While Nick Price generated controversy with his second captain’s pick, choosing Marc Leishman was a no-brainer. The Australian will make his Presidents Cup debut at Muirfield Village, coming off a 2013 season in which he was the third member of an informal Aussie triumvirate that lit up major championship scoreboards. Leishman, Adam Scott and Jason Day were all in it down the stretch at the Masters until Scott pulled away to end their country’s Augusta National curse.
Presidents Cup 2013: Marc Leishman an untested Australian rookie on International side
The former Rookie of the Year made headlines with his play at Augusta, but he’ll lean heavily on fellow Aussies Adam Scott and Jason Day at the Presidents Cup.
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Leishman’s contention at the game’s biggest events was not totally unexpected -- he is a former Rookie of the Year on the PGA Tour and has won on the American circuit before (2012 Travelers Championship). But compared to Scott and Day, he’s a relatively unknown and had been untested, until this year, in those most nerve-wracking settings. Leishman missed the cut at the two Opens, but then rebounded at Oak Hill for a T12. The high point of his season, however, has to be that opening-round 66 on Augusta to share the lead, and that’s now a long way off. He had eight top-25 finishes in 23 starts, but missed seven cuts and has demonstrated a tendency to disappear. Aside from Oak Hill, it hasn’t been pretty since that stretch around the Masters.
Given that this is his first time at the Presidents Cup, it’s likely Leishman is paired with one of his countrymen, either Scott or Day, during the fourball and foursomes matches. He’s never broken into the top 50 in the world, and while he was a clear option as a captain’s pick, he also demonstrates the American advantage on the bottom half of the rosters. If Leishman can pick up points for Price’s team, it will be a bonus and also a career highlight for the debuting Aussie.
World Ranking: 61
Qualified: 1st of 2 captain’s picks
Presidents Cup Match Play Record: This is his debut.
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