| Justin Leonard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Leonard in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Justin Charles Garrett Leonard | ||
| Born | (1972-06-15)June 15, 1972 (age 53) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) | ||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||
| Residence | Aspen, Colorado, U.S. | ||
| Spouse | Amanda | ||
| Children | 4 | ||
| Career | |||
| College | University of Texas | ||
| Turned professional | 1994 | ||
| Current tour | PGA Tour Champions | ||
| Former tour | PGA Tour | ||
| Professional wins | 15 | ||
| Highestranking | 6 (May 10, 1998)[1] | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| PGA Tour | 12 | ||
| European Tour | 1 | ||
| PGA Tour Champions | 2 | ||
| Other | 1 | ||
| 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 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Justin Charles Garrett Leonard (born June 15, 1972) is an Americanprofessional golfer. He has 12 career wins on thePGA Tour, including one major, the1997 Open Championship. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He is one of only five players to win the U.S. Amateur, the NCAA Individual Championship, and a major golf tournament.
Leonard was born and raised inDallas,Texas. He graduated fromLake Highlands High School in 1990.
Leonard attended theUniversity of Texas inAustin. 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 individualNCAA championship in 1994 and the Southwest Conference Championship a record 4 times (1991-1994). He won the 1992U.S. Amateur. He made the All-Southwest Conference team every year he was in college and was a three-time 1st teamAll-American (1992, 1993, 1994) - and a 2nd team All-American in 1991. He won theHaskins 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 thePGA Tour without going throughQ School, followingGary Hallberg,Scott Verplank, andPhil Mickelson.
Leonard's wins on thePGA Tour included one of golf's fourmajors, the1997 Open Championship, as well as the1998 Players Championship. He ranked in the top 10 of theOfficial World Golf Ranking for 24 weeks in 1998 and 1999.[3] Leonard also had opportunities to win other major championships, notably at the1999 Open Championship and the2004 PGA Championship; in both instances he fell into a playoff with a bogey on the 72nd hole.
At the1997 PGA Championship, Leonard was tied withDavis 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 the2002 PGA Championship before shooting a final round 77 and finishing tied for fourth.
Leonard qualified for the United StatesRyder Cup team in1997,1999, and2008. 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 toAspen, Colorado, which is not conducive to the year-round practice of golf and began to transition to a career as a golf announcer.[4] Leonard joined Golf Channel in 2015 as an analyst for Golf Central "Live From" and PGA Tour live tournament coverage.[5]
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]
In 2020, he assumed an elevated role on Golf Central "Live From" as an analyst on the program's primetime shows.[5]
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 thePGA Tour Champions.[6]
Leonard made his PGA Tour Champions debut at the 2022Senior 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 theAmerican Family Insurance Championship at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisconsin and finished tied for 4th, his best finish since 2014.[7] Later that season he finished in a tie for 1st at thePURE Insurance Championship, but lost the playoff toThongchai Jaidee on the 4th sudden-death hole.[8] It was his best finish since winning the 2008 St. Jude Open. In February 2025, he won his first senior event, theChubb Classic.[9]
| Legend |
|---|
| Major championships (1) |
| Players Championships (1) |
| Other PGA Tour (10) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 4,1996 | Buick Open | 65-64-69-68=266 | −22 | 5 strokes |  Chip Beck |
| 2 | Jun 8,1997 | Kemper Open | 69-69-69-67=274 | −10 | 1 stroke | Mark Wiebe |
| 3 | Jul 20, 1997 | The Open Championship | 69-66-72-65=272 | −12 | 3 strokes |  Darren Clarke, Jesper Parnevik |
| 4 | Mar 29,1998 | The Players Championship | 72-69-70-67=278 | −10 | 2 strokes | Glen Day,Tom Lehman |
| 5 | Sep 24,2000 | Westin Texas Open | 64-68-65-64=261 | −19 | 5 strokes | Mark Wiebe |
| 6 | Sep 30,2001 | Texas Open (2) | 65-64-68-69=266 | −18 | 2 strokes | J. J. Henry,Matt Kuchar |
| 7 | Apr 21,2002 | WorldCom Classic - The Heritage of Golf | 67-64-66-73=270 | −14 | 1 stroke | Heath Slocum |
| 8 | Mar 16,2003 | The Honda Classic | 63-70-64-67=264 | −24 | 1 stroke | Chad Campbell,Davis Love III |
| 9 | Jan 30,2005 | Bob Hope Chrysler Classic | 66-67-68-64-67=332 | −28 | 3 strokes |  Tim Clark,Joe Ogilvie |
| 10 | May 29, 2005 | FedEx St. Jude Classic | 62-65-66-73=266 | −14 | 1 stroke | David Toms |
| 11 | Oct 7,2007 | Valero Texas Open (3) | 65-67-64-65=261 | −19 | Playoff | Jesper Parnevik |
| 12 | Jun 8,2008 | Stanford St. Jude Championship (2) | 68-73-67-68=276 | −4 | Playoff |  Robert Allenby,Trevor Immelman |
PGA Tour playoff record (2–5)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996 | Phoenix Open | Phil Mickelson | Lost to birdie on third extra hole |
| 2 | 1999 | The Open Championship |  Paul Lawrie, 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 | Neal Lancaster,John Rollins | Rollins won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 4 | 2004 | PGA Championship | Chris DiMarco, 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 | Jesper Parnevik | Won with birdie on third extra hole |
| 6 | 2008 | Stanford St. Jude Championship | Robert Allenby,Trevor Immelman | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 7 | 2009 | Children's Miracle Network Classic |  Stephen Ames,George McNeill | Ames won with par on second extra hole Leonard eliminated by par on first hole |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 11, 2000 | CVS Charity Classic (with Davis Love III) | 60-66=126 | −16 | 3 strokes | Steve Elkington andCraig Stadler |
Other playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2006 | Merrill Lynch Shootout (with Scott Verplank) | Jerry Kelly andRod Pampling | Lost to bogey on first extra hole |
| Legend |
|---|
| Charles Schwab Cup playoff events (1) |
| Other PGA Tour Champions (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb 16,2025 | Chubb Classic | 68-65-68=201 | −15 | 4 strokes | Billy Andrade |
| 2 | Oct 19, 2025 | Dominion Energy Charity Classic | 66-70-68=204 | −12 | 1 stroke |  Thomas Bjørn,Ernie Els |
PGA Tour Champions playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2023 | PURE Insurance Championship |  Thongchai Jaidee | Lost to par on fourth extra hole |
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | The Open Championship | 5 shot deficit | −12 (69-66-72-65=272) | 3 strokes | Darren Clarke,Jesper Parnevik |
| Tournament | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | T27 | T7 | T8 | T18 | ||
| U.S. Open | T68LA | T50 | T36 | T40 | T15 | ||
| The Open Championship | CUT | T58 | CUT | 1 | T57 | T2 | |
| PGA Championship | T8 | T5 | 2 | CUT | CUT |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T28 | T27 | T20 | CUT | T35 | T13 | T39 | T20 | CUT | |
| U.S. Open | T16 | CUT | T12 | T20 | CUT | T23 | CUT | CUT | T36 | CUT |
| The Open Championship | T41 | CUT | T14 | CUT | T16 | T52 | CUT | T16 | T8 | |
| PGA Championship | T41 | T10 | T4 | CUT | T2 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T58 | T67 |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | |||||||||
| U.S. Open | T14 | 59 | ||||||||
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | CUT | T13 | CUT | CUT | CUT | |||
| PGA Championship | T39 |
| Tournament | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||||
| PGA Championship | ||||||
| U.S. Open | ||||||
| The Open Championship | NT | CUT | T59 |
LA = low amateur
CUT = missed the half way cut
NT = no tournament due toCOVID-19 pandemic
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 11 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 12 |
| The Open Championship | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 23 | 11 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 17 | 11 |
| Totals | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 24 | 72 | 45 |
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Players Championship | 5 shot deficit | −10 (72-69-70-67=278) | 2 strokes | Glen Day,Tom Lehman |
| Tournament | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | T34 | T65 | T37 | 1 | T23 | T22 | CUT | T44 | T21 | T42 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | T32 | T52 | T57 | T70 | T55 | T38 | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match Play | R32 | R32 | R16 | R64 | R32 | R64 | R64 | R64 | 4 | QF | R64 | |
| Championship | T11 | T25 | NT1 | T11 | T28 | T46 | T34 | T9 | ||||
| Invitational | 20 | T2 | T28 | T23 | T50 | T19 | T31 | T9 | T20 | 44 | T22 | |
| Champions | ||||||||||||
1Cancelled due to9/11
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.
Amateur
Professional
Justin Leonard in theRyder Cup | |||||||||||||||||
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Justin Leonard in thePresidents Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| International | |
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| National | |
