After the third round of the BMW Championship, Marc Leishman noted, “I’m hitting some really good iron shots, which is important – give myself a lot of opportunities.”
Over the 72 holes at Conway Farms Golf Club, Leishman indeed gave himself a lot of opportunities and converted 28 of them into birdies – enough to result in a wire-to-wire, five-stroke win. The victory came after Leishman entered the final round in his last event, the Dell Technologies Championship, tied for the lead with Justin Thomas before finishing third, four shots behind.
Leishman uses Callaway’s Apex Pro 16 irons as well as the company’s Apex UT 3-utility iron. Leishman is also in the minority on tour as he utilises just two wedges in addition to this pitching wedge – a Callaway Mack Daddy Forged 54-degree and a 58-degree Titleist Vokey SM6. The Victorian used that combination (also employed during his win at this year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational) to hit 72.2 percent of his greens for the week, including 13 of 18 (which equates to the same 72.2 percentage) in the final round. Perhaps the most timely was an approach on the par-4 16th from 112 metres with his 54-degree wedge to 10 feet that he converted for a second consecutive birdie that pushed his cushion to three shots.
Not to be overlooked was Leishman’s work off the tee as well, as he averaged 284.8 metres (311.5 yards) while hitting 67.9 percent of his fairways with his Callaway Great Big Bertha Epic driver. Leishman’s driver has a Fujikura Speeder Evolution II 757x shaft that is cut to just less than 45 inches (44 15/16 inches) that is tipped one inch and the movable weight is set in the draw-bias position. Like with most golfers, performance is his primary criteria when choosing a driver, but another element also is critical. “No.2 (for me) is the sound,” Leishman told Callaway. “I want it to sound solid.”
What’s in Marc Leishman’s bag:
Ball: Callaway Chrome Soft X
Driver: Callaway Great Big Bertha Epic (Fujikura Speeder Evolution II 757x), 9 degrees
3-wood: Callaway Great Big Bertha Epic, 15 degrees
7-wood: Callaway Steelhead XR, 21 degrees
Irons (3): Callaway Apex UT; (4-PW): Callaway Apex Pro 16
Wedges: Callaway Mack Daddy Forged (54 degrees); Titleist Vokey SM6 (58 degrees)
Putter: Odyssey Versa #1 Wide Black
