For Marc Leishman at The Masters, it was exactly what was needed.

The Warrnambool-raised golfer secured his best finish since the PGA Tour's COVID-19 restart this past June, finished tied for 13^th on Monday.

The 37-year-old, who flew coach Denis McDade to the United States prior to October's Zozo Championship, reaped the rewards of technical work and a total score of 280 at Augusta.

There was no pressure and little expectation, externally at least.

Bookmakers had Leishman a 300-to-one shot of winning. The father-of-three's five PGA Tour career victories would suggest he is indeed better than those odds but poor form was behind that ranking.

For context, Leishman started 2020 in blistering form, winning the Farmers Insurance Open and placing second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Then COVID-19 hit the United States and the world's top golf tour went into hiatus.

It resumed in June, at the Charles Schwab Classic, but Leishman failed to make the cut and his form never really got going. His best result over the next couple of months was a 29th-place finish at the Tour Championship in July.

The Masters, arguably the most prestigious tournament in the world, was a turning point.

Leishman sounded a warning to fans, pundits and the wider golfing world - he's still here to compete.

Sometimes, particularly in golf or any other individual sport, all you need is that one result to transform your confidence and form.

Matching it with the big boys on one of the toughest courses around, and shooting a 70 and 68 on the final two days of the event, will be a massive boost to Leishman's state of mind.

Perhaps that extra work with Denis McDade, as the Virginia Beach-based talent revealed to The Standard this past week, was the difference. Leishman is one to play his golf without fuss. What you see, is what you get, and that's why he's endeared himself to Aussie fans over the course of his 15-year professional career.

As he put it this past week, the PGA Tour is an unforgiving place to play golf.

"You're playing against the best players of the past 30 years really and if your game is off, you can be made to look bad," Leishman said.

But it was perhaps his next quote that was the most telling.

"That's even though it might not be as bad as you think it is but it's because you're playing against guys who are so good," he said.

"Confidence is a big thing in golf and mine hasn't been high. I'm certainly feeling better than I was this time last month." That belief might just be the ember that sparks him back to full-flight.

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