Phoenix, AZ …
“Friendly banter between Jason and myself is always healthy!”
That was the comment from Marc Leishman after the Victorian found himself bumped off the top-ranked Australian perch last Sunday by Queenslander Jason Day.
Day ended a long PGA Tour winless drought dating back to May 2016 in capturing the Farmers Insurance Open after a six-hole play-off against Sweden’s Alex Noren.
The effort, and Day’s 11th success on the world’s most lucrative stage, saw the 30-year jump from 14th to 10th on the World Rankings and has seen Leishman drop one place to 14th.
Marc Leishman reckons friendly banter between he and Jason Day is healthy.
It was after finishing T7th in the New Year’s opening Sentry Tournament of Champions that Leishman went ahead of Day and now Day enjoy bragging rights after he moved back to No. 10 in the world.
“I was very pleased for Jason in winning last week and I guess there is a bit of friendly rivalry between the two of us,” said Leishman.
“It seems that when he wins a tournament, I might win one soon after.
“We are both managed by the same person (Bub Martin) but then I know Jason didn’t like it when I passed him in the World Rankings and hopefully now as he’s gone past me I get back ranked higher than him.
“Look, I want to beat him and he wants to beat me and it’s very friendly rivalry and friendly banter between the two of us.
“It also is a great source of encouragement and motivation not only for Jason and myself but all the Aussies including Adam Scott, Cameron Smith and other Aussies out here.
“So, to win tournaments Jason has to beat me and I have to beat him and it’s the same when Scotty’s in the field and all of us.
“Then in the bigger picture it also speaks volumes for the state of Australian golf that we are over here on the PGA Tour trying to beat each other but all the time striving to get the Australian flat to the top of the leader board every Sunday.
“With Jason winning and myself playing well plus Cam Smith playing well, and with Scotty returning shortly all is good Australian golf-wise on the Tour.
“We seem to motivate each other and when one plays well, and like Jason did last week in winning at Torrey Pines, it makes all of us strive that much harder.”
Leishman was commenting after posting a two-under par 69 on the opening day of the Phoenix Open and superbly bouncing back from being two-over par to birdie two of his closing four holes to end the day sharing 29th place and five shots adrift of American Bill Haas who signed for a seven-under par 64 on the par-71 layout.
“Two-under was a good start considering I bogeyed the first two holes,” Leishman said.
“So, I fought back well and played very well towards the end of my round so I’m not that far away but as I said, happy with my fight back and if that is my poor round for the week I’ll be happy.
“It is a venue where I have had good weeks and also poor weeks, so I am back here again but then I enjoy the week, the course is great and it’s fun to play in front of crowds like this.
“And it’s nice to be here early in the year and playing with no wind but then I would enjoy it a lot more if I could start making some more birdies (smiling)”.
Also, at two-under is Cameron Smith and with Sydney’s Greg Chambers producing an opening 68 for a second week running and head the field of five Aussies.
