Leishman relishing early season PGA form

Marc Leishman is on track to continue his recent hot form with a solid first round at the US PGA Tour's Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.

The 33-year-old Australian sits at four-under-par after Thursday's opening 67, three shots adrift of leader Sam Saunders (64). Bad light halted play with 48 players still to complete their rounds.

One year after finishing equal fifth at Riviera behind 2016 champion Bubba Watson, Leishman is again in contention in a tie for seventh with 10 other golfers including Phil Mickelson.

"It was important to get off to a good start and take advantage of good weather and good greens at Riviera," said Leishman.

"Especially with the (bad) weather predicted for the next few days, I'm glad to not be behind the eight ball after one round.

"I'm hitting the ball well and my short game was reliable today when I missed greens."

The Victorian has been in contention in all five of his 2017 events and hasn't finished outside the top 25, including two top-10 finishes in Malaysia and the World Cup of Golf in Melbourne.

With an early-season mission of returning to the world's top 50, the No.61 feels his game is in a good place as he chases a Masters berth.

"It's a mixture of everything - my game's in a good spot. Mentally, I'm feeling good and I'm enjoying my golf," said Leishman.

He will also need a strong finish this week to be eligible for next month's World Golf Championship event in Mexico, for which the field will be finalised on Sunday.

The Warrnambool product admits he needs to perform better during final rounds after losing a share of the Sunday lead at Torrey Pines in January before fading away from the pack at the Phoenix Open - shooting 73 on both occasions.

"I need to get into the Masters and I'd love to take care of that this week," said Leishman.

"Obviously, I'd like to finish off a little better on Sunday than I have the last few weeks but I'm giving myself chances."