12 Nov 2020 | Professional golf |
Leishman not caught in Bryson bubble
by Mark Hayes
Aussie Marc Leishman has vowed to play his own game at Augusta National this week, forgetting the sideshow that Bryson DeChambeau’s distance has become.
Leishman, in his eighth Masters and having twice finished inside the top 10, said he would not make radical changes to chase the American, who some think could change the way golf is played with his prodigious length.
“I could it hit it further if I wanted to,” the Victorian told the Fork in the Road podcast.
“But I’ve just got to keep doing what I’ve been doing … and obviously just perform on the week.
“Maybe the conditions need to be right for me – a bit firmer of a bit of wind.
“(And any) wind is going to make it tough for him (Bryson) if his ball’s in the air for 10 seconds and travelling 400 yards.
“But he’s doing a good job with all that stuff … he’s doing it his way and it’s certainly working for him at the moment.”
Leishman is one of five Aussies in the field this week, alongside 2013 champ Adam Scott, 2011 runner-up Jason Day and their fellow Queenslander, Cam Smith.
Also in the field is Victorian amateur Lukas Michel, the 2019 US Mid-Amateur champion who has been in the United States since August for the US Amateur, US Open and now the year’s final major in a new timeslot.
Michel spent Monday night in the famous “Crow’s Nest” in the clubhouse with only one amateur per night permitted because of Covid-19 restrictions.
It gives Michel, a golf history buff, extra incentive to make the cut this week as he might try to stay another night in the famous lodgings should he reach the weekend.
“If there's no one there on tournament days and I've got an early tee time, I think I'll try and sign up for another night,” Michel told nine.com.au.
The tournament, rescheduled from its normal April timing because of the global pandemic, will feature some other different elements this year.
Players will tee off both the first and tenth tees and play in three-balls for at least the first two rounds to ensure the schedule is maintained with fewer hours of sunlight available.
Further changing "normal" service is that because host broadcaster CBS has commitments to televising the NFL on Sunday (local time), the final round will finish four hours earlier than it does regularly.
For Australian fans, this means the fourth round TV coverage will begin at 2am (eastern daylight savings time), or as early as 11pm in Western Australia.
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