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THE OVERVIEW By Ben Everill, PGATOUR.COM For years, Marc Leishman flew under the radar, hardly noticed on the PGA TOUR. Despite being the 2009 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year and winning the 2012 Travelers Championship, the affable Australian just kind of fell into the background of TOUR life. TOP 30 PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2018: We’ll countdown our list with one new player each day in December. Click here for the published players. MORE: Top 30 explanation and schedule Partly because of his laidback demeanor and partly because he didn’t chase the limelight, his profile only took modest upward moves when he almost won the Masters in 2013 and the Open Championship in 2015. His amazing wife Audrey almost lost her life to sepsis in 2015. Even with that storyline, Leishman couldn’t find his way into the higher conscious of the golf public. But in 2017, Leishman finally started making more inroads. He showed that his skill can turn up more than just the odd week. A win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational was a long time coming and the way he surged late on Sunday would’ve made Mr. Palmer proud. But he didn’t let things lull there. Leishman missed just three cuts all season and was in the top-10 seven times and the top-25 16 times. One of those was a win at the BMW Championship, where he went wire-to-wire in ultra-impressive fashion after opening with a 62. Even more impressive was it came after losing the lead on Sunday to Justin Thomas the week before at the Dell Technologies Championship. He showed a mettle reserved for those with mental toughness. For most of this decade, the focus of Australian golf has centered on Jason Day and Adam Scott, but Leishman’s 2017 season was light years ahead of both his countrymen last season. He is now within striking distance of being the top-ranked Australian in the world, having already overtaken Scott and sniffing down Day’s neck. He started the new season with a playoff loss to Thomas, someone whose accolades he’s looking to emulate. He has the ability to have a year like Thomas did last year and if he does that, no one will ever be asking who Marc Leishman is anymore. Click here to follow Ben on Twitter BY THE NUMBERS How Marc Leishman ranked in Strokes Gained statistics during his last full season on the PGA TOUR. FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: 13th Playoff appearances: 9 TOUR Championship appearances: 2 Best result: 6th (2017) INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Marc Leishman in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Cameron Morfit I like Leishman’s resilience. He had his best season in 2017 with two wins, including the BMW Championship in his first start after he’d blown a great chance to win the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston two weeks earlier. (Leishman fell apart on the back nine of his final round in Boston to finish third.) He’s shown he has the game; now he’ll need to find more consistency if he is to improve on his sixth-place FedExCup finish, add to his three TOUR wins, and take the next step to elite status. Click here to follow Cameron on Twitter FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton This is higher than where he belongs in draft leagues, but not by much. The talented Aussie is in his prime at 34 years of age and his results in 2017 prove it. Still a lock to start when the wind blows, he’s scaled leaderboards all over the place when it hasn’t thanks to a measured balancing of weapons throughout his bag. Because it took him a while to get there, the expectation is that the bubble won’t last long, but that same doubt enhances his value for the faithful because their pool isn’t overcrowded. Click here to follow Rob on Twitter EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Leishman added three Callaway GBB Epic metalwoods to the bag at the beginning of the year.  One of two PGA TOUR winners this season with a 7-wood in the bag. Only non-Callaway club is a 58-degree Titleist Vokey SM6 wedge.  Click here to follow Jonathan on Twitter STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte The big Aussie has a closet full of classic looks with traditional fits. When Leishman tees it up in 2018, you can bet he will sport a variety of stripes and prints in his wardrobe. He would do well to improve his fashion game in the New Year by eliminating the white belts from his repertoire. Click here to follow Greg on Twitter

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It's been a busy couple of days for what already promised to be a busy couple of days. Every PGA TOUR doubleheader presents additional attention, but two significant events on the schedule updated their qualifying criteria immediately before and after the weekend. On Friday, membership was informed that the top 125 in the 2019-20 FedExCup was eligible for THE PLAYERS Championship in two weeks. It's a traditional exemption, but it wasn't extended originally because of the shortened 2019-20 season due to the pandemic. It has been replaced by an exemption to the top 125 in a special points list extending from the beginning of last season through this week's doubleheader. That unique exemption still applies, so both lists will yield automatic qualifiers into what will be a larger field at TPC Sawgrass. Until then, 69 more golfers have been confirmed as exempt. On Monday, the USGA released its qualifying criteria for the U.S. Open in June. As expected, the majority of the traditional criteria remained the same, but a couple of adjustments were made due to the pandemic. The news means that 48 golfers officially are eligible to compete. In time, the field will grow to be 156. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks The Qualifiers page that I maintain is current with both waves of entries and details of the changes to the U.S. Open criteria. It also includes all remaining qualifying criteria for the U.S. Open in its customary position below the alphabetical list of all qualifiers. Turning our attention to PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession is the penultimate stop of Segment 2. With no cut and a strong helping of international non-members, you shouldn't have any problem juggling it with next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. For any golfers for whom you have only one start remaining and you might not want to burn it at The Concession, the logical approach if to keep one or two of those guys on your bench until the field for the API is released on Friday afternoon. From there, you can decide what to do based on who's committed at Bay Hill and how you're faring in real time this week. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf My roster for the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession (in alphabetical order): Bryson DeChambeau (+2000) Tony Finau (+1600) Tyrrell Hatton (+2200) Viktor Hovland (+2000) Dustin Johnson (+550) Jon Rahm (+900) You'll find my starters in Expert Picks Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Patrick Cantlay; Tommy Fleetwood; Rory McIlroy; Joaquin Niemann; Patrick Reed; Xander Schauffele; Cameron Smith; Justin Thomas Driving: Daniel Berger; Patrick Cantlay; Tommy Fleetwood; Sungjae Im; Rory McIlroy; Collin Morikawa; Joaquin Niemann; Scottie Scheffler; Webb Simpson POWER RANKINGS WILD CARD Collin Morikawa (+4000) ... He's way ahead of the curve, obviously, so we can dismiss the youth factor from eliminating him from the test presented. He's so proficient tee to green that he's ideal to illustrate the value of ball-striking over putting on greens with which very few in the field are familiar. Yes, touring professionals adapt faster than anyone, but all things being just about equal upon entry, his skill set gives him a fairer chance to contend over a peer with the reverse split. Odds sourced on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 5 a.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. DRAWS Joaquin Niemann ... Inspired to provide a major assist to his cousin, the 22-year-old has been on a heater since a T3 at the BMW Championship in late August. He does everything exceptionally well and he'd be on everyone's short list to pick off a victory in a WGC sooner than later. Sungjae Im ... Set off bells and whistles - and not the preferred varieties - when he, gasp, took two weeks off, but he's locked in. He's also balancing, gasp, rest with what will be the rigors of the Florida Swing and beyond. It includes his first title defense at PGA National in three weeks. Tommy Fleetwood ... Humming along with three top 10s among six top 20s in his last 10 starts worldwide, none of which resulted in a missed cut. Not only is he an automatic in every format but he's here to stay for a while. It's like adding a front-line starter exactly when you need it in the middle of a MLB season. Bernd Wiesberger ... While normally a default Fade when he appears, the tide might be shifting into a positive direction. In what was his 56th career PGA TOUR start at The RSM Classic in November, the 35-year-old from Austria finally recorded his second top 10 on the circuit with a T4. He had been trending on the European Tour, but we've witnessed that trajectory before, and we're always the wiser, but he's since added two top 10s and a T25 in a 5-for-5 bridge over the holiday break. Christiaan Bezuidenhout ... Since a T15 in his native South Africa in mid-November, he's picked off two wins at home and added two top 15s among three top 25s. A DFSer's delight. Abraham Ancer Marc Leishman Scottie Scheffler Adam Scott Lee Westwood FADES Hideki Matsuyama ... Unlike Morikawa above, this ball-striker from Japan has not been playing up to his reputation of late. Yes, he's inside the top 30 on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and par-5 scoring, and he's missed only two cuts in the last seven months, but he hasn't been putting four rounds together with enough regularity to warrant the reach in this field and on this course. Jason Day ... It's harsh but I'm chalking up his T7 at Pebble Beach to the top-heavy field and his massive level of comfort on those courses. Worst case, because his value is low at the moment, stow him on your bench and remain patient for the what-if. Harris English ... Can't say that he's fulfilling the classic case of the freefall occasionally seen after an emotional victory, but it also can't be ruled out. Since returning to the winner's circle at Kapalua, he's gone T32-MC-MC. Obviously, the short skid ends at The Concession, so the guarantee of four rounds elicits hope, just as it did on Maui, but it's his first WGC in five years. Shop elsewhere. Sebastián Muñoz ... Turned the page quickly on the dreadful two days at TPC Scottsdale but it was just a T43 at Riviera that contributes to the rebound. It's not unprecedented for any talent on the rise to bump into the glass barrier of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and even veterans flirt with that bubble regularly, but it can require much more exertion to pierce the bubble than perhaps it seems. Only 28 years of age and having just recently scaled to a career-best 55th - he's since slipped to 62nd - he's within one solid week of breaking through, but gamers needs to respect the inconsistency at the moment. Rafa Cabrera Bello Cameron Champ Matt Kuchar Erik van Rooyen Bubba Watson Matthew Wolff Gary Woodland RETURNING TO COMPETITION None NOTABLE WDs - World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession Tiger Woods ... Already on the mend from his fifth back surgery, he suffered injuries that required surgery after the car was driving near Los Angeles on Tuesday morning rolled over. Paul Casey ... It's rare for him to pass on a WGC but the shakeup of the Florida Swing this season is an adjustment for all. Don't sweat it. He's already 4-for-4 in 2021 with a win in Dubai and no worse than a T12 (in Saudi Arabia). NOTABLE WDs - Puerto Rico Open Scott Harrington, K.H. Lee, Luke List and Scott Stallings ... Each now is eligible for THE PLAYERS Championship via the top 125 in the 2019-20 FedExCup. Kyle Stanley ... Positioned 118th in the special FedExCup points list to determine entry into THE PLAYERS, so he's a virtual lock to qualify. Chesson Hadley and Hank Lebioda ... At a respective 142nd and 143rd on the special points list, either would have to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard to qualify for THE PLAYERS. Kevin Tway ... He'd also need to win the API to get into THE PLAYERS, but gamers would settle for a cut made. In the last 12 months, he's cashed only four times in 22 starts. Chris Stroud ... He's out indefinitely with a back injury. Now that it's been four months since his last start (MC, Sanderson Farms), he's eligible for a medical extension in the graduate reshuffle category if he eventually needs it. Alex Cejka ... Open-qualified for the Cologuard Classic. It's a heckvua way to debut on the PGA TOUR Champions. POWER RANKINGS RECAP - The Genesis Invitational Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Dustin Johnson T8 2 Xander Schauffele T15 3 Justin Thomas MC 4 Jon Rahm T5 5 Rory McIlroy MC 6 Tony Finau P2 7 Bryson DeChambeau MC 8 Patrick Cantlay T15 9 Joaquin Niemann T43 10 Carlos Ortiz MC 11 Adam Scott T38 12 Collin Morikawa T43 13 Daniel Berger DNP 14 Brooks Koepka T38 15 Max Homa Win Wild Card Jordan Spieth T15 SLEEPERS - The Genesis Invitational Golfer Result Sung Kang 67th K.H. Lee 66th J.T. Poston T43 Chez Reavie MC Brian Stuard MC BIRTHDAYS AMONG ACTIVE GOLFERS ON THE PGA TOUR February 23 ... Steve Stricker (54) February 24 ... Zach Johnson (45); Kristoffer Ventura (26) February 25 ... Hideki Matsuyama (29) February 26 ... none February 27 ... Ryan Armour (45); Abraham Ancer (30) February 28 ... none (February 29 ... none) March 1 ... Pat Perez (45); Chris Baker (35) Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. CO, IA, IN,MI, NJ, NV,PA, TN, VA or WV only. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-522-4700 (CO, NV, VA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI), 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, PA & WV), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), Call or Text the Tennessee REDLINE: 800-889-9789 (TN), or call 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN).

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LAS VEGAS - An incredible stretch that included three eagles in five holes has catapulted Matthew Wolff into contention at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin. Through eight holes of his third round, Wolff was just one under par and getting swallowed up on the leaderboard as multiple players sat deep in red figures on moving day. Then he exploded. Wolff carded three eagles and three birdies to go 9-under on his next nine holes, setting up a chance for a 59. But his last three holes featured putts that hung agonizingly on the edge of the hole, forcing the 21-year-old to be content with a blistering career low 10-under 61. RELATED: Full leaderboard When he signed his card he was the clubhouse leader at 18-under however multiple players, including the lead groups, had plenty of holes left to play. Coming off his runner-up finish at the U.S. Open, Wolff is driven to go one better. "Jobs not done," Wolff said referencing that while it was a fantastic round his vision was firmly set on trying to win the tournament. "This course you have so many birdie opportunities if you hit the ball in the fairway. It’s not long. The pins were in pretty favorable spots. I just told myself to give myself as many looks as I can and the putts would fall. Even though it seems like some of them didn’t, I hit the ball really well." After opening with two pars, Wolff seemingly kick started things by chipping in from off the third green for birdie but he could only manage a string of five pars following. He would then birdie the par-5 9th from inside six feet and the par-4 10th from just inside nine feet. Then things really clicked. A brilliant hole-out eagle from 116 yards on the par-4 11th came next. "It was more the wedge shot on 10 really was the turning point. That really felt like it was a little different swing, but different in a good way. I flagged it on 10 and then 11 I holed out. And from then on I felt like I didn’t hit it outside 15 feet pretty much the rest of the way," Wolff said. "I was really happy with how my game is trending and the things I’ve been working on and put myself in a good spot. The hole-out on 11, you never expect to hole-out, but when it happens, kind of just puts you in a really good mindset. "I was a little frustrated on the front nine. Felt like I hit a lot of good putts and a lot of good shots and only shot 2-under, especially with how low the scores were. I felt like I was falling back." A missed chance from 13-feet on the 12th would prove costly in the chase for 59 a little later on, but sub 60 wasn't on his mind even after dropping in a 17-foot eagle putt on the par-5 13th. He barely missed a birdie from the same length on the par-3 14th before hitting a mint 3-wood onto the drivable par-4 15th to 15-feet. He would nail the putt and head to the par-5 16th having made three eagles in five holes and needing to play the final three holes three under for a 59. A brilliant drive and approach to just 15-feet set up the chance to become the first player since records have been kept to make a fourth eagle in a six-hole stretch but his putt almost inexplicably hung on the lip of the hole. The birdie kept the chase for 59 alive, as did a great approach on the par-3 17th to inside 15-feet. Cruelly his ball defied gravity once again and hung on the edge. He would also miss a 12-foot birdie try on the final hole, curling around the back side to sit just a few revolutions from dropping. "On 16 I thought it I made it about two feet out and it kind of just snapped a little harder than I thought. Every single one of those putts I hit it right where I wanted to and got the speed right. Felt like I hit it on my line; just didn’t go in," Wolff added. "The greens are pretty tricky out here. Still could putt a little better, but I was really happy with where the ball striking is, and I’m sure the putts will drop tomorrow." Wolff is just the fifth player to make three eagles on either the front 9 or back 9 in a round on the PGA TOUR since records have been kept (1983). He is the first to do it since 2006. “After I missed that putt on 17, the one that I thought just kind of broke right and didn’t go in, I kind of realized... dang, if that putt would’ve went in, all I would’ve had to do is birdie 18 to shoot 59," Wolff continued. "It didn’t creep in until then, but I gave myself as many good looks as I could and just wasn’t meant to be. I’m sure I’ll get that opportunity again and my game is feeling really good."

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