ORLANDO, Fla. – Australian Marc Leishman holed a 51-foot eagle putt on the 16th hole on March 19 to win the Arnold Palmer Invite against Rory McIlroy and other two tough pars.
The shootout down into the final holes is a close bid between four men. Marc Leishman said that things can change very quickly in this time. “You’ve just got to stay right in it, not thinking about what’s the end result, just focus on what you’ve got to do. I was focused on my putts and luckily they all went into the hole,” Leishman said.
In the game’s final hour, Leishman’s final act was a 45-yard away pitch and run at Bay Hill’s closing hole that ran out to three feet. He made the putt three under par 69 on 11 under 277 for the 72 holes which gave him the Bay Hill victory against Charley Hoffman and Kevin Kisner’s 73s on the 278 who share the second place. Sharing the fourth are Rory Mcllroy and Tyrell Hatton of England on 279, and the fifth on 280 is Adam Hadwin.
This is Leishman’s first US victory since the year 2012 and also the first tournament after the gold legend Arnold Palmer’s death who’s been hosting the event annually. Leishman said that the Arnold Palmer Invite win is a huge honor.
The Palmer Invite’s winner this year received the red cardigan sweater which Palmer favored more than the usual blue blazer.
The timing of winning the tournament was ideal for Marc Leishman. Although Arnold Palmer was not with him to celebrate, he was able to win the event in front of his family. His two sons of ages 5 and 3 and his wife were there on the side when he finished. Audrey Leishman suffered from toxic shock syndrome two years ago, a near death experience which caused the golfer to hurriedly leave the Masters.
Leishman has only one prior US PGA victory which was from the 2012 Travelers Championship and a shared fourth on the 2013 Masters at Augusta National. He also has one European Tour title in the 2015 Nedbank Challenge and he was a runner-up to Zach Johnson for the 2015 British Open.
This Arnold Palmer Invitational win earned Leishman an exemption for 3 years on the PGA Tour. Now that Marc Leishman is back in the field, his new victory secured his spot in the Masters for the upcoming Augusta National from his number 62 spot in the world.
