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Justin Leonard

United States · born , Dallas, USA

1major championship

Summary

  • First major 1997 The Open
  • Ryder Cup 3 Cups · 2-4-6 · 5 points (41.7%)
  • Runner-up in majors 3 times
  • Other titles 1992 U.S. Amateur
  • 2025 PGA Tour 1 events · 0 top 10s

Wins

  1. 1992 U.S. Amateur Muirfield Village Golf Club · 8 & 7
  2. 1997 The Open Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · 272 (-12) · by 3 strokes from Darren Clarke and Jesper Parnevik

Near misses

  1. 1997 PGA Championship Winged Foot Golf Club (West) · runner-up to Davis Love III · 274
  2. 1999 The Open Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course) · runner-up to Paul Lawrie · 290 · lost playoff
  3. 2004 PGA Championship Whistling Straits (Straits Course) · runner-up to Vijay Singh · 280 · lost playoff
  4. 2009 The Open Turnberry (Ailsa Course) · finished T8 · 281 (+1)

Ryder Cup

3 Cups, 12 matches: 2 won, 4 lost, 6 halved, 5 points. Foursomes 1-2-2, four-ball 1-1-2, singles 0-1-2.

  1. 1997 Valderrama Golf Club USA · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 0-2-2, 1 point · automatic
  2. 1999 The Country Club (Championship/Composite Course) USA · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 0-1-3, 1.5 points · automatic
  3. 2008 Valhalla Golf Club USA · USA won 16.5–11.5 · 2-1-1, 2.5 points · automatic

Rivals

Beat him

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Davis Love III's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1997 Open Darren Clarke drove out of bounds onto the beach at the 2nd in the final round and made a double bogey.
  2. 1997 Open Leonard holed a 15-foot birdie putt at the 16th and a 30-foot birdie putt at the 17th to close with 65, while leader Parnevik bogeyed the 17th and 18th.
  3. 1999 Ryder Cup Justin Leonard holed a long birdie putt on 17 (given as 45 ft and as 40 ft in WP) to square his match with Olazábal. U.S. players, wives and NBC cameramen then ran onto the green before Olazábal's putt, and Olazábal missed his reply.

Results by championship

    Best day

    1997 The Open

    Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · 272 (-12) · by 3 strokes from Darren Clarke and Jesper Parnevik

    Darren Clarke drove out of bounds onto the beach at the 2nd in the final round and made a double bogey.

    Leonard holed a 15-foot birdie putt at the 16th and a 30-foot birdie putt at the 17th to close with 65, while leader Parnevik bogeyed the 17th and 18th.

    Chosen by rule: his widest winning margin in a major. Year page: 1997.

    Career line, 1992–2025

    PGA Championship
    1997 PGA Championship: runner-up to Davis Love III2004 PGA Championship: runner-up to Vijay Singh
    The Open
    1997 The Open: won1999 The Open: runner-up to Paul Lawrie2009 The Open: finished T8
    Ryder Cup
    1997 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-2-21999 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-1-32008 Ryder Cup (USA): 2-1-1
    U.S. Amateur
    1992 U.S. Amateur: won
    PGA Tour 2024–26
    2025 PGA Tour season: 1 events
    200020102020

    10 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Other win
    • Runner-up
    • Top 10
    • Ryder Cup, USA
    • Tour season

    Justin Leonard was born on June 15, 1972, in Dallas, USA. Leonard won one major championship: the 1997 Open. Leonard played in 3 Ryder Cups for USA (1997, 1999, 2008), winning 2, losing 4 and halving 6 of 12 matches for 5 points. In the 2025 PGA Tour season, Leonard played 1 event.

    See Justin Leonard in our rooms: The Open, Greatest Golfer by State and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (1)

    1. 1992 U.S. Amateur Muirfield Village Golf Club · 8 & 7
    2. 1997 The Open Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · 272 (-12) · by 3 strokes from Darren Clarke and Jesper Parnevik

    Near misses

    Top-10 finishes are listed for The Open, the one championship with a full top 10 every year.

    1. 1997 PGA Championship Winged Foot Golf Club (West) · runner-up to Davis Love III · 274
    2. 1999 The Open Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course) · runner-up to Paul Lawrie · 290 · lost playoff
    3. 2004 PGA Championship Whistling Straits (Straits Course) · runner-up to Vijay Singh · 280 · lost playoff
    4. 2009 The Open Turnberry (Ailsa Course) · finished T8 · 281 (+1)

    Ryder Cup

    Leonard played 3 Ryder Cups for USA: 12 matches, 2 won, 4 lost, 6 halved, 5 points (41.7% of those available). By format: foursomes 1-2-2, four-ball 1-1-2, singles 0-1-2 (won-lost-halved). Vice-captain: 2027 (named).

    1. 1997 Valderrama Golf Club USA · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 0-2-2, 1 point · automatic
    2. 1999 The Country Club (Championship/Composite Course) USA · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 0-1-3, 1.5 points · automatic
    3. 2008 Valhalla Golf Club USA · USA won 16.5–11.5 · 2-1-1, 2.5 points · automatic

    Partners, with matches played together: Hunter Mahan (3), Jeff Maggert (1), Brad Faxon (1), Tiger Woods (1), Davis Love III (1), Payne Stewart (1), Hal Sutton (1).

    PGA Tour seasons, 2024–2026

    1. 2025 Season 1 events · 0 wins · 0 top 10s · 1 cuts made · $41,550 official money (No. 220)

    2026 runs through the Baycurrent Classic (ended October 11, 2026).

    Other wins in championships we cover

    1. 1992 U.S. Amateur Muirfield Village Golf Club · 8 & 7

    Sources

    Elsewhere: Wikipedia · Wikidata.

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. where2golf
    2. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
    3. WP: Justin Leonard
    4. Golf Compendium
    5. Wikidata: Q1343627
    6. R&A 1997
    7. GC 1997
    8. R&A 2009
    9. GC: 1997 ryder cup
    10. SI Vault 1997 — link no longer works (checked October 17, 2026): https://vault.si.com/vault/1997/08/25/you-da-man-lee-janzen-made-tom-kites-job-as-captain-a-little-easier-by-proving-with-his-play-at-winged-foot-that-he-belonged-on-the-ryder-cup-team
    11. Wikipedia: 1997 Ryder Cup
    12. GC: 1999 ryder cup
    13. Wikipedia: 1999 Ryder Cup
    14. CBS News 1999
    15. Golf Channel
    16. GC: 2008 ryder cup
    17. Wikipedia: 2008 Ryder Cup
    18. Today's Golfer 2008
    19. ESPN statistics API
    20. Wikipedia: U.S. Amateur
    21. championships-plt.usga.org: u s amateur champions
    22. Wikipedia: Muirfield Village