Australia’s No.3 Marc Leishman has set his sights on joining countrymen Adam Scott and Jason Day among world golf’s elite.

At 65th in the world Leishman has ground to make up on world No.2 Scott and No.11 Day, but the 30-year-old Victorian isn’t content to stay in their shadows.

He has earmarked the next few months as his chance to break inside the world top 50 for the first time and doesn’t intend to settle for that.

It begins with his debut at the WGC-Match Play Championship in Arizona this week where he faces world No.8 Sergio Garcia first up.

“I feel like I am playing well enough to knock on Jason’s (Day) door and give him a run for his money and on my day I know I can compete with both of those guys (Scott and Day),” Leishman said.

“It is certainly an opportune time for me to make a move in the rankings.

“If you can go deep in this tournament you can make a significant jump and then it runs into more tournaments like Bay Hill and the Masters where I’ve played well before.”

A former US PGA Tour rookie of the year and a one-time winner on the tour in 2012, Leishman led last year’s Masters after the opening round before finishing tied fourth behind winner Scott.

He also played clutch golf as a captain’s pick his Presidents Cup debut.

But Leishman’s confidence shouldn’t be mistaken as arrogance.

“I know I still have to play good golf,” he said.

“Nothing is just given to you out here, I know that, and I intend to keep working hard so everything comes together.

“Adam and Jason have played a lot more consistently then me in the last few years and have earned their place and the respect that comes with it.

“Consistency is something I need to improve on but it is definitely a goal of mine to firstly break into the top 50 and then start looking at the top 20 and top 10 after that.

“I have shown I can mix it with the best and play well in big tournaments so it is just a matter of continuing to do that and still play well in the other events.

“I have to consistently keep my finger on the button.”