Marc Leishman gets in clubhouse, waits, then wins Travelers Championship

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Marc Leishman began the final round at the Travelers Championship six strokes behind the leaders, but made eight birdies and no bogeys in his closing 62.

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Pat Eaton-Robb

Associated Press

Series: PGA Tour

CROMWELL, Conn. -- Marc Leishman shot an 8-under 62 on Sunday in the Travelers Championship, then went back to the clubhouse to eat, watch some soccer and wait to see where he would finish.

More than two hours later, after Charley Hoffman blew a two-stroke lead on the final two holes, Leishman was hoisting his first championship trophy on the PGA Tour.

"I think Charley was on the 15th when I turned the golf on," Leishman said. "I watched that, then just went over and hit some balls and putted for a bit and it turned out well."

The 28-year-old Australian began the day six strokes behind the leaders, but made eight birdies in a bogey-free round. He finished at 14-under 266.

"I didn't think it was going to be enough," he said. "Golf is a funny game, a really funny game."

Hoffman was 16 under heading to the 17th hole, but pushed his tee shot right and into the water. He made a double bogey, and bogeyed the 18th after failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker.

"When it's said and done, obviously a bad finish and a bad taste in my mouth, but you learn from it," he said. "Any time you put yourself in contention, you learn from that."

Hoffman closed with a 66 to tie for second with Masters champion Bubba Watson, who shot a 65.

Leishman became the fifth player in seven years to break through with their first tour win at River Highlands, joining Fredrik Jacobson last year, Watson in 2010, Hunter Mahan in 2007 and J.J. Henry in 2006.

Leishman's 62 was the lowest score in a final round by a champion on tour this season.

"You'd almost rather make a few birdies coming in to win, rather than have someone hand it to you," he said. "But having said that, I'm not going to give this back or anything."

Hoffman seemed to be in command standing on the 17th tee, and still had a chance to win on 18. He put his tee shot onto a hill to the right and he put his second shot into the bunker. He ran that shot long and missed a 17-foot par putt.

Watson made a run at the lead on the front nine, with four birdies. But he had to scramble on the back nine, saving par on the 15th after putting his tee shot in the water. He also made par on 17 after hitting his second shot over the water and onto the green from the rough.

"Just didn't finish it off on the back," he said. "I made my run and just didn't kind of really have anything after that."

"I was just trying to give myself as many chances as I could," he said. "It was nice to have a couple of tap-in birdies."

Leishman's win gave him just his second top-10 finish this season. He didn't play in Memphis or at the U.S. Open and said he came back after two weeks off refreshed.

"I practiced I think two times in the three weeks," he said. "It's been close for a while actually. I just get a little bit streaky with the putter, and I haven't been lately."

Roland Thatcher, who was tied for the lead after three rounds, began his day with three bogeys on the first six holes. He seemed like an afterthought, until Hoffman's collapse. But he made an eagle on the par-5 13th after hitting his second shot within 15 feet of the pin.

He came up 18 with a chance to force a playoff, but put his second shot into a greenside bunker and bogeyed the hole.

"You never want to take the lead going into Sunday and then need two birdies on the last two holes to catch up," he said.

He and fellow co-leader Brian Davis both shot 70, putting them in a group at 12 under with Tim Clark and John Rollins.

Clark, who won the 2010 Players Championship, had elbow surgery last August and had missed the cut in five of the previous nine tournaments he played this season.

The course record at River Highlands is 60, set last year by Patrick Cantlay as an amateur. The 20-year-old missed the cut this year in his first professional tournament.

Rory Sabbatini finished six shots behind the leader, but took home a gold Rolex after making his first hole-in-one on tour. His shot on the 161-foot 16th hole hit and spun left into the hole.

"It felt really good coming off the club," he said. "It was just a question of having the right yardage. I kind of joked in the middle of the ball flight, and I said, `Be the right one and go in the hole.'"

Hunter Mahan shot a career-low 61 and tied for 11th after he came within a stroke of missing the 54-hole cut.

Mahan, in the first pair of the day, joked that he was just trying to play fast and not hold up the field. He opened with five pars before making nine birdies on the final 13 holes.

He missed a 7-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole. His 20-foot birdie putt from the edge of the green on 18 put him at 10-under 270 for the tournament.

"Your adrenaline is pumping more than you are nervous, because nothing really bad can happen," he said. "I was just trying to hit it close and make a putt."

Mahan, whose first tour win came here in 2007, needed a 6-foot birdie on 18 Saturday to make the 54-hole cut.

"At that point, you're kind of like, God, do I want to even make this?" he said. "I'm glad I did."

Week 16: New England Patriots Conference Calls

Posted Dec 18, 2013






Head Coach Bill Belichick


Opening statement: “OK, how is everybody doing down there today? Are we talking football or lacrosse? I just want to be ready for this. (laughter) I’ve been real impressed with the Ravens. Obviously, they are playing really well lately. They’ve been in a lot of great games. They’ve played well in crunch time. When they’ve had to make the plays, they’ve made them. As usual, [head] coach [John] Harbaugh is doing a real good job with his football team in all three phases of the game – offensively, defensively and special teams. They look like the championship team that we all know they are and [are] well coached.”

On former University of Maryland DT Joe Vellano: “Yeah, another Terp. Joe [Vellano] did a good job for us. [He] got some playing time. We’ve had some injuries at that position, and he has stepped in and done a good job. Joe works hard. He is a tough kid. He really competes well and is in pretty good condition. He has had to play a lot of plays in several games. He has really hung in there and done a good job for us.”

On why kickers have been so successful this season: “I would say just in general, just the better quality of play and also practice. Certainly, having the consistency of the snapper, holder and kicker being able to work together all day and work on those things the way it is with most teams, I think that has certainly helped relative to going back a few years when that wasn’t the case. It’s been like that for a while. And just overall, [there is] better kicking. We’ve seen each year young guys come out [of college and] be more competitive, like [Justin] Tucker was last year, as a matter of fact, in his rookie year. Guys are more ready to come into the league. There are a lot of good kickers in the league. [It is] no specific thing, but just generally a good quality. Same thing with the kickoffs – you see a lot more touchbacks. It’s not just leg strength; it’s technique.”

On NT Haloti Ngata: “He is a heck of a football player. [He is] strong and has really good quickness for his size. [He is] a hard guy to block. I’ve always liked him. I’ve always thought he’s one of the – not only one of the best – but, to a degree a little bit, an underrated player. Not that he is underrated, but I don’t think there are many that are better than him at his position, let’s put it that way. And I think he is having a good year.”

On if he views this game as a rematch: “No, I think this game certainly has its own elements. There are a lot of players playing in this game that didn’t play in either one of the games last year. There are certainly a lot that did, but there are plenty that didn’t. [It is a] whole new matchup.”

On OLB Terrell Suggs: “You certainly have to be aware of him. I think he and [Elvis] Dumervil have gotten a lot of attention out there on the edge. Quarterbacks are just trying to throw the ball quick or keep an extra guy in protection to try to slow them down a little bit. I think the Ravens have an excellent front. They play a lot of players in there. They are all good; they are all productive. I think [Terrell] Suggs is a guy you have to absolutely [be mindful of].”

On how not having two of their best-catching tight ends this year has hindered them: “I don’t know. I can’t put a percentage on it or anything. You always like to have all your best players. Unfortunately, Rob [Gronkowski] got hurt a couple weeks ago in the Cleveland game, but there have been a number of games that he hasn’t played in this year, including training camp. We have confidence in the players that we have, and we’ll go out there and compete. I’m sure the guys that play will go out there and do a good job and play competitively.”

On QB Tom Brady adjusting to new personnel: “I think Tom [Brady] has done a good job. He prepares very hard, he works hard, and he is a good player. I think he has been giving us good leadership throughout the season, going all the way back to the spring. Tom is one of our best and most consistent players. He has been like that for a long time.”

On coaching against Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees, who coached in New England: “Dean [Pees] does an excellent job. Dean is a smart coach; he’s got a lot of experience. He’s really done a solid job for the Ravens – no question about it.”


On if it’s strange preparing for the Ravens without LB Ray Lewis or S Ed Reed: “A little bit. It does look a little bit different without those guys. The Ravens have a lot of young players on their roster, and they have a lot of them playing well. I think that Ozzie [Newsome], his staff, coach [John] Harbaugh, the entire organization, Steve [Bisciotti] – all of them – have done a great job of putting their football team together. It’s a lot of players that are not on the team from last year, but there’s plenty of guys that were, and then there’s some new players that have done a good job of stepping up.”


On what it takes for a quarterback to be clutch: “Obviously, being able to execute under pressure, being smart, knowing the situation, keeping their poise, knowing how to handle [adversity]. [It’s] all the things – the play, the defense, clock management – just good situational football. Each situation is a little bit different, no matter how much you practice it or how many situations you practice. Each one has got a little different twist to it or some aspects of it that just makes it a little bit different from the one that you practiced or a similar situation that you’ve been in before. [It’s about] being able to adjust and have that gamesmanship, poise and intelligence on the field to make good decisions at critical times.”


On TE Dennis Pitta: “Excellent player. [He] does a really good job. [He’s] a key guy in the offense that Joe [Flacco] has a lot of confidence in and goes to him in critical situations – third down, red area, end of the game and two-minute type of situations. He’s a go-to guy and a guy that has had a serious injury, but looks like he’s come back from it well and worked hard in rehab. He’s made good contributions for them since he’s been back. [He’s] an impressive player.”


On the Ravens’ rivalry with the Patriots: “The Ravens are a good football team; I think we all know that. They’re tough, they’re physical, and they have a lot of good players. They have a lot of good skill players, and they have a lot of good, big players – linemen. They’ve got good specialists, they’re well-coached, and they have an excellent organization from the top on down – the owner, to the general manager, to the head coach and their entire staff. They’re a very tough and competitive football team. We know it’s a big challenge for us down there this week. They’re playing very well and have won four of their last five games with a lot of clutch plays. I think that’s what we’ve got to be ready for. Whatever has happened in previous games – no matter our record – it is what it is. This game will be decided by how two teams compete and perform on Sunday. I don’t know that [the past] has much of anything to do with any other game. As you said, it does come out very competitively. What happens Sunday will be determined on what happens Sunday, not what happened last year, last week or some other year.”



DE Chandler Jones

On how much they are looking forward to this game: “This is another game on the schedule that we have to win. Our goal every week is just to win this game. We’re not talking about last year, but just this year. We’re just moving forward and just being consistent and winning.”


On when he realized the rivalry the Patriots have with the Ravens: “We feel like that is every team this late in the season – not just the Ravens, but every team. If you play a team late in the season, it’s more important. Like I said, mistakes can’t be limited; they have to be eliminated.”

On if he has talked to his brother, Ravens DT Arthur Jones, and if his other brother, Jon, has visited: “Jon [Jones] hasn’t been up here. He has been up here for one of the games, actually last year. I haven’t spoken to Art [Jones] yet, either.”

On if he will talk to his brother, DT Arthur Jones: “No, I actually haven’t spoken to him in a week or two. He might call me, or he might not. I don’t know.”

On head coach Bill Belichick’s demeanor behind the scenes: “We just want to do our jobs. Our biggest thing is to win – that is our goal week-in and week-out. [We] stay levelheaded and just focus on our task at hand.”

On the play of his brother, DT Arthur Jones: “Art [Jones] has been doing good. He’s been working on his pass rush and working on his run stops. He’s becoming an all-around defensive tackle from what I’ve known from the two years I’ve been playing in the NFL, which isn’t much. He’s been playing very well. I’m happy for him, and good luck to him.”

On if it was bittersweet when his brother got to go to the Super Bowl last season instead of him: “That was last year. This is a new year, and hopefully we can get this win on Sunday.”

On what Miami did well against the Patriots last week: “That was last week. We don’t want to move back. We’re just trying to move forward and talk about the Ravens.”