THE 153RD OPEN

July 18, 2025

Marc Leishman

Mixed Zone

Q. What time was that wakeup call?

MARC LEISHMAN: 4:00 a.m. I set it as late as possible. I love my sleep.

Q. Really got it going in the middle there. Did something click or was it just a good day for you out there?

MARC LEISHMAN: Everything felt pretty good. Putted well. Probably left a couple out there. Had a three-putt on 5, but that was a really tough pin. Drove it well, didn't hit any fairway bunkers today, which was good. That's what killed me yesterday.

No, happy with how everything was feeling. Obviously that little mishap on 13 there. It's a bit scary when that happens. Two-hole stretch that didn't sort of do a whole lot wrong apart from that tee shot on 13. Happy with the day.

Q. When that happens on 13, do you think about it a little bit or just try to forget it and keep moving?

MARC LEISHMAN: I was certainly thinking about it when I was trying to cut up an 8-iron into the last, exactly the same shot I hit on 13. Yeah, obviously you try to block it out of your head, but they do say the hardest shot in golf is the one after a shank. I felt like every shot coming in was that shot.

It was tough, but you've got to laugh about it and hope it doesn't happen again for a while.

Q. The second shot into 18, how good did that look to you? It's a little bit behind that knob, but it looked really close to going in.

MARC LEISHMAN: It looked really good. It's on quite a big downslope, that pin. It's going to be a tough one when the wind switches later on.

Course was set up really well. It was a good mix of some gettable pins and some tough ones. Yeah, the course is playing really, really good.

Q. Nice to get ahead of the rain that's supposedly coming?

MARC LEISHMAN: I try not to look at the forecast here. Just prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Happy to finish up dry. It was a good day. Nice to get out early and shoot a good score.

Q. That shot, the tee shot on 16, the par-3, trying to work it out. It was crafty. Were you trying to get it that low?

MARC LEISHMAN: I was. I've got a 4-iron in the bag and a strong 2-iron, so I didn't have a club for it. I knew the 4-iron would bring a lot of trouble into play. So I just tried to hit a low 2-iron and use those hills. I didn't plan on using the one I actually used. It turned out pretty good. I feel like a par there almost feels like a birdie. That's a really tough hole.

Q. I was going to say do you find any tougher par-3s in the world given the conditions?

MARC LEISHMAN: I remember the 2nd at Merion when we played the last U.S. Open there, I remember that was brutally tough. I remember hitting driver into that every day with like cabbage everywhere. That was a tough one, but that's really the only one that comes to mind straight away.

Q. Leish, when you got it rolling like you did early, 5-under on your round, is it challenging to not think about, well, I got it going, I'm going to stay aggressive, or are you trying to still stay in the moment for the rest of the round?

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, I think you're just trying to hit the shots as good as you can. Wanted to keep making birdies, but I knew there were some hard holes coming off. 13 is actually really tough to hit that green. 14, that green runs off in every direction, and it's a tough pin on 15, then you've got 16. I knew it was a tough run of holes.

When I did make the two bogeys in a row, it wasn't like I was walking off the 14th green fuming, angry or anything. I was obviously disappointed that I had just bogeyed two in a row, but I knew I was playing good and hoping to give myself chances going in, and I believe I did.

Q. It feels like it's anyone's tournament.

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, I don't know how many people are tied for the lead, like seven or eight. Yeah, a birdie here, a bogey there can make a big difference. A lot of people still, only halfway there too. It's obviously weather dependent this afternoon, tomorrow as well. It's going to be an exciting tournament.

Q. Can you give me a sense of the different style of shots you need to play this week as opposed to any other tournament you play in?

MARC LEISHMAN: It's obviously fairly different to play in America. Over here you can bounce it up onto the greens. A lot of courses we play where the greens are firm, the surrounds are quite soft. That's just the way that the grass has sort of turned out, Bermuda or whatever it might be.

It's nice to be able to run it up. Obviously the 2-iron isn't in the bag very often. I'm enjoying using that this week. I love that club. Teeing off the driver a little bit lower to get it coming out a bit lower. Just control it. You're not hitting those high bombs that get up in the wind and lose control. You're just trying to think your way around the course, I think, more than anything.

Q. Can you learn how to play those shots, or do you just sort of have to grow up getting used to it over decades of experience?

MARC LEISHMAN: No, I think you can definitely learn it. Yeah, you can learn anything if you put your mind and some hard work into it. I've had to learn how to play out of the long rough next to the greens that we play in in the states. I found that really difficult when I first started playing the Tour. I love hitting the little 5-iron shots out here. I think that's something that helps growing up doing that.

Yeah, I think you need a lot of imagination out here between the hills and the wind and whatever else is thrown at you.

Q. Just going back to yesterday as well, how quickly do you flush that bogey on the last yesterday? You're coming out for an early tee time this morning. How quickly do you process that from last night?

MARC LEISHMAN: I was obviously pretty frustrated last night when I came in here. It's golf. I wasn't trying to do it. I was obviously pretty disappointed. I always say to my wife, if I've had a bad day on the course, just give me 10 minutes, and I'll be good. I think you got me about the 8-minute mark. (Laughter).

Q. We put the request in before, but that's okay. We'll wait longer next time.

MARC LEISHMAN: No, it's your job.

Q. No one likes waking up at 4:00 in the morning, but now that you've done, you've had a good round of golf in the best weather and you've got to time to watch everyone else suffer, is it the best result for a Friday morning for you?

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah. Obviously I would have liked to go a little bit lower, but we always do as golfers. Happy to be watching it on TV. I'll probably have a pint or two of Guinness and enjoy my afternoon.