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MASTERS TOURNAMENTApril 11, 2013Marc LeishmanAUGUSTA, GEORGIA MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. It's a pleasure to welcome Marc Leishman, second Masters appearance, had a great round, 66, 6‑under today. Congratulations and tell us about your round. MARC LEISHMAN: Thank you. Yeah, it was a good day obviously. Got off to a bit of a shaky start, a few nerves early. But got those out of the way with a birdie at 3 and then we're away. Hit some good shots, made some reasonably easy pars, and I think that's what gave me the confidence to go on from there. Q. You know, growing up, tell us a little bit about your history with the Masters, watching it; what do you remember? And what did you think when you were a kid; that's where I want to go? MARC LEISHMAN: Well, of course, every kid wants to be here. The first time I was here a few years ago, I was like a bit of a deer in headlights, I guess. Found myself looking around a little bit too much and not concentrating on getting the ball in the hole, which is what you need to do. But growing up as a kid, you know, you just‑‑ you always had the putt to win the Masters. That was on the putting green; this putt's to win the Masters. To be here is awesome and to be sitting here is pretty cool. But, you know, it's only Thursday afternoon, so a lot of golf to play. But I feel good about my game. Q. Just take us on Greg in '96, did you watch that, and your emotions. MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, I watched it. Obviously it was disappointing for, well, obviously for him, but that's golf. Having come here now and played this course a few times, I can see it can happen. Like you can see how what happened, happened. It's not that bad a score on probably Sunday conditions. Obviously Faldo played awesome. But you know, that's life I guess. I don't know what else I can tell you about that. Q. After you won Hartford, how did you feel your status changed? You knew you were coming here, but how did you feel your status changed among your fellow TOUR players? MARC LEISHMAN: I don't think it changed a whole lot. Obviously they now‑‑ well, after that, they knew I was good enough to win. But you know, everyone still stands on the first tee Thursday morning on zero, so you've still got to get the ball in the hole. And anyone on any given week can win. You know, it's nice to be sitting here, and you know, hopefully I can be here later in the week. But yeah, it's good to know that‑‑ well, I don't know. Q. Can you just talk about the way that you won that, and how that might have affected the way you look at golf and the way tournaments are won and lost? MARC LEISHMAN: You know, it's hard to win a golf tournament. I think leading, coming towards the end of a Sunday, it's easy to get defensive. I've come from behind in a few tournaments, and I guess a little bit like today, I can get on a run of a few birdies in a row, and it was good to know I could do that at Hartford, and I was able to do it, which was awesome. Q. What were those two hours like that you waited and just watched the rest of the field play? MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, it was‑‑ like it was nerve‑wracking, but there wasn't a whole lot‑‑ well, there was nothing I could do. But there wasn't much; like if I finished second, it wasn't going to be a bad day. It was still going to be a good thing. Obviously I wanted to win, but I was pretty relaxed about it all to be honest. Went out, hit a few balls just to loosen up just in case. And to be honest, I didn't think there was going to be a playoff. I thought it was just, I'd finished second or third and go home. And then in the end what happened, happened and I won, didn't need the playoff, which was great. Q. Did this round have a turning point of any sort, and how pumped up were you during the four straight birdies on the back? MARC LEISHMAN: I think after making a few easy pars early on the front nine, and then a tap‑in birdie on 8, made a good up‑and‑down on 9, and then birdied 10 and was that like, right, feeling good, driving the ball pretty well, irons are feeling great. I hit a lot of good iron shots on the back 9. Left it short in the middle on 11, so I could have buried that. And thought I had a good putt on 12, but it missed. It was awesome getting on those sort of runs. Had only about a 6‑footer on 13, about a 2‑footer on 14, 2‑footer on 15, and then obviously holed that bomb on 16 from‑‑ I don't know how far that was, but it was in a different zip code, I think. You know, that happens when you have a good day occasionally, and you've just got to make the most of it. Q. Just describe some of the emotions, the things that were going through your head and that snowball kept going down the hill pretty good. MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, it was awesome, but I never really got ahead of myself, because I know that this course can bite you pretty quickly. If you miss it in the wrong spot, you can easily have‑‑ easily have a bogey, and then double is pretty easy to come by around here. You've just got to miss it in the right spots, and I was able to do that today. You know, obviously felt good to get on a roll with the four birdies in a row. Q. Can I take you back to 2004 when you came to Scotland and you won an event called the Tennant Cup, obviously a lot lower key than this, but how important was a win like that in shaping your career? MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, it's great. Any time you can be in a tournament like that, I think it was over two different courses, and I think I won that by a fair few, I think maybe ten or something. But yeah, any time that you can get out as an amateur, play in front of some decent crowds on a course that you don't really know, it's good to see how your nerves hold up, how your green reading is, course management and all that. Holding up a trophy at the end of any tournament is a lot of fun, so that was good. Q. You were talking about your first time here and you looked around too much, you said. Can you go into detail about your focus and what all you were watching instead of putting the ball in the hole? MARC LEISHMAN: I would find myself thinking about what I'd seen on TV as a kid. Like I'd think about Freddie Couples's ball staying up in the bank on 12, on the 12th tee. Or someone chipping in on the right‑hand side of 11. Just things like that, that I probably should have came here a few more times before the tournament, before my first Masters so I didn't do that. But I didn't, and I found myself doing that during the tournament, which wasn't great. But also that week, I just hit it in a lot of bad spots and I think I learned a lot by doing that. That's helped me this week so far. Q. When you have experience like that, and you wouldn't be the first guy to get bruised by this course the first time out, but how do you process that, given what this course means to every golfer; how do you process that performance and get past it? MARC LEISHMAN: You just put all your mistakes in the memory bank and try and not make them again, try and learn from them. And I hit it in a lot of bad spots my first year. I managed to avoid those spots today. Hopefully I can avoid them for the rest of the week. Q. You mentioned the first time you were here that you had all these thoughts about shots from past Masters. Could you help yourself from thinking about Lyle's escape from the bunker on []18 when you hit the drive in there today? Did you think, if Lyle can get it on the green, I can get it on the green? MARC LEISHMAN: That lip's a bit higher than I thought it was. Didn't look as high on TV. Q. It was a carbon copy. You almost hit it in the same spot? MARC LEISHMAN: Did I? To be honest I can't remember when he won it. Q. Well, you were probably‑‑ MARC LEISHMAN: My first Masters I can remember is '91, which Ian Woosnam won. Q. What were you thinking with that shot? MARC LEISHMAN: I was thinking, make sure to get it over the lip (laughter). I wanted to finish on my feet. Yeah, that's what I thinking, I think if it finishes on the front edge of the green, it's fine. I just wanted to get it over that lip. Q. What club did you hit? MARC LEISHMAN: It was 8‑iron. Q. Obviously you know the history of Australians here. I know it's only the first round, but how big would this be for you to go on and break that drought? MARC LEISHMAN: I mean, it would be huge obviously. But like you said, there's a lot of golf left, and a lot of hurdles to clear. But you know, if I can keep playing the way I'm playing, keep holing the crucial par putts and just putting the way I have been, there's no reason why not. But there's a lot of good players obviously and a lot of holes left, so obviously that's the goal. Just got to try and execute it and see how we go. Q. Given your last go around here, was there any part that felt surprisingly easy today on the course? MARC LEISHMAN: Not really. Actually yesterday, the turning point for me yesterday, for the week, was I just played the back nine, birdied 10, 11, 12 and then eagled 13. And I haven't been on a run like that ever around this golf course, so it was good to know that it's possible, because it felt impossible last time I was here. I would say that's the turning point. But it's just been a relaxing week. I've taken it easy. I've only played nine holes every day. Had a really good time in the Par 3 tournament yesterday, I had my wife Audrey, and Harvey running around, mom and dad were in the crowd, they are over from Australia. That was really good, relaxing, playing with Wayne Grady and Ian Baker‑Finch. We had a really good time, and it was just a good lead‑up to today, I think. Q. What was the best shot you hit today? MARC LEISHMAN: Today? Probably my 7‑iron into 11, I would say. I didn't make birdie there, but that was‑‑ hit it right where I wanted to, about 20 feet short of the pin. That's a tough hole, so it was good to hit a solid shot there when you really need to, because right's no good, and obviously left's no good, either. Q. What is your Ben Hogan Performance? What does that refer to? MARC LEISHMAN: That's the clothing brand. That's part of the Perry Ellis Company. I've been wearing it since The Honda Classic. That's what that is. Q. Is he a meaningful figure to you, particularly? MARC LEISHMAN: Obviously he's a legend of the game. I wouldn't say he's not a meaningful figure, but he's ‑‑ it's nice to have his name on my chest, for sure, yeah. Q. When you talk about the nerves today, how do they manifest? How did you feel? MARC LEISHMAN: Just as you feel teeing off on the first hole at the Masters. It's a pretty tough tee shot. If it's into the wind, it's not too bad because it's fairly wide, but the farther up you get, the narrower it gets. And you have to be on the fairway, because that green's really, really tough. I was out of the position off the tee, and then, yeah, it's just hard to make par up there if you're out of position on the tee, chipping onto that green. Especially where that pin was; there's a run‑off about four feet behind it that would have gone straight off the back. So, yeah, it's just nervous, just normal nerves. Q. Do you feel it in your hands or your stomach? How do you feel it when you feel that kind of nerves? MARC LEISHMAN: It's a good question. I don't know, like I don't shake or anything. Just over the ball, you're just, maybe your arms feel a bit light or something. Q. Walking off the 18th, you looked like you wanted to burst into song, you were trying to hold the smile back. How do you‑‑ two‑parter, how do you contain that now and what do you do now to fill in the rest of the day, because you've got a bit of a time now to wait before you tee off tomorrow. MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, I do. Obviously I was happy. Like I wanted to go out there and play well, and I did. I think smiling, being happy is a good thing (smiling). Q. Looked like you were just trying to keep it level. MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, definitely. I think it would be a different story if it was Sunday afternoon. But it's only very early, and I was trying to keep it down a little bit. I don't want to, you know, walk around‑‑ well, not that I don't want to walk around with a huge smile on my face, but you might get some indifferent looks. And then this afternoon, I'll just go home, back to the house we've rented, just be good to see Harvey. He's my 15‑month‑old son, probably play around with him in the back and he'll be throwing balls at me and I'll be chasing him. Yeah, that will keep me amused for sure. Q. What was the experience of playing with Olazábal like for you? MARC LEISHMAN: It was good, yeah. I had actually played with him before a couple of years ago at Memorial. I just love watching him‑‑ his short game, he's got the best short game I think I've ever seen. Just some of the shots that he hits. And it's great to play with a guy who has won a couple of Masters. You can learn a lot from him, so I tried to do that. Yeah, he's a great bloke, as well. Q. Did he do anything today that really caught your eye? MARC LEISHMAN: He hit it right on 16 in the bunker on the downslope, and it's impossible. And he hit the best shot you possibly could. He landed I think that far out of the bunker (indicating two inches) in the rough, and it still went to the bottom of the hill. That's the only way you could have got it up top. He landed it within, I'll say, six inches of where he wanted to, which is impressive. MODERATOR: Thank you very much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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