But the LIV star, who was the only one of nine Australians at Royal Portrush to make the cut, locked in a trip home this summer for two chances to earn direct qualification again. Leishman didn’t bring his Sunday best in Northern Ireland, with his finishing four-over 75 his worst round of the week, leaving him a mammoth 17 shots behind the runaway winner Scottie Scheffler. The Victorian finished tied for 52nd, the worst position for the leading Australian at the Open for more than 70 years. It was only Leishman’s second major appearance since 2022, having also qualified for this year’s US Open, with his ranking slipping to 446 after his big-money move to LIV. A renewed application from LIV to get world ranking points could help his cause going forward, but Leishman knows what he signed up for and while he loved being back at The Open, majors no longer define his career. “Yeah, happy to be back. Obviously, if everything works out and we can get in them, I’d love to play them,” he said after closing out his tournament. “If not, I’m not going to stress over it or anything. Yes, I really want to be here, but happy with my decisions.” Those decisions included returning to Australia for the Australian Open and PGA in late November and early December. Both tournaments offer an Open Championship lifeline for a top-three finish, which is how Leishman got to Portrush, courtesy of a podium finish in the PGA. With Rory McIlroy also heading to the Australian Open, the competition will intensity and other big names could follow. Officials are also hopeful the offer of a spot at The Open could lure some more big names, but Leishman’s commitment is unwavering, sensing opportunity. “It’s going to be Royal Melbourne and Royal Queensland, two courses that I’ve played well at before,” he said. “I’ve spent a lot of time on Royal Melbourne and had some good results the last few years at Royal Queensland. Hopefully, this is the year. “That’s the funny thing about golf, you can have a great week and play some really, really good golf, and if somebody plays better than you, you don’t win. “So hopefully it can be my year, and I’ll do everything I can to see if I can make that happen.”