Adam Scott has thrown down the gauntlet to fellow Queenslander Cameron Smith as the duo battle for a spot on Australia's golf World Cup team.
A subplot has emerged among the four Australians contesting the US PGA Tour's $US67 million play-offs series, with the two-man Australian team to contest the World Cup in Melbourne in November still to be locked in.
The World Cup will be held at Metropolitan Golf Club from November 22-25, featuring two players from the top-28 nations in the world rankings.
Each nation's top-ranked golfer has between September 3 and 13 to accept or defer their selection.
World No.10 Jason Day currently tops the Australian list but is uncertain on returning to his homeland given wife Ellie is due to give birth to the couple's third child days before the Cup.
If Day was to defer, world No.18 Leishman would be the frontrunner with Scott (44th) the next best, followed by Smith (49th).
Scott, who selected Leishman for the 2016 Cup at Kingston Heath, laid down the marker ahead of the Northern Trust tournament - the first of the four FedEx Cup play-offs events.
"Cam is going to have to play good in the play-offs; he better be up for it," a tongue-in-cheek Scott joked on Wednesday.
Scott asserted his credentials, referencing his runner-up finish at the 2014 Australian Masters at Metropolitan and the fact he won the 2013 World Cup teams title with Day.
"In all seriousness, 'Leish' can pick whomever he wants but I do have a good record at Metropolitan," said Scott, who only jumped Smith recently on the rankings with a third placing at the US PGA Championship.
The 25-year-old Smith has never played in golf's World Cup and is desperate to represent Australia at the unofficial US Tour event.
"I saw that Scotty jumped ahead of me on the world rankings, but I want to try and get there myself," Smith said.
"If I can put three good play-offs events together hopefully (the top Australian) will notice."
Leishman admits it will be a good headache for Australian fans, but not himself, if he becomes the top eligible player.
"It would be a hard decision either way, as (Scott and Smith) are both good mates, obviously 'Scotty' picked me in the World Cup last time," Leishman said.
"It is certainly up for grabs, so it'd be nice if one of them played well enough that it was a clear decision.
"I would gladly take either of them and that choice is good for golf in Australia."
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