Marc Leishman Looking Forward to U.S. Open at Merion

Marc Leishman Looking Forward to U.S. Open at Merion











Ryan Ballengee May 15, 2013 7:01 PM


COMMENTARY | Marc Leishman is playing the best golf of his life, and he couldn't be doing it at a better time.



The 2012 Travelers Championship winner has posted three consecutive top-10 finishes in his last three st
arts for the first time in nearly five full seasons on the PGA Tour. He placed tied for fourth at The Masters, then tied for ninth the very next week at the RBC Heritage, and, last week, Leishman notched a T-8 effort at The Players Championship.





The Aussie attributes the recent success to a better mental approach.



"I think mentally I'm getting better on the course," Leishman said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. "I'm not getting as down on myself when I hit a bad shot. My bad holes are not as bad, and I'm not getting on streaks of bogeys anymore."



That's the kind of attitude shift that often portends a major victory. While Leishman came up short on Sunday at Augusta National, he took a lot of positives away from his play as well as seeing fellow countryman Adam Scott become the first from Oz to win a green jacket.



"It's good to know that my swing held up under the pressure. It would have been easy to hit a lot of bad shots under that pressure," he said with a laugh. "The way I handled it, I thought, was great. I learned quite a bit about myself."



Leishman's journey of self-discovery began with winning near Hartford last year. The Travelers has been a bit of a springboard for other players in recent years, including the breakthrough PGA Tour wins for 2007 champion Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson (2010) and Fredrik Jacobson (2011).



"I've matured a lot as a player since the Travelers last year," Leishman said. "I feel like I'm learning a lot and just getting better, in particular, in the last month or two. I'm just learning faster."



A little under a month from now, Leishman could have an opportunity to apply that learning at Merion in the U.S. Open. The top 60 players in the Official World Golf Ranking as of May 27 and June 10 are exempt into the U.S. Open. Leishman jumped into 58th with his finish at The Players.



The 29-year-old is excited at the prospect of playing the Philly-area track.



"I've never played there, but hopefully it will set up well for me, and I'll have a chance," Leishman said.



Merion is a bit of an enigma. So many players are aware of the club's history, site to Ben Hogan's historic win in 1950, but the Open has not been played there since 1981. Few players who will be in the field have ever set foot on the property, much less competed there. Leishman feels that favors him, taking away an advantage for the most experienced major contestants.



Perhaps the biggest edge Leishman has heading into the U.S. Open is his record on tracks where placement is a challenge. He has an outstanding record at Waialae C.C., the tight course that hosts the Sony Open in Hawaii, and two of his recent top 10s have come at Pete Dye designs -- Harbour Town and TPC Sawgrass' Stadium Course -- that require precision. That should translate to Merion.



"I think it's going to be a lot of irons off the tee," Leishman said. "I like hitting my long irons off the tee. I'm hoping it'll set up well for me. There's no reason why I don't think it would set up well for me."



Despite his high confidence, Leishman is reluctant to get too far ahead of himself. One misstep at Merion could literally ruin his chances.



"I've heard the rough is going to be brutal," he said.



Ryan Ballengee is a Washington, D.C.-based golf writer. His work has appeared on multiple digital outlets, including NBC Sports and Golf Channel. Follow him on Twitter @RyanBallengee.