Leishman proves rookie season was no fluke
February 24, 2010 by Golf.com.au Staff
Filed under The 19th hole
Sophomore slump? Don’t bother talking about anything of that sort to Marc Leishman. The 2009 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year has started the 2010 season picking up right where he left off.
Leishman has made 3 out of 4 cuts with the highlight being a T2 finish in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. The Victorian finished one shot behind winner Ben Crane of the United States, and tied with fellow Aussie Michael Sim and American Brandt Snedeker.
Coming into the new season, Leishman was asked about his goals for the season:
“I think if I could just improve my game, that’s the main thing. If I can do that, I can improve, and the results will take care of themselves. I had a very good year last year. I guess I maybe went past my goals a little bit… It was great. Hopefully I can do better this year and see how we go.”
Leishman has also put in strong performances at the Northern Trust Open (T15) and the Sony Open in Hawaii (T20) with his sole disappointment of the season so far being a missed cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Don’t worry about him becoming complacent any time soon though:
“I knew that just because I got Rookie of the Year it didn’t mean I was all of a sudden going to become an unbelievable player,” Leishman said. “I knew I still had work to be done. I really didn’t take that for granted and I’m not taking the PGA TOUR for granted.”
This is exactly the kind of attitude that has Leishman’s coach Denis McDade of Bann Lynch Golf very excited about his prospects:
“Marc continues to grow as a player but there is no shortage of incredibly talented players out here on Tour” said McDade. “I think what’s really working in his favor is his belief in his own abilities and a very positive attitude towards enjoying his game, enjoying the process of getting better and enjoying the thrill of competition. I’m proud of what he has accomplished so far.”
The season is still young and it remains to be seen whether Leishman can sustain his run of good play for the rest of the year. However with this kind of positive attitude and the results to back it up, not many people would bet against him making it back into the FedEx Cup Playoffs this year after being the only rookie to do so last year.
