It’s no surprise that Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith would birdie the short par-4 16th en route to victory at the 2021 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The 302-yard drivable hole was one of the few on the back nine at TPC Louisiana where players could think birdie in the alternate-shot format.
But it was the way the Aussies made that birdie that will make it that much more memorable.
With the pin cut short and left on the green, bringing the water to the left of the hole in play, Smith hit 3-wood off the tee hoping to catch a part of the right side of the green. But the ball started to draw before taking a big hop left … and into the water.
The good news? The ball crossed the hazard line only a yard or so short of the green, allowing Leishman to take a drop and play the team’s third shot from only 23 feet from the hole.
As Leishman measured the shot with his eye, Nick Faldo on the CBS broadcast noted it was a makable chip. And sure enough:
The end results was a big momentum turner as the Aussies had taken the lead on the front nine, then squandered it only a few holes before.
Too bad their celebration wasn’t as spot on as the shot itself. Do you do fist bump—Leishman’s play—or high five—Smith’s preference?
It was one time that Team Mullett seemed to be out of sych.
The birdie meant the Aussies had tied South African’s Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel at 21 under. Both teams bogeyed the 17th hole but parred the 18th to jump into a sudden-death playoff. And then the Aussies made the birdie count when they won the title on the first playoff hole with a par.