Leishman proves prophetic after Texas domination

text size

Call it a feeling or a sense. Sometimes golfers just know when a spate of excellent play is just around the bend.

Cohen/Getty Images

Marc Leishman is in his first full season on the Nationwide Tour.

More

• Leishman wins big • Sunday transcript • Leishman's player page • Leishman's 2008 stats

It could be caused by a lengthy succession of solid shots or seeing the ball roll perfectly time and again as it comes off the putter. Whatever the cause, the effect is a boost in confidence which, at the game's elite levels, is priceless.

So maybe Marc Leishman is clairvoyant. Deep inside, the Aussie knew he was on the verge of a breakthrough on the Nationwide Tour. He didn't exactly call his shot, but he came pretty close a few weeks ago.

In a conversation with Australian Web site iseekgolf.com, Leishman said, "I'm playing well enough at the moment to possibly win an event. It's close but obviously I cannot say that I'll win this year, but it's definitely just around the corner."

Leishman uttered those prophetic words in mid-September. Less than a month later he is a first-time winner in his first full season on the Nationwide Tour.

Perhaps saying Leishman won the WNB Golf Classic in Midland, Texas, last week is a bit misleading. Laid waste to the field and the Midland Country Club golf course in windy conditions is much more descriptive and extremely accurate.

That's the call when Leishman came within a 72nd hole bogey of setting the Nationwide Tour record for largest margin of victory. His 11-shot win at 21-under-par tied Chris Smith's mark set in Omaha more than 11 years ago.

Leishman, 24, had a one-word answer when asked how he felt an hour after the most significant victory in his three-year professional career. "Awesome,'' he said.

And that's just like he played, carding four rounds in the 60s for the first time this season.

It came as no surprise that Leishman ranked second in driving distance and tied for eight in greens in regulation for the week. He has been striking the ball solidly all season.

The eye-openers and the keys to his runaway victory came in the putting statistics where he led the field in putts per round (26.3) and putts per green in regulation (1.585). Suffice to say great putting finally unleashed a par-busting monster.

"The main thing was putting,'' said Leishman, a native of Warrnambool, Victoria, who has worked tirelessly on that phase of his game in the last six weeks, fine-tuning a routine that he said had become sloppy. "I've had good putting days, but not good putting weeks. I'd have 27-28 putts a couple of rounds and chuck in one where I had 33 or 34. This week, my putts got into the hole a bit quicker.''

That pleasant little result could not come at a more opportune time. The most important number for Leishman in Midland, though, was 94,500. That's the figure -- in dollars -- etched onto his first-place check. It allowed him to move from No. 56 on the money list into 'The 25' at No. 19. The dramatic jump with just two more regular-season events remaining puts him in position to earn PGA TOUR playing privileges in 2009. This when his major goal before he walked onto the first tee Thursday last was to squeeze into the top 40 on the money list, whereby he would gain an exemption into the final stage of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament and, at worst, membership on the Nationwide Tour in '09.

There has been much debate in '08 regarding what it will take to finish inside 'THE 25' with the advent of two tournaments offering $1 million purses -- the Nationwide Tour Players Cup, won in July by Rick Price and the Nationwide Tour Championship at TPC Craig Ranch the first week in November. Therefore Leishman's official earnings of $197,926 might -- or might not -- be safe with seven players tightly clustered behind him with a little more than $10,000 separating the lot.

That said, one more solid tournament should send him on his way to The Big Show. That's his new, primary goal. He also aims to climb as high as he can on the money ladder where No. 18 Scott Gutschewski leads him a a little more than $8,000.

The visions of this kind of season weren't exactly dancing in Leishman's head at the outset of 2008. He was a conditional member of the Nationwide Tour based on his performance in just eight events, including several he played his way into through the Monday qualifiers. He finished 92nd, winning $63,343. This season the conditional status was dropped after the first shuffle thanks to Leishman's tie for ninth at the Livermore Valley Wine Country Classic at Wente Vineyards. But Leishman's year didn't turn around until the calendar hit September and the Nationwide Tour arrived in Utah.

Leishman entered the final round of the Utah Classic in solo second, a stroke behind leader Brendon Todd. Tightly wound, he made a single birdie on a day that called for a flock, shot one-over-par 72 and still managed a tie for second, six shots in arrears of Todd.

Good news and bad news came out of the experience in the crucible. Leishman gained the belief he could win on the Nationwide Tour, but he also admitted to some sour putting and "silly mistakes on my part.'' So he went to work on his short stroke and mental game. And that light bulb in his brain switched to the 'on' position.

"I wasn't concentrating like I should and I wasn't visualizing,'' he said. "Most guys do it out of habit.''

Leishman picked up the habit. If his performance in the strong West Texas breezes is any indication, that's a habit Leishman should never break.