in contention tomorrow, what will you do?

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, it's a great hole because you can eagle it or you see doubles and triples there.

Q. But if you did, you might take the risk, right?

MARC LEISHMAN: To go for the green? Oh, yeah, no doubt. I like going for the green there.

Q. Even though Scottie Scheffler has a decent lead, is it over yet?

MARC LEISHMAN: It might be over for me, but no, certainly not over yet. I mean, I've been playing well here before, and you feel like you've -- you've got it, and you know how to play this place, and then you shoot a 78. I'm not saying that's what he's going to do, but there's pressure. It's the Masters.

He's been playing great golf, but no, it's certainly not over. Five shots can go -- could be not leading staning on the 4th tee, 5th tee.

Q. I know he's great playing this format, but what do the other players think? He's just got lightning in a bottle?

MARC LEISHMAN: No. We've known he's a great player. Yeah, sometimes the golf feels easy, and sometimes it doesn't. Unfortunately, more often than not, it doesn't feel easy, but when you do, when it is feeling easy, you've got to make the most of it. He's definitely doing that at the moment. He's a really good bloke, so I'm happy for him.

Q. You kind of feel like an Open today more than the Masters?

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, I mean, temperature-wise definitely. Never worn this many layers at the Open before. I've got five layers on. And I never even thought about taking any of them off. Yeah, you had to pack well for this week. Lucky enough, I had a good sponsor who sent me some stuff, and I was very warm.

Q. Do you eventually get to a point where you have to balance trying to stay warm with restricting your swing because you're wearing so many layers?

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, I think that's why you don't wear thick stuff. You just wear a lot of layers. It's important to layer up, and that's what I've done. I've got plenty of layers on. I feel like the Michelin man at the moment (Laughter).

Q. Would you be surprised if I told you there were no eagles on 15 yet in this tournament?

MARC LEISHMAN: No, I wouldn't be surprised at all, especially that pin today. If you're going for that green, you're not going for the pin. It's been way left on Friday. Back right, maybe that surprised me a bit, back right. I mean, with the wind as strong as it was on Thursday when we played, I think I hit driver and then ripped a 3-iron in there. It was playing long.