PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — The reason Justin Leonard is ranked No. 4,689 in the world is, to my understanding, because there is no No. 4,690. He’s tied for last.
And that’s about to change.
Past champions are exempt into the Open until they’re 55 years old; Leonard, 53, won the 1997 event at Royal Troon. But in 2016 he stopped playing the PGA Tour and stopped playing major championships, too. After he played the Open that year he and his family moved to Colorado; it was the beginning of an eight-year hiatus.
When I spoke to Leonard a few years ago for GOLF Magazine, he explained that feeling.
“Back in 2015, when we moved [to Aspen], I wanted to step off the grid a little bit. I knew I was going to pull back my schedule or stop playing altogether, and it seemed like a good place to just slow life down.”
The hero of the 1999 Ryder Cup stayed in golf, working events for NBC Sports. The last time the Open came to Royal Portrush, in 2019, Leonard was here as a member of the media. Away from that work, he mostly spent his time outside — and off the course. When golf’s middle-aged magic number of 50 approached and he heard the siren song of the Champions tour, Leonard started hitting balls again. He found that he still had plenty of game. When he teed it up he proved he still had what it took to compete. In 2024, he played his first major in eight years — but he shot 80-78 and missed the cut by 10. All of which makes this year’s Open performance that much more impressive.
“Me making the cut is kind of contending”
Leonard played a remarkable first round, logging three birdies on the front nine and finishing off a one-under 70 to crack the top 20. He shot three-over 39 going out on Friday — but then he got the wheels back on the tracks with a birdie at 11, and after a bogey at 16 came back with a 23-footer for birdie at 17. A par at 18 got him to one over and inside the cut line by a single shot.
It was his first major made cut in more than 11 years (2014 U.S. Open).
Saturday he showed that was far more than a fluke, parring the first 11 holes of his third round before making birdie at 12, bogey at 13, birdie at 15 and signing for another one-under 70 to bring him back to where he started: even par for the tournament.
What sense of pride did he feel in making the weekend?
“Not really emotions,” Leonard said post-round Saturday, but then he caught himself. “Yes, there are emotions. Just happy that I came over here and played the way I did the last couple of days. Yesterday didn’t get off to a good start. It could have unraveled pretty quickly, but I played some solid golf on the back nine.
The breakout star of this Open Championship hasn’t hit a single shot
“To come over at my experience — and age — and make the cut is pretty special. Then to come out and play pretty solid today felt good.”
