It was the Victorian’s third top-six finish in The Open Championship in the past four years.

He bounced back strongly after a second round 76, which saw him at five over after 36 holes and on the cut line. His weekend rounds of 66-65 were all class and he feels now he has taken another step closer to winning a major championship.

“It feels like it's getting closer all the time,” he said. “There other things with majors, there's only four a year, so you have to try and peak at the right times.

“It's great (playing in the majors). You grow up watching all this stuff on TV. And you hope you're going to get there one day. And to be there on a Sunday afternoon when the stands are full, getting that ovation coming up the 18th hole, it feels really nice.

RIGHT: A happy Marc Leishman after his final round 65. PHOTO: Getty Images.

“Occasionally you have to pinch yourself a little bit. But I've done it a few times now, so it's just fun to do it. And it would be nice to walk up there one day with a four-shot lead and enjoy it more.”

He started the final round 12 shots behind 54-leader Jordan Spieth and, like all the earlier starters, believed if he could post a low-number it could put him in contention with stronger winds and rain due to hit the afternoon groups.

The 33-year-old picked up birdies at the 2nd, 3rd and 7th holes to reach the turn in 31 strokes. After making a fourth birdie at the par-5 15th, Leishman admitted he was hoping to emulate Branden Grace’s record breaking eight under 62 from the third round.

He crunched a 2-iron onto the green at the par-5 17th as he chased an eagle. He gave the 30-footer a good run but it slid by and cleaned up for his birdie.

“Had two good shots into 17, a good putt. Tried to give myself a chance of holing it,” Leishman said.

“Yeah, happy with the day. Hit a lot of good shots, holed some good putts. And considering I made the cut on the number it turned into a good week.

“You can't throw in a six-over par round and expect to contend in a major. Didn't have my best stuff on Friday, unfortunately. But made the cut and will have a top-10. To turn an average week, what could have been a bad week, missing the cut, into a top-10, I'm happy.”

RIGHT: Adam Scott fires his approach into the par-4 11th to set up one of his three birdies in the final round. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Adam Scott was the next best of the Australians, carding a final round three under 67 to move up 21 spots on the leaderboard to a tie for 22nd at even par.

The Queenslander said he was frustrated most of the weekend by not getting his iron shots close enough to the hole to leave realistic birdie chances.

“I didn't hit my irons very close. I only made one bogey on the weekend but I wasn't really in that close to make a ton of birdies either,” Scott said.

“It was a bit frustrating because when it's calm like this, you feel like you can shoot low. And if you're a bit off, you can still have a respectable score, but it's not really close to shooting low.”

One Aussie who did go low on the final day was Aaron Baddeley.

Aaron Baddeley had eight birdies in his final round six under 64. PHOTO: Getty Images.

The Victorian bagged eight birdies against two bogies for a six under 64, which saw him jump 48 places up the leaderboard into a tie for 27th at one over. It was Baddeley’s best ever finish in The Open and his first top-30 in a major since the 2014 US Open.

“The improvements I’ve made tee to green this year haven’t really shown on the scoreboard,” he said. “Today was nice because I made some putts, which I haven’t done all year.

“I keyed into something last night working with my coach Brad (Malone), trying to get the set-up right and there was one little thing in the stroke, which we figured out before the round on the putting green and it just got better as the day went on.

Jason Day shares a laugh with caddie Col Swatton as they walk up the 18th fairway. PHOTO: Getty Images.

“It was great to finally see some putts going in because I have been hitting pretty decent all year.”

The World No.156 does not have a start on the PGA Championship next month, but his stellar final round might just be the turning point of his season.

Former World No.1 Jason Day also finished T27 at one over after a final round 71. Fellow Queenslanders Andrew Dodt (70) and Scott Hend (74) finished three and four over respectively.