Marc Leishman will begin the US PGA Tour's season-ending playoff series without regular caddie Matt Kelly on his bag following the tragic surfing death of fellow Australian Peter Luke.
A good mate of fellow former Warrnambool resident Luke, 27, who died after being hit by a huge wave while surfing on a remote Indonesian beach last week, Kelly has returned home to Australia briefly.
"It's a sad tragedy and obviously my thoughts are with Peter's family in this difficult time," Leishman told AAP on Tuesday.
"It was important his close friends, including Matty, could be there to pay their respects."
Leishman will have stand-in caddie Sam Pinfold carrying his bag for the Barclays Championship in New Jersey starting Thursday, the first of four events in the FedEx Cup playoff series that cuminates at the 30-man Tour Championship.
The 30-year-old Leishman goes into the series ranked 27th in the 125-man field over the course of the season-long points race, but is the eighth highest of the players without a win on their resume this year.
He has shown tremendous consistency in 2014, finishing second, twice third and twice fifth, including the British Open, and has established himself among the world top 50 golfers.
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