Dazzling shot at Masters gains notice, but Marc Leishman seeks moniker of major champion

Marc Leishman didn’t get that elusive major championship at the 2018 Masters, finishing tied for ninth after a blistering back-nine finish.

He did hit perhaps the most memorable shot from a fairway that week, though.

It was so dazzling that hardly a day goes by when Leishman’s not reminded of it.

“I’ve watched it. It’s cool to watch,” he said. “I get tagged on it all the time on Instagram and Twitter and all that. I wish there was one of those shot trackers on it because it had a lot of hook on it.”

The shot came on the par-5 15th hole in the second round. Leishman hit his drive to the right side of the fairway and faced a 223-yard shot. To reach the green he had get the ball around a pine tree, requiring a hook of about 30 yards with his 5-iron. It then had to clear the water in front of the green, where the pin was cut on the far left side of the long, narrow green.

He didn’t want to lay up and hit his second shot in front of the water, even though it was the percentage move.

“That (third) shot from the bottom of the hill to that left pin is so tough I didn’t really want to do that,” he said. “So I thought ‘I might as well go for it.’ I practice that shot all the time on the range so it was a pretty good time to pull it out and pull it off I guess.”

He did pull it off.

The ball took a big bounce on the bank guarding the water and rolled to within 7 feet of the pin.

“I have no idea how it stopped,” Leishman said. “It was coming in sideways; it was going down the grain I guess. It was one of those shots you’re not going to pull off every single time. For it to get that close was unexpected.”

He then made the putt for eagle. He parred the final three holes for 5-under-par 67, which put him in second place after 36 holes, two shots off Patrick Reed’s lead.

“At some time in the week you’re going to have to take a chance,” Leishman said. “Grab the bull by the horns. It’s not going to come to you. You have to go out and win it. That’s the way I’ve always played.”

Leishman followed that second-round 67 with an unusual 73 in the third round - 17 pars and one bogey - and started off poorly in the fourth round. He was 3-over after 11 holes, then birdied Nos. 12, 14, 15, 16 and 18 for 70 to crack the top 10.

It was his second top-10 finish in six starts in the Masters. He was in a final-round pairing in the 2013 Masters with fellow Aussie Adam Scott, who rallied to win with a 69, beating Angel Cabrera in a playoff. Leishman shot 72 and tied for fourth place.

“I saw first-hand what it takes to win around there,” Leishman said. “I think I feel I learned a lot that day.”

That showing, and his 2018 performance, has changed Leishman’s mind-set about the Masters.

“I go there now thinking about winning, preparing to win,” he said. “What it’s going to take to do that? For me, it’s about conserving energy early in the week, making sure I’m prepared, making sure I’ve got all the shots. It’s a big mental challenge. All the majors are, particularly Augusta because of how difficult the course can be and how much energy it takes when you are contending.”

Leishman lost in a playoff at the 2015 Open Championship, so he been close to winning a major championship.

“I think it would be disappointing; I don’t think it would be a disappointment,” he said of finishing his career without a major. “I don’t think it would define my career. They are hard to win. There are only four a year and you have to play well. And I have played well at majors and people have played better, so that can happen. Obviously, I want to be a major champion.”