Justin Leonard has yet to break through on the PGA Tour Champions, but with three top-10 finishes in his five starts this season, he’s inching ever closer. Last week was a home game for Leonard, who closed with a 67 and placed 10th at the Invited Celebrity Classic in Dallas. He even slept at his parents’ house while in the DFW, a rare treat that included nightly family dinners.
And the former University of Texas star is geared up for an even better showing this week at The Woodlands Country Club, site of the Insperity Invitational.
Leonard is still adjusting to the senior grind, as he’ll make his 10th official Champions start at a course this sits just on the opposite side of Kuykendahl Road from the Club at Carlton Woods, the site of last week’s first LPGA major of the season, the Chevron Championship.
And while he’s happy to be back in the routine of practicing and playing, Leonard admitted that he loved his time on TV, which started in 2015 when he joined Golf Channel. He’ll make one TV appearance at an event he’s synonymous with this year, but will steer clear of other broadcast productions to focus on his game.
“I think the only event I’m going to do this year is the Ryder Cup. I kind of made the decision last fall. Not that I played great in the events that I played, but I felt like I did well enough or showed enough good things where if I could put all my energy into playing that I could be competitive,” he said. “So kind of stepped away from my work with TV. Again, I’ll work the Ryder Cup this year because I enjoy being a part of that event. Those are, especially Friday and Saturday, a couple of really long days for the crew.
“It’ll be fun to be a part of that and step back in that world for a little bit, but it’s been nice just focusing my energy in one place, whereas last year, certainly at least there for two or three months, I was trying to do both.”
Justin Leonard of the United States looks on from the 13th green during the pro-am prior to the PNC Championship at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on December 16, 2022, in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Now that he’s had time to look back at his tenure on TV, one thing that sticks out for the 1997 Open Champion is how severe the learning curve was.
“Getting into broadcasting, there’s not a whole lot that can prepare you for that outside of going to school and studying journalism, which I did not. So that’s the reason I was so awful my…
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