Leishmann finished second in last year's CJ Cup
On October 16th, Beijing time, when the CJ Cup started this Thursday, Australian golfer Marc Leishman had a simple goal: to improve his ranking by one place from the first tournament.

Twelve months ago, Mark Leishmann fell short and was defeated by American player Justin Thomas in the extended round, finishing second. However, after achieving his fourth US Tour championship title at the Lianchang International Bank Championship last Sunday, he planned to extend his winning form.

"I am very excited to return to South Korea. I have left many beautiful memories here. It has been a very good week. I hope I can play well again, one better place than last year," Mark Leishmann said. "The condition of the stadium is great. I think the fairway is solid compared to last year, and the distance is slightly shorter. The green is perfect again. It looks like they have modified some sand pits.". I am looking forward to leaving on Thursday and immediately engaging in battle. I hope this is an exciting week, and we can leave a good performance for all Korean fans

The intimacy of Australians towards South Korea is not limited to almost missing out on the CJ Cup last year. Ten years ago, he went on a professional tour in South Korea and clearly enjoyed the culture here. He also made some good friends, many of whom he still maintains close relationships with today.

"The Korean Tour was a great experience. It was my first tour and I was very excited to go there to play. I made many friends, many Korean golfers, and we are still good friends today. I learned a lot from competing on the Korean Tour." He said, "Going to a foreign country alone allows you to learn things quickly. In 2006, I competed here and gained many beautiful memories."

After winning in Malaysia, Leishmann rose to second place in the Federal Cup ranking. He was very excited when his wife Audrey and eldest son Harvey woke up early Sunday in the United States to see his five shot victory live on television.

"That's great. I never thought about waking him up at 2am to watch the game, but Audrey was really good. I know how excited he was when he saw me leading," said the father of three children, a 34 year old athlete. "I talked to him on Sunday morning. We were all talking about how I should win because I had already taken the lead. So there was a bit of extra pressure, but also a bit of extra determination.". It's really cool to see him in bed with Audrey, with a smile on his face. Everyone would smile when they see a child so happy

Defending champion Justin Thomas
South Korean athlete Sungjae Im grew up on Jeju Island and two weeks ago, after finishing fourth at the Hee Woo Open, he looks forward to another good performance on the US Tour. After winning the Weber Tour twice this year, a 20-year-old athlete won the prize money king and secured a spot on the US Tour, becoming one of the favorites among local teams to win the championship.

"There is no elimination line here, you can play for four days. You don't have to worry about elimination in the first two rounds. The prize money is high, and you can also win points in the Federal Cup. So there are many things worth fighting for. If you play well, you can enter the season with an advantage," said Ren Chengzai.

Defending champions and 2017 Federal Cup champions Justin Thomas are competing for a winning streak this week against Brooks Copca, the two Grand Slam champions of the season, the 12 US Tour champions, and Jenson Day, Billy Horschel, Brand Snydeker, Xander Schauffle, and Adam Scott, who won T11 in last year's Hitler Cup.

Justin Thomas made a comeback last week and tied for fifth place in Malaysia.