Marc Leishman and Adam Scott feel they’ve turned a corner after solid campaigns at the US Open in Boston have the Australian duo feeling good about next month’s Open Championship at St Andrews.
Leishman (68) and Scott (68) finished the US Open at two-over-par and tied for 14th. At six under, Matt Fitzpatrick (68) won the US Open for his first Major title, nine years after winning the 2013 US Amateur at Brookline. Will Zalatoris (69) and Scottie Scheffler (67) shared second place at five under.
After battling narrow fairways, thick rough and tricky greens all week at The Country Club at Brookline, Leishman said he’d earned a few beers to celebrate his best finish at a US Open.
“Well, I earn beers for myself every week,” Leishman told Australian Golf Digest through laughter. “Whether they are celebration beers, satisfaction beers or commiseration beers, there’s always time for a beer.”
Leishman’s form has been off this year, posting just one top-10 finish on the PGA Tour, but said he felt reinvigorated after a satisfying US Open result. Leishman flew his coach, Denis McDade, over from Australia and said the swing guru had sprinkled his magic dust ahead of a busy stretch for Leishman.
Leishman will play the Travelers Championship next week, which he won in 2012, before the Scottish Open and Open Championship in Scotland next month.
“It was nice to play good again and be back to my old self; especially finishing a US Open with a good round and locking up my best result at a US Open,” said Leishman, whose best US Open finish was a tie for 18th in 2016.
“I feel like I’ve turned a corner and I’m pretty excited for a big stretch of golf, with the Travelers and then the Scottish and British Opens. I’ve got a little bit of a bee in my bonnet about St Andrews after losing in a playoff there in 2015, so I’ve love to have some great results the next few weeks and go to St Andrews really sharp.”
Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, showed flashes of hot play throughout the US Open but an error-laden 73 in the second round set him too far to chase an elusive second Major win.
“I really enjoyed the week,” Scott told reporters.”I feel like I had a plan for the golf course and it worked well, but the last three holes on Friday probably cost me a good run at this tournament over the weekend. It would have been nice to be under par on Friday night and been feeling like I’m really in contention, but I was on the periphery all week.”
Rounding out the Australian contingent was Min Woo Lee (five over, tied 27th) and Major debutant Todd Sinnott (six over, tied 31st).
Like Leishman, Scott held a share of the lead in the final nine holes at the 2015 Open at St Andrews. But Scott fell apart in the last five holes and is one reason why he is hell-bent on getting himself in contention at St Andrews next month.
“I feel really good about parts of my game, but I really need to get better off the tee,” Scott told Australian Golf Digest after the round. “With my irons, short game and putting, I’ve been seeing some really good stuff and that makes me excited about St Andrews.”
Scott will not play in an official tournament until the Open Championship. He will tee up in the JP McManus 36-hole charity pro-am in Ireland in early July, and combine that trip with a reconnaissance mission to St Andrews before returning to Scotland for the Open.
Cameron Smith, who missed the US Open cut, will take some time off before the world No.6 plays the Scottish Open before the Open Championship. Lucas Herbert will play the Irish Open as the defending champion and the Scottish Open in the two weeks leading up to St Andrews.
