Marc Leishman learns from Masters experience

Having a front row seat to Australian golf history wasn’t exactly what Marc Leishman had in mind in the final round of the 2013 Masters Tournament, but it might be what he needed to eventually draft his own chapter.

Leishman was paired with fellow Aussie Adam Scott on Sunday and was in the hunt for the green jacket until the 15th hole. While he’d happily trade places with the Masters champion, he still savored the experience.

“It was great to be there and to be a part of something like that,” Leishman said. “I think it’s going to be good for my development, too.”

In his second start at Augusta, Leishman made a big impression with a first-round 66 to share the lead with Sergio Garcia.

Leishman, however, didn’t fade away. Rounds of 73-72 put him in the next-to-last pairing Masters Sunday.

“I got off to a good start, was leading after one round and then hung in there under that pretty intense pressure all week,” he said.

“I know I can put it together for four rounds, probably a lot of guys didn’t expect me to do what I did, and to do that was great.

“I didn’t finish off the way I would have liked, but I have a lot of positives to take away from it.”

Leishman was within two shots of the lead heading to the par-5 15th tee Sunday. Scott reached the green in two and made birdie to start his charge, while Leishman hit into the pond to make bogey and end his hopes. He finished fourth, tied with Tiger Woods.

“I missed getting a birdie on 13 and missed a holeable birdie putt on 14, then put all of my eggs in one basket on the 15th,” Leishman said. “I was between 4- and 5-iron, and went for the 5 because the 4 would definitely have gone over the back. I ripped my 5 but just chunked it a little bit and came up short.

“But I was playing to win. Obviously I was disappointed I made a bogey, but I was glad that if I was going to make one, I made it attacking. I’m glad I stuffed up making bogey being aggressive rather than getting overly conservative.”

What Leishman said he learned most from the experience is that winning a major requires consistency and execution when it counts.

“I saw what it takes to win a major,” he said. “I got close myself and was right there. To see how Adam executed shots – obviously he did everything well but he didn’t have to do anything spectacular. It was good to see that and see how it’s done.”

Leishman backed up his Masters performance with top-10s in his next two starts at Hilton Head Island and the Players Championship and parlayed his season’s success into receiving one of Nick Price’s captain’s picks for the Presidents Cup.

“To get a pick off someone like (Price) definitely helped my confidence, just knowing that he knows a bit about golf and he obviously thought I had a bit of game, which never hurts,” Leishman said. “I did play well in a few of the big tournaments and I think I deserved a pick.”

Leishman got off to a strong start in 2014 with a fifth-place finish in Hawaii and a tie for second at Torrey Pines. Now he returns to Augusta trying to build on Australia’s success after witnessing Scott’s breakthrough.

“I have been asked about that a lot, but I don’t get sick of talking about it,” he said of his role as wingman. “It was such a big moment for Australia, for Australian sport. I had a good week myself. Scotty, obviously that was, I guess, a life changer for him. It’s a really good memory and I enjoy talking about it.

“Hopefully I’ll get one of my own at some stage.”