‘This was greatest day of my life’: Fathers, sons and Pebble Beach

Welcome to the Monday Finish where Marc Leishman became the second straight Australian to go wire-to-wire at Conway Farms, taking out the BMW Championship in record fashion in the penultimate event of a sensational FedExCup Playoffs. While Leishman took control from day one, the tournament still produced plenty of great side stories as the top 70 players in the FedExCup battled it out to be part of the 30 headed to East Lake and the TOUR Championship. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. The real abilities of Marc Leishman are finally being fully appreciated. Despite being a clear talent and more importantly one of the greatest humans on the planet, the man affectionately known simply as “Leishâ€� has not been in the mainstream consciousness of the majority of golf fans nearly enough. This despite being PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year in 2009. Despite winning the Travelers Championship in 2012. Despite almost winning the Masters in 2013. Despite being inside the top 6 of three of the last four Open Championships including a playoff loss at St Andrews in 2015. Despite winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard earlier this season. Despite all of this, the affable Aussie just doesn’t command the appreciation of the masses and throughout the tournament was referred to as underrated with commentators spending time explaining his resume. To be fair, Leishman is in the midst of his best season and previously may not have shown enough consistency in his game to get the real plaudits. This season, however, he has 15 top-25 results from 24 starts, his previous best was just nine in 2014. But his wire-to-wire win at Conway Farms showed everyone plenty. It came off the back of losing a two-shot lead on the back nine at the Dell Technologies Championship. The sort of loss that breaks some players. But not Leishman. He didn’t back down after an opening 62. He didn’t back down when countryman and former World No. 1 Jason Day joined him in Saturday’s final pairing. He didn’t back down when American favorite Rickie Fowler joined him in Sunday’s last pairing or when former U.S. Open winner Justin Rose pulled within two shots on the back nine Sunday. Instead, he pulled away and won by five. That’s some next level stuff. 2. Some of you may have raised an eyebrow at the comment above singing the praises of Leishman away from the course. You may think it is a little over the top. Perhaps I am biased. But let me try to enlighten you. Most know Leishman’s wife Audrey almost lost her life to toxic shock syndrome and sepsis in early 2015. She was given just a 5 percent chance of survival and Marc faced the real possibility of becoming a single dad to toddler sons Harvey and Ollie. He was a pillar of strength during this time and thankfully she pulled through and now they also share a newborn daughter Eva. But it’s not just this narrative that make him a “good blokeâ€� as those in his homeland would say. Leishman has always been one to consider others ahead of himself. And he’s never once changed from being a knockabout guy, no matter how much money or fame has come his way. It’s often been said Leishman could become the world’s best player and not change a single bit. He would still share a drink with the locals in both his adopted Virginia Beach home and his cherished Warrnambool back in Australia. Childhood friend Matty Kelly has been his caddie forever and the pair often hang out, with their young families, away from the course. Leishman treats everyone he meets like they’re the most important person is his space at the time. He flies coach to save money, so the rest can go into his Begin Again Foundation. He sent beer and pizza to the NBC cameraman who expertly dodged his last hole shank a few weeks ago because “If that ball hits him, it goes back in the hazard. He saved me a lot of money.â€� He’s a throwback, saying after his win that he’s not a “gym ratâ€� and “hasn’t been for a run on 10 years.â€� Instead he mows the putting green at his house everyday so he can go to his “nothing boxâ€� in his head. He can remain the same guy he’s always been. A legend. 3. We say it a lot but once again we have definitive proof that EVERY SHOT MATTERS on the PGA TOUR. One solitary FedExCup point. Well actually it was technically .72 of a point. That’s all that stood between Louis Oosthuizen and the TOUR Championship. Yep, the 2010 Open Champion winner was left to rue flu like symptoms in the opening rounds at the BMW Championship that had him near the back of the pack. Despite a wonderful 66-67 weekend as his health improved the South African ultimately finished just behind Jason Dufner in the season-long points race. Last year it was Rickie Fowler missing out by fractions. It is just further proof that you can never take a shot for granted on the PGA TOUR. 4. Still on the FedExCup scenarios we finally know the all-important top 5 in the standings heading to East Lake. The gentlemen who have their destiny in their own hands are Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Marc Leishman and Jon Rahm. If any of them win the TOUR Championship, they also win the FedExCup. You certainly cannot argue the validity of the top 3 getting this luxury. Spieth has won three times this season and been 2-2-T7 in the opening three Playoff events. Thomas has five wins on the season, including a Playoff event. Johnson has four wins on the season including a Playoff event. They clearly deserve a good shot at the FedExCup. Leishman is this season’s hot hand man. An earlier win in the year set things up. A third and a win in the Playoffs earned his shot. And then there is Rahm, in his first full season (not a rookie) he’s been awesome. A winner early in the campaign and then T3-T4-T5 during the Playoffs… that’s impressive. The “unluckyâ€� guy is Hideki Matsuyama. After entering the Playoffs as No. 1 thanks to three wins and three runner up results in a stellar season the Japanese star went CUT-T23-T47 in the Playoffs. He will be the 7th seed at East Lake. 5. If you’re picking an early favorite to win it all next week, it has to be top-seeded Jordan Spieth. Already a FedExCup and TOUR Championship winner in 2015 Spieth is looking to join Tiger Woods as a two-time FedExCup champion in just the 11th season of the competition’s existence. After going so close to winning in the opening two weeks Spieth once again finished inside the top-10 at the BMW Championship but you have the feeling he cleverly went into energy conserve mode once Leishman pulled out of reach. This is not to suggest he didn’t give his all, just to say he was mindful of expending more mental energy than necessary. Spieth is one of those ultimate competitors and while he is great mates with the likes of Thomas and co – come Thursday in Atlanta you can expect the game face. FIVE INSIGHTS 1. Marc Leishman’s winning score of 261 topped the previous BMW Championship record of 262 set by Tiger Woods (2007) and Jason Day (2015). His five-shot winning margin was the third biggest of the season behind seven-stroke victories by Hideki Matsuyama (World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions) and Justin Thomas (Sony Open in Hawaii). He is the 13th player to go wire-to-wire in the BMW Championship, and the second consecutive Australian to do it at Conway Farms (Jason Day 2015). 2. Leishman’s 15-under performance on the par 4s (best in field) was 11 strokes better than the field average (-4). Leishman tied Jason Day (THE NORTHERN TRUST 2015) with the best par 4 performance by a winner in FedExCup Playoffs history. He made a career-high 29 birdies and his opening 62 equaled his career low on the PGA TOUR. 3. Leishman’s short game was his strength. He ranked 2nd in strokes gained: around-the-green, outperforming the BMW field by 1.505 strokes per round. He was 4th in strokes gained: putting gaining 1.120 per round. 4. Justin Rose collected his 12th career runner-up finish on the PGA TOUR and third this season (Sony Open in Hawaii, Masters Tournament). He played 53 holes without a bogey until slipping up on the par-3 17th Sunday, just his third bogey this week (No. 4 and 17 during Round 1). Rose is one of 13 players to have qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs every season since their 2007 introduction. 5. Tony Finau, Sergio Garcia, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay all played their way into the FedExCup top 30 at Conway Farms, matching the record for the Playoffs’ penultimate event. Louis Oosthuizen, Brendan Steele and two former FedExCup champions in Henrik Stenson and Bill Haas were the players to fall out. TOP THREE VIDEOS 1. Jason Day might not have replicated his 2015 victorious trip around Conway Farms but he certainly enjoyed the 17th hole with this ace. The Aussie won a new BMW but donated it back to the Evans Scholars. 2. There’s more than one way to hit it close. Just ask Brooks Koepka. Bank! 3. What do you bring Jordan Spieth for a gift?

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This is one of the most fascinating weeks of the season. Whether you’re pacing or chasing, because the Wells Fargo Championship is loaded with chalk that has played well and often at Quail Hollow over the years, ownership percentages will be top-heavy. And even if you don’t play in every tournament – this is the 28th of 46 in 2018-19 – it’s highly likely that many of those choices are off your board and those of your opposition because of where we are in the season. The additional layer of intrigue is that most of the chalk will have our attention at each of the last three majors, so the tug of war between the now and the later is real. Rory McIlroy all but owns Quail Hollow, so if you need to go for the downs, take your swing. If you’re thinking about holstering, you don’t deserve the option. And after reading that remark, if you’re still considering abstaining, pat yourself on the back for waiting until now to get him in there. I’ll do whatever it takes for you to understand his value on this track. I remain bullish on Rickie Fowler’s chances in a major this summer, but he also presents smartly as a weapon if you need to cut into your deficit. Like McIlroy twice at Quail Hollow (2010, 2015), Fowler also is a former champ (2012) and his overall record is phenomenal. If you’re stuck between the two, first understand how nice of a problem that is, and then burn Fowler now and keep McIlroy in your pocket for a major. Jason Day is the defending champion. He’s never won the same tournament in consecutive editions, but he’s always on the short list of candidates to turn the trick because of his talent. I love him again this week, but consider saving for the PGA Championship or the FedExCup Playoffs (even though none of the three stops appears in his Future Possibilities). Paul Casey also is on that short list, but he’s just outside our focus in the majors, so if you’re as fortunate as I am to give him a go, pounce. You’ll note that the Travelers Championship is his top spot, but I’ve penciled in three-time champion Bubba Watson for that event the week after the U.S. Open. (The lefty is not competing at the Wells Fargo Championship.) Quail Hollow will challenge Phil Mickelson’s approach in 2019. Overseeded bermuda rough as long as two-and-a-half inches goes against his better-laid plan to avoid it, and that’s simply hard to do as he continues to tee it up in familiar spots. His results were not inspiring after he prevailed at Pebble Beach and prior to a T18 at Augusta National where the second cut isn’t penal. Target the return trip to Pebble Beach for the U.S. Open even though he’ll be chasing the career grand slam and the course should be a brute. It’s scheduled to conclude on his birthday (June 16), so maybe his wish will finally come true. Another curiosity is Justin Rose only because Quail Hollow doesn’t rank in his top tier of go-to tracks as he scrambles for form. No one would be surprised if he won, of course, but One & Doners in every situation don’t need to risk it with him. He’s one example of how the timing of the tournament benefits you. Other notables who resonate similarly coolly include Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed, Gary Woodland, Tony Finau, Sergio Garcia and local resident Webb Simpson. All are usable in roster games, but we’ll turn to them in our world another time. Two-man gamers should employ the aforementioned advice for your primary, and then gives the likes of Lucas Glover, Jason Kokrak, J.B. Holmes and Luke List a look to ride shotgun. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2018-19. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Byeong Hun An … Memorial (1) Daniel Berger … Travelers (1) Keegan Bradley … Memorial (5); Travelers (4) Paul Casey … Wells Fargo (9); Travelers (1); TOUR Championship (3) Jason Day … Wells Fargo (6 defending); PGA Championship (3); U.S. Open (10); Open Championship (9) Jason Dufner … Charles Schwab (6); Memorial (5); U.S. Open (2); Wyndham (8); TOUR Championship (10) Tony Finau … Memorial (2) Rickie Fowler … Wells Fargo (6); PGA Championship (9); Memorial (5); U.S. Open (10) Sergio Garcia … Open Championship (5); TOUR Championship (2) Bill Haas … Charles Schwab (2); Wyndham (6) Adam Hadwin … John Deere (5) Brian Harman … Charles Schwab (1); Travelers (5); John Deere (4) J.B. Holmes … Wells Fargo (5) Zach Johnson … Charles Schwab (5); John Deere (1); Open Championship (2); TOUR Championship (8) Martin Laird … Barracuda (2) Hideki Matsuyama … PGA Championship (13); Memorial (8); U.S. Open (14); Wyndham (7); TOUR Championship (5) Rory McIlroy … Wells Fargo (3); Memorial (5); Travelers (8); Open Championship (1); TOUR Championship (6) Phil Mickelson … Wells Fargo (2); U.S. Open (6); Open Championship (9); WGC-St. Jude (3) Patrick Reed … PGA Championship (4); U.S. Open (3); Travelers (7) Justin Rose … Charles Schwab (7; defending); Memorial (4); Open Championship (8); TOUR Championship (2) Webb Simpson … Wells Fargo (7); Charles Schwab (8); Travelers (9); Wyndham (1) Brendan Steele … Wells Fargo (9); Travelers (4); Barracuda (3) Henrik Stenson … PGA Championship (4); Open Championship (6); Wyndham (8); TOUR Championship (7) Kevin Streelman … Memorial (4); Travelers (7) Jimmy Walker … Byron Nelson (6) Gary Woodland … Memorial (4)

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