Marc Leishman dished out a hilarious sledge at the Sony Open in Hawaii when asked about fellow Australian Cameron Smith’s record-setting win at the Tournament of Champions on nearby island Maui last week.
The Tournament of Champions is an event held exclusively for winners on the PGA Tour within the past 12 months of the tournament.
Smith’s 34-under-par total on Maui’s Kapalua Plantation course was the lowest ever score in relation to par on the PGA Tour.
Smith had qualified for Maui when he and Leishman paired up to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a two-man teams event held each April.
“Obviously, to help him get into the tournament was good,” Leishman said with a straight face before bursting into laughter.
“Yeah, it was amazing. Just to see (several) Aussie guys at the top (of the leaderboard was good). I kind of felt a bit bad for Jonesy (Matt Jones) shooting 32-under and finishing third.
“But it was just some unbelievable golf from everyone last week. I mean, I felt like I played really well. Maybe left a few shots on the greens. But 23-under, to sneak in for a top-10, it was just really good golf by everyone.”
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Meanwhile, Smith’s Maui win was rewarded with the honour of marquee Wednesday pro-am group at the Sony Open on Honolulu, which Smith won in 2020.
He was grouped for nine holes with Hollywood royalty Mark Wahlberg, a fanatical golfer who is rumoured to play 18 holes every day at the exclusive Riviera CC in Los Angeles where he is a member.
“We had a great time out there,” Smith said about Wahlberg. “Mark was a really good lad. We had some laughs. One of my best Pro-Am experiences I think ever.”
Round 1 Tee Times AEDT for Sony Open (coverage on Kayo/Fox Sports)
PGA TOUR
Sony Open
Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii
(Friday AEDT) 4.20am Cameron Percy, Sepp Straka, Roger Sloan
9.20am* Cam Davis, Seamus Power, Charles Howell III
9.40am Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Sungjae Im
9.50am Cameron Smith, Talor Gooch, Kevin Na
10.20am Brett Drewitt, Curtis Thompson, Chan Kim
Defending champion: Kevin Na
Past Aussie winners: Bruce Crampton (1969), Brett Ogle (1994) and Cameron Smith (2020)
Top Aussie prediction: Cameron Smith
