For so long, Australian-born golfers have found their way home for the Christmas/New Year season.

They’ve returned in the later weeks of a year to support the Australsian Tour but this year is the first time all Australians have gone without playing back on home soil given the global pandemic resulted in the 2020/21 season being cancelled.

Defending Farmers Insurance Open winner Marc Leishman is one of dozens who missed out on supporting the Australasian Tour and indeed, the pandemic meant Leishman was not the only Australian-born golfer forced to remain the States and not return home last year.

Leishman is yet to break through to win on the Australsian Tour but simply teeing-up ‘Down Under’ has certainly been his benefit heading into a New Year as evident by his 2017 Arnold Palmer Invitational win and this time last year in capturing a fourth PGA Tour trophy in winning by a shot over Jon Rahm at Torrey Pines.

Marc Leishman and the new means for players hosting a media press conference. Marc shown ahead of his defence of the this week’s Farmers Insurance Open.

“I did miss the Tour this past year,” said Leishman speaking to this fellow Australian on Australia Day.

“This is the first year in my career or maybe in my life that I haven’t been able to go to Australia at all for the entire year. I haven’t seen my parents for a year. It’s been an interesting one.

“I guess golf has caught the brunt of it in Australia with no tournaments last year. I did miss it, I love going back and playing. Hopefully we can do that this year and get things back to normal.

“It’s just hard when you have to go back there and you get put in a hotel room for two weeks with no key. But I get it, it’s working. I’m not criticizing at all, I’m just saying I’m probably not willing to do that.”

The enormous inside-the-ropes worth in the first weeks of a New Year for the likes of Leishman, Adam Scott, Cam Jones, Cameron Davis along with their European Tour counterparts the likes of Lucas Herbert, Wade Orsmby and Abu Dhabi runner-up Jason Scrivener cannot be understated.

It’s allowed the Aussies, the Kiwi’s and the South African golfers who have been playing over the course of the Southern Hemisphere summer, and wether it is with a scorecard in their back pocket or not, to hit the hit the ground running when they return to the States or the Middle East,  and unlike those having resided over the Christmas/New Year period in the winter-locked Northern Hempishere.

“Yeah, it’s definitely an advantage as I think with the Australians coming from the summer down there and having just played tournaments, and then when you are at home and the weather’s nice and you want to get out and play golf and be active,” he said.

“It’s pretty easy when — well, I live in Virginia Beach, it’s pretty easy when the weather’s miserable and cold and wet to just stay in inside, not do a whole lot, put on a few pounds.

“You do get there a bit underprepared, like you said, and I feel like when I come from Australia, that’s probably not the case.”

Leishman is among a strong Aussie contingent of eight players including double Farmers Insurance Open champ, Jason Day winner in 2015 and 2018.

Also teeing-up is in-form Sydneyside Davis and coming off near victory last week at La Quinta.