Golf: Marc Leishman will join British Open winner Cameron Smith at the Australian Open and PGA
As rumours swirl about a big money move to Greg Norman’s LIV golf another Aussie star has committed to a summer homecoming.
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Marc Leishman has joined Cameron Smith in committing to a return to Australia this summer as speculation continues to swirl the pair could join Greg Norman’s LIV golf as soon as next week.
It will be the first time in three years that Leishman, who will play the Australian PGA and then the Australian Open, has played at home, with Smith declaring after his British Open win that he was also preparing to play the events.
“It’s been a long three years since I’ve been able to make it back. I’m really excited about it,” Leishman said.
“We’ve not been back to Australia to compete for a while now and I’m buzzing to play in front of the Aussie crowd once again.
“The last time I played in Australia was at the 2019 Presidents Cup and the Melbourne crowd was sensational. It’ll be brilliant to experience a similar atmosphere at Victoria and I’m looking forward to seeing a few familiar faces come up from my hometown of Warrnambool.”
Leishman finished in a tie for 28th at last week’s BMW Championship and missed a spot in the final 30-man field for the Tour Championship where Smith and Adam Scott will be the lone Australian representatives.
The Victorian has been linked to a move to Norman’s Saudi-backed tour as one of seven new players set to be announced following the Tour Championship.
He and Smith have been continually touted as joining defending Australian Open champ Matt Jones in an all-Australian team for the expanded LIV tour, with the next event beginning on September 3 in Boston.
Smith, the world number two, was on Monday announced as one of eight automatic qualifiers, along with Scott, for the International team for the upcoming Presidents Cup which will be played at Quail Hollow at the end of November.
Our top-8 has ð—¼ð—³ð—³ð—¶ð—°ð—¶ð—®ð—¹ð—¹ð˜† ð—²ð—®ð—¿ð—»ð—²ð—± their spot in Charlotte.#IntlTeam#PresidentsCuppic.twitter.com/fmDFkAGUKW
— Presidents Cup International Team (@IntlTeam) August 21, 2022
Neither he nor Leishman, should he be included as a captain’s pick having played in the last event in 2019 at Royal Melbourne, would be eligible for the event, which is run by the PGA Tour, if they sign with LIV.
All LIV players face automatic playing bans on the PGA Tour and legal action started by some, including Jones and Phil Mickelson, to have those bans overturned won’t go before the courts until 2024.
Leishman joins Lucas Herbert and Min Woo Lee as confirmed starters for the Open and PGA, with major champion Hannah Green also set to play in the Open where the men’s and women’s events will be played on the same course at the same time in an historic first.
Originally published as Golf: Marc Leishman will join British Open winner Cameron Smith at the Australian Open and PGA
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