Justin Leonard
Justin Charles Garrett Leonard is an American professional golfer. He has twelve career wins on the PGA Tour, including one major, the 1997 Open Championship.
Early years
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Leonard attended Lake Highlands High School and graduated in 1990. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and was the individual NCAA champion in 1994. He won the 1992 U.S. Amateur and was a two-time All-American in 1993 and 1994. He won the Haskins Award in 1994 as the most outstanding collegiate golfer. That same year Leonard became only the fourth golfer to go directly from college to the PGA Tour without going through Q School, after Gary Hallberg, Scott Verplank, and Phil Mickelson.PGA Tour
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 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.
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.
Starting in June 2020, when he turns 48 years old, he will be eligible for the Korn Ferry Tour under that tour's special eligibility rules for golfers 48 and 49 years old, as a segue into a player becoming a PGA Tour Champions player. He will also be eligible for The Open until 2032.
Amateur wins (6)
- 1992 Western Amateur, Southern Amateur, U.S. Amateur
- 1993 Western Amateur, Southern Amateur
- 1994 NCAA Division I Championship
Professional wins (13)
PGA Tour wins (12)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-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 at LaCantera | 64-68-65-64=261 | −19 | 5 strokes | Mark Wiebe |
| 6 | Sep 30, 2001 | Texas Open at LaCantera | 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 | 65-67-64-65=261 | −19 | Playoff | Jesper Parnevik |
| 12 | Jun 8, 2008 | Stanford St. Jude Championship | 68-73-67-68=276 | −4 | Playoff |  Robert Allenby, Trevor Immelman |
PGA Tour playoff record
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | 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, Leonard: +3, van de Velde: +3 |
| 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, DiMarco: x, Leonard: 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 with par on first hole |
Other wins (1)
Other playoff record| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
| 1 | 2006 | Merrill Lynch Shootout | Jerry Kelly and Rod Pampling | Lost to bogey on first extra hole |
Major championships
Wins (1)
Results timeline
LA = Low AmateurCUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Summary
- Most consecutive cuts made – 8
- Longest streak of top-10s – 3
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 9/11QF, 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
- Presidents Cup: 1996, 1998, 2003, 2005, 2009
- Ryder Cup: 1997, 1999, 2008
- Dunhill Cup: 1997
- World Cup: 1997, 2003
- Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge : 1998, 1999