Marc Leishman shot a five-under 65 to lead by one in the first round of the regular season-ending LIV Golf event at Royal Greens & Country Club. The Ripper player has rediscovered his form to sit one stroke ahead of Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Harold Varner III — and this weekend could be a triple celebration for the Rippers as captain Cameron Smith leads the season-long Individual Championship race, and the Rippers themselves sit atop of the Jeddah team standings alongside Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers.

Next up is the Team Championship in Florida, and Leishman said it would be the perfect way to head into the 2023 finale with three trophies in the bag from Saudi.

“It would be a fun plane ride to Miami,” he told Golf Digest Middle East. “But we are all process guys and we try not to get too far ahead of ourselves. That hasn’t even entered any of our heads I don’t think. But that would certainly be a good way to end the regular season and go into Miami next week. It might not be so good for the golf next week, but it would certainly be a lot of fun.”

It is early days in Jeddah however, with two more rounds to go and with Johnson, Koepka and Varner — all previous winners at Royal Greens — breathing down his neck, Leishman is just taking it one step at a time, while also battling the course over the next two days.

“It was pretty tough,” he said of his round. “There was a fair bit of wind, and it was nice to be finding the middle of the face. I played pretty well today and made a couple of good putts to go along with it. When the conditions are tough like they were today, it’s nice to get a good score on the board, and hopefully I can keep it going for the rest of the weekend.

“It’s quite difficult when the wind is blowing like it is at the moment. But growing up in a really windy place, I enjoy that, and I think that’s a big part of my success in the wind maybe. Hopefully I can continue playing like I did today and have two more low scores.”

Asked if a team win would give Rippers a boost ahead of Miami next week, Leishman added: “Definitely. Yeah, next week is a huge week for the team. We got close there last year finishing second, and I know all the boys want to try and go one better than that.

“Obviously, it is a big week this week, but next week is going to be hopefully another week of good golf and we can try and get a win on the board.”

Main Image: Marc Leishman. LIV Golf