Justin Leonard

Last updated

Justin Leonard
Justin Leonard 2008.jpg
Leonard in 2008
Personal information
Full nameJustin Charles
Garrett Leonard
Born (1972-06-15) June 15, 1972 (age 52)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Sporting nationalityFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Residence Aspen, Colorado, U.S.
SpouseAmanda
Children4
Career
College University of Texas
Turned professional1994
Current tour(s) PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Professional wins13
Highest ranking 6 (May 10, 1998) [1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour12
European Tour1
Other1
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters Tournament T7: 1997
PGA Championship 2nd/T2: 1997, 2004
U.S. Open T12: 2002
The Open Championship Won: 1997
U.S. Amateur Won: 1992
Achievements and awards
Haskins Award 1994

Justin Charles Garrett Leonard (born June 15, 1972) is an American professional golfer. He has twelve career wins on the PGA Tour, including one major, the 1997 Open Championship. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He is one of only 5 players to win the U.S. Amateur, the NCAA Individual Championship and a major golf tournament.

Contents

Early life

Leonard was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. He graduated from Lake Highlands High School in 1990.

Amateur career

Leonard attended the University of Texas in Austin. With the Longhorns he won 4-straight Southwest Conference Championships (1991-1994) and went to 4 straight NCAA Championships, with the team finishing in 2nd place in 1994. He won 10 individual events in college, including the individual NCAA championship in 1994 and the Southwest Conference Championship a record 4 times (1991-1994). He won the 1992 U.S. Amateur. He made the All-Southwest Conference team every year he was in college and was a three-time 1st team All-American (1992, 1993, 1994) - and a 2nd team All-American in 1991. He won the Haskins Award and Jack Nicklaus Award in 1994 as the most outstanding collegiate golfer. [2] That same year, he became only the fourth player to go directly from college to the PGA Tour without going through Q School, following Gary Hallberg, Scott Verplank, and Phil Mickelson.

Professional career

Leonard's wins on the PGA Tour included one of golf's four majors, the 1997 Open Championship, as well as the 1998 Players Championship. He ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for 24 weeks in 1998 and 1999. [3] Leonard also had opportunities to win other major championships, notably at the 1999 Open Championship and the 2004 PGA Championship; in both instances he fell into a playoff with a bogey on the 72nd hole.

At the 1997 PGA Championship, Leonard was tied with Davis Love III for the 54-hole lead. Love shot a final round 66 to win by five shots over Leonard, who finished solo second. Leonard was ahead by three shots at the 54-hole mark of the 2002 PGA Championship before shooting a final round 77 and finishing tied for fourth.

Leonard qualified for the United States Ryder Cup team in 1997, 1999, and 2008. In the 1999 event, Leonard made a 45-foot (14 m) putt for birdie on the 17th hole to complete a remarkable comeback by the U.S. team on the final day. The victory was somewhat marred by the celebration following Leonard's putt, when other U.S. players, their wives, and a few fans ran onto the green even though Leonard's opponent, José María Olazábal, still had an opportunity to match Leonard on the hole.

In 2015, Leonard moved to Aspen, Colorado, which is not conducive to the year-round practice of golf and began to transition to a career as a golf announcer. [4] After using his career money list exemption for the 2015–16 season and failing to make the FedEx Cup, Leonard played the 2016–17 season with past champion status. He played in only 16 tournaments that year, his best finish being a tie for 16th at the Northern Trust Open. In 2017, he played in only one tournament, the Texas Open, where he finished in 58th. [4]

He returned to the PGA for one event in 2022, competing in the Byron Nelson where he failed to make the cut. It was his last event before turning 50 and qualifying for the PGA Tour Champions. [5]

PGA Tour Champions

Leonard made his PGA Tour Champions debut at the 2022 Senior Players Championship where he finished in 61st place.

In 2023, his first full season on the tour, he carded a course record score of 62 in the first round of the American Family Insurance Championship at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisconsin and finished tied for 4th, his best finish since 2014. [6] Later that season he finished in a tie for 1st at the PURE Insurance Championship, but lost the playoff to Thongchai Jaidee on the 4th sudden-death hole. [7] It was his best finish since winning the 2008 St. Jude Open.

Broadcasting career

Leonard joined Golf Channel in 2015 as an analyst for Golf Central "Live From" and PGA Tour live tournament coverage. In 2020, he assumed an elevated role on Golf Central "Live From" as an analyst on the program's primetime shows. [8]

Amateur wins

Professional wins (13)

PGA Tour wins (12)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Players Championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (10)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1Aug 4, 1996 Buick Open 65-64-69-68=266−225 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Chip Beck
2Jun 8, 1997 Kemper Open 69-69-69-67=274−101 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Mark Wiebe
3Jul 20, 1997 The Open Championship 69-66-72-65=272−123 strokes Ulster Banner.svg Darren Clarke, Flag of Sweden.svg Jesper Parnevik
4Mar 29, 1998 The Players Championship 72-69-70-67=278−102 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Glen Day, Flag of the United States.svg Tom Lehman
5Sep 24, 2000 Westin Texas Open 64-68-65-64=261−195 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Mark Wiebe
6Sep 30, 2001 Texas Open (2)65-64-68-69=266−182 strokes Flag of the United States.svg J. J. Henry, Flag of the United States.svg Matt Kuchar
7Apr 21, 2002 WorldCom Classic - The Heritage of Golf 67-64-66-73=270−141 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Heath Slocum
8Mar 16, 2003 The Honda Classic 63-70-64-67=264−241 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Chad Campbell, Flag of the United States.svg Davis Love III
9Jan 30, 2005 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic 66-67-68-64-67=332−283 strokes Flag of South Africa.svg Tim Clark, Flag of the United States.svg Joe Ogilvie
10May 29, 2005 FedEx St. Jude Classic 62-65-66-73=266−141 stroke Flag of the United States.svg David Toms
11Oct 7, 2007 Valero Texas Open (3)65-67-64-65=261−19Playoff Flag of Sweden.svg Jesper Parnevik
12Jun 8, 2008 Stanford St. Jude Championship (2)68-73-67-68=276−4Playoff Flag of Australia (converted).svg Robert Allenby, Flag of South Africa.svg Trevor Immelman

PGA Tour playoff record (2–5)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1996 Phoenix Open Flag of the United States.svg Phil Mickelson Lost to birdie on third extra hole
2 1999 The Open Championship Flag of Scotland.svg Paul Lawrie, Flag of France.svg Jean van de Velde Lawrie won four-hole aggregate playoff;
Lawrie: E (5-4-3-3=15),
Leonard: +3 (5-4-4-5=18),
van de Velde: +3 (6-4-3-5=18)
3 2002 Bell Canadian Open Flag of the United States.svg Neal Lancaster, Flag of the United States.svg John Rollins Rollins won with birdie on first extra hole
4 2004 PGA Championship Flag of the United States.svg Chris DiMarco, Flag of Fiji.svg Vijay Singh Singh won three-hole aggregate playoff;
Singh: −1 (3-3-4=10),
DiMarco: x (4-3-x=x),
Leonard: x (4-3-x=x)
5 2007 Valero Texas Open Flag of Sweden.svg Jesper Parnevik Won with birdie on third extra hole
6 2008 Stanford St. Jude Championship Flag of Australia (converted).svg Robert Allenby, Flag of South Africa.svg Trevor Immelman Won with birdie on second extra hole
7 2009 Children's Miracle Network Classic Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Stephen Ames, Flag of the United States.svg George McNeill Ames won with par on second extra hole
Leonard eliminated by par on first hole

Other wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runners-up
1Jul 11, 2000 CVS Charity Classic
(with Flag of the United States.svg Davis Love III)		60-66=126−163 strokes Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Elkington and Flag of the United States.svg Craig Stadler

Other playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
12006 Merrill Lynch Shootout
(with Flag of the United States.svg Scott Verplank)		 Flag of the United States.svg Jerry Kelly and Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rod Pampling Lost to bogey on first extra hole

Playoff record

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2023 PURE Insurance Championship Flag of Thailand.svg Thongchai Jaidee Lost to par on fourth extra hole

Major championships

Wins (1)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up
1997 The Open Championship 5 shot deficit−12 (69-66-72-65=272)3 strokes Ulster Banner.svg Darren Clarke, Flag of Sweden.svg Jesper Parnevik

Results timeline

Tournament1993199419951996199719981999
Masters Tournament CUTT27T7T8T18
U.S. Open T68LAT50T36T40T15
The Open Championship CUTT58CUT1T57T2
PGA Championship T8T52CUTCUT
Tournament2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
Masters Tournament T28T27T20CUTT35T13T39T20CUT
U.S. Open T16CUTT12T20CUTT23CUTCUTT36CUT
The Open Championship T41CUTT14CUTT16T52CUTT16T8
PGA Championship T41T10T4CUTT2CUTCUTCUTT58T67
Tournament2010201120122013201420152016201720182019
Masters Tournament CUT
U.S. Open T1459
The Open Championship CUTCUTCUTT13CUTCUTCUT
PGA Championship T39
Tournament20202021202220232024
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship
U.S. Open
The Open Championship NTCUT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

LA = low amateur
CUT = missed the half way cut
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament 0000261511
U.S. Open 0000051712
The Open Championship 1102372311
PGA Championship 0204661610
Totals130611247144

The Players Championship

Wins (1)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up
1998 The Players Championship 5 shot deficit−10 (72-69-70-67=278)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Glen Day, Flag of the United States.svg Tom Lehman

Results timeline

Tournament199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015
The Players Championship T34T65T371T23T22CUTT44T21T42CUTCUTCUTCUTT32T52T57T70T55T38CUT
  Win

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010
Match Play R32R32R16R64R32R64R64R644QFR64
Championship T11T25NT1T11T28T46T34T9
Invitational 20T2T28T23T50T19T31T9T2044T22
Champions

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No Tournament
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

Professional

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References

  1. ↑ "Week 19 1998 Ending 10 May 1998" (pdf). OWGR . Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  2. ↑ "2011-12 Texas Golf Fact Book" (PDF). www.grfx.cstv.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  3. ↑ "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking" (PDF). OWGR. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Ryder Cup hero and British Open champ Justin Leonard left the course to find his peak". golf.com. July 12, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  5. ↑ "AT&T Byron Nelson" . Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  6. ↑ Bartholomew, Colten (June 10, 2023). "Why a long break from golf helped Justin Leonard set an AmFam Championship record". Wisconsin State Journal.
  7. ↑ "2023 PURE Insurance Championship" . Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  8. ↑ "NBC Justin Leonard Bio" . Retrieved June 23, 2022.
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