Marc Leishman relaxed and ready to fire at Australian PGA Championship

Marc Leishman says he has never felt better as he chases his first Australian PGA crown.

The 41-year-old LIV Golf star finished third at Royal Queensland last year, and is in a great frame of mind ahead of this year’s edition of the tournament, which starts on Thursday.

“Off the golf course, (2024) was probably, I would say, the happiest I’ve ever been and probably the best year of my life,” Leishman said.

“Combined with the golf, it was a really good year.”

Along with Cam Smith, Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones, Leishman was a member of the all-Australian Ripper GC outfit that won LIV’s team championship.

“It’s very rare in golf that you get to actually celebrate with other people when you win that are equally as happy as you are,” he said.

“That’s the cool thing about what we get to do now when we win as a team. There’s eight or 10 guys (including caddies) that are all over the moon and we certainly celebrate accordingly.

“We had some memorable nights out and just made great memories all around.”

Finishing off the year with either a win at Royal Queensland or next week’s Australian Open at the Kingston Heath and Victoria golf clubs would be the icing on the cake for the Warrnambool product.

“Another box I would like to tick is to win an event on LIV individually as well as an Australian PGA or an Australian Open,” Leishman said.

“I’m so excited to be back at Royal Queensland again. I love playing here.

“Normally there’s a bit of wind, and growing up in Warrnambool, I enjoy playing in that.

“The course is good in that it does reward good shots. You can go low if you’re playing well, but if the game’s a bit off, it punishes you.

“That’s the sign of a good golf course, that there’s a big dispersion in scores, and this is definitely one of those courses.

“I had a good finish last year and I’m hoping to go a couple better this year and try to leave with some silverware.”

Despite the heavy rain in Brisbane on Tuesday, Leishman said he was usually a fan of the Queensland weather.

“I definitely enjoy the heat up here in Brisbane,” he said.

“As you get older, the body gets a bit stiffer and when it’s warm it feels a lot better, so I love getting back to Queensland.”

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