Over the course of Justin Leonard’s lengthy — and successful — PGA Tour career, the now 52-year-old collected 12 wins, including a major championship. But after joining the PGA Tour Champions full-time in 2023, Leonard has yet to post a victory in 38 events on the senior circuit.
He’s come close, with a runner-up finish at last September’s PURE Insurance Championship, but Leonard hasn’t really contended down the stretch since.
That is, until this week’s Ascension Charity Classic in St. Louis, Mo. Leonard fired an opening round of four-under 67 on Friday to get himself in the mix at the top of the leaderboard. It was his best round since June’s U.S. Senior Open, when Leonard posted scores of 67-72-67-73 to finish T22.
To what did Leonard attribute the sudden turnaround? Turns out, all he needed was a phone lesson with his swing coach that took place in his driveway.
After last week’s final-round 75 left Leonard T58 at the Ally Challenge in Michigan, Leonard got on the phone with his coach, Randy Smith.
“After the Sunday in Michigan I was like, golly, should be better than this,” Leonard said on Friday from St. Louis. “To Randy, I didn’t have any swings to send him. It was Monday afternoon, I was home and talking to him. He said, well, sounds like you’ve got your grip too much in the palm. I’m like, what? He said well, if you’re battling left and this and that, you know, didn’t quite have speed with my driver and those things, feel like you get it in the fingers.
“So he tells me, I go out in the driveway while I’m on the phone with him with a club and tells me to swing it one-handed as hard as I could five or six times,” Leonard continued. “He said, don’t move anything. Where do you feel the club now? Yeah, it’s in my fingers. He said, is that where it’s felt? I was like, no. He said, okay, there you go.”
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The unconventional driveway lesson certainly had an impact, as Leonard posted four birdies and an eagle at Norwood Hills Country Club during Friday’s first round, and remains in contention after a second-round 70.
“That’s what I rolled into last week, was really trying to feel things in the fingers,” Leonard said. “Sure enough I’ve gotten a little more speed from it.”
A win on Sunday in St. Louis would not only be a first for Leonard on the PGA Tour Champions, it would also give him a meaningful boost in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, launching him from No. 64 to No. 31 as the regular season starts to wind down.
Still, regardless of what happens, like all golfers, Leonard is just happy to be striping it again.
“Look, we’re all nuts. We been doing this a long time and we’re trying to make a living off this game, so we’re all a little bit nutty. But it’s fun when you find a few things and then like you can have a round like today, which I haven’t played well seems like in a very long time,” he said. “Just as a bit of confirmation that what I’m doing is the right thing. I knew that going in, but it’s just nice to shoot a score and kind of justify it a little bit.”
If he can keep that positive momentum going for one more round, he could set himself up for a memorable Sunday indeed.