Justin Leonard

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. 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. 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 ft 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.

Broadcasting career

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. Leonard joined Golf Channel in 2015 as an analyst for Golf Central "Live From" and PGA Tour live tournament coverage.

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.

In 2020, he assumed an elevated role on Golf Central "Live From" as an analyst on the program's primetime shows.

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.

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. 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. It was his best finish since winning the 2008 St. Jude Open. In February 2025, he won his first senior event, the Chubb Classic.

Amateur wins

• 1992 Western Amateur, Southern Amateur, U.S. Amateur
• 1993 Western Amateur, Southern Amateur
• 1994 NCAA Division I Championship

Professional wins (15)

PGA Tour wins (12)

PGA Tour playoff record (2–5)

Other wins (1)

Other playoff record (0–1)

PGA Tour Champions wins (2)

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (0–1)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

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

• Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1996 PGA – 1998 Open Championship)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1997 Open Championship – 1998 Masters)

The Players Championship

Wins (1)

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Results in World Golf Championships

1Cancelled due to 9/11

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.

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

• Eisenhower Trophy: 1992
• Walker Cup: 1993 (winners)

Professional

• Presidents Cup: 1996 (winners), 1998, 2003 (tie), 2005 (winners), 2009 (winners)
• Ryder Cup: 1997, 1999 (winners), 2008 (winners)
• Dunhill Cup: 1997
• World Cup: 1997, 2003
• Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing PGA Tour): 1998, 1999

References

References

1. "2011-12 Texas Golf Fact Book".
2. "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking". OWGR.
3. "NBC Justin Leonard Bio".
4. (12 July 2017). "Ryder Cup hero and British Open champ Justin Leonard left the course to find his peak". golf.com.
5. "AT&T Byron Nelson".
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".
8. (February 16, 2025). "Justin Leonard claims 1st PGA Tour Champions win at Chubb Classic". ESPN.