Marc Leishman’s career has generally tended to travel under the main media radar. Except for two years ago. The Australian’s wife Audrey nearly died of sepsis in 2015 and, on her recovery, they spearheaded National Sepsis Month to spread awareness about a disease that is estimated to kill 250,000 people in the U.S. each year. Their Begin Again Foundation, which helps families that have been affected by sepsis and toxic shock syndrome, has impacted some 700 families over the last 18 months.
In July, Audrey gave birth to the couple’s third child, Eva, whom they call their “miracle baby.” Two months later they shared further joy, in a professional sense, as 33-year-old Leishman won the third of the FedExCup series events, the BMW Championship, to rise to fourth in the rankings ahead of this week’s lucrative season grand finale, the Tour Championship.
In its report on the BMW Championship, the US PGA Tour noted that, “Around the Tour, Leishman is known as a ‘good bloke’ who is understated, underrated and as down-to-earth as they come. After his third-round 68, Leishman spoke about working the graveyard shift in a factory back in Australia. He was 18 or 19, needed money for tournament entry fees, and used a laser cutter to shape sheets of metal. After going from work to the golf course, he was so tired he once slept 18 straight hours. He lasted only a week or two on the job.”
Leishman turned pro in 2005, his first PGA Tour win came in the 2012 Travelers Championship and he secured his second earlier this season (March) in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He has also won events in Korea, Australia and South Australia (the latter, the European Tour’s 2015 Nedbank Golf Challenge).
Two weeks ago, in the second FedExCup event, the Dell Technologies, he lost a two-shot lead on the back nine at the TPC Boston and said that loss stung more than most. "I had a few scars from a few weeks ago. I was just really, really determined to not let that happen again. Got it done."
He certainly did, leading wire-to-wire from the first day in Illinois and eventually finishing at 23-under 261, to break the 72-hole tournament record that Tiger Woods set at Cog Hill in 2007. He was five shots ahead of second-placed Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler, with compatriot Jason Day another two strokes back in fourth place, and Jon Rahm Matt Kuchar sharing fifth place.
The Spanish star’s solid finish enabled him to hold on to fifth spot on the FedExCup points list, which means that he, Leishman (fourth) and Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson (first, second and third, respectively) can secure the overall Cup and its $10 million bonus just by winning the Tour Championship – irrespective of other results.
Other top players heading to East Lake (Atlanta) among the top-30 qualifiers include Rickie Fowler (sixth), Justin Rose (eighth), Brooks Koepka (ninth), Paul Casey (10th), Jason Day (15th) and Sergio García (25th); but the season has now ended for Louis Oosthuizen (31st), Henrik Stenson (32nd), Phil Mickelson (34th), 2016 FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy (58th) and Rafa Cabrera-Bello (61st).
