Justin Leonard

Who is Justin Leonard?

Justin Charles Garrett Leonard is an American professional golfer.

Leonard was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. He 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.

Leonard's first twelve wins on the PGA Tour included one of golf's four majors – the 1997 Open Championship; and the 1998 Players Championship. He ranked in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for twenty four weeks in 1998 and 1999. He also had four other strong opportunities to win major championships; he lost playoffs at the 1999 Open Championship and the 2004 PGA Championship, in both instances falling into the 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.