Watch Justin Leonard’s eagle on the final hole to win his second senior title this year
Justin Leonard wasn’t exactly sure how many strokes he was behind on the 18th hole Sunday at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, but he knew he needed to do something special.
After a solid drive at the Country Club of Virginia’s James River Course, he said he had “a perfect 4-hybrid number” into the green on the par-5 home hole in Richmond. He hit that smooth hybrid to just outside 20 feet and made the right-to-left breaking eagle putt to shoot four-under 68 and capture the first Schwab Cup playoff event.
Leonard, 53, shot 66-70-68 for a 12-under 204 total to top Thomas Bjorn and Ernie Els by a shot. Bjorn birdied the final hole to come up one short while Els bogeyed the 17th hole and only managed par at the last, missing a 10-foot attempt for birdie. This is Leonard’s second PGA Tour Champions victory this season, following the Chubb Classic in February.
“It was a battle,” Leonard, a 12-time PGA Tour winner, said. “Almost one of those days where scores and numbers don't matter as much, you've just got to manage the conditions. The wind was moving around a little bit and so it was very tricky.”
The ageless, 68-year-old Bernhard Langer, who has won at least one event every year since he turned 50, was two shots off the lead late until a three-putt bogey ended his chances of a first victory this season. He shot 72 and tied for fifth place.
Sixty-nine of the top 72 in Schwab Cup standings were at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic. Now the top 54 advance to next week’s Simmons Bank Championship in Arkansas. Following that event, the top 36 will advance to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship (Nov. 13-16) at Phoenix Country Club in Arizona.
Leonard’s victory moved him from 17th to ninth in standings.
“It's nice,” he said. “I've been on this nice run here the last three or four months and I've had some chances to win and played some pretty good golf. Maybe not my best golf through it but today was really special on a really special golf course, great crowds.”
