1992 U.S. Amateur

Site: Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio
Date: August 25-30, 1992

The Setting
Justin entered the 92nd U.S. Amateur as winner of the 1992 Western Amateur and 1992 Southern Amateur, two of amateur golf's most prestigious national events. He was one of 27 Texans in the starting field of 312 players. He earned his spot in the field after winning medalist honors over 36 holes the day after winning the 36-hole Western Amateur final. One of the young favorites in the field along with stroke play medalist David Duval, Leonard was familiar with Duval and recognized him as the guy to beat along with the core group that would make up the 1993 Walker Cup Team. Due to the match play format, Leonard was focused solely on being better than the guy he faced each day.

Stroke Play
Justin fired rounds of 75-67-142 to qualify for match play round. He made two 30-foot birdie putts on the second day to help him advance to match play. David Duval was medalist with a 69-67-136. A 16-year-old Tiger Woods shot 78-66-144 to also qualify for the match play round.

Match Play, Round One
Justin defeated Robert Gregorski, an attorney from Wisconsin, 2-up. The match was delayed by lightning with Justin leading 3-up after eight holes. He had just won the eighth hole with a 12-foot birdie. When the match resumed the next day, he struggled with the putter, having 3-putts on Nos. 10, 13 and 14 and missed par putts of five feet at No. 15 and 10 feet at No. 17. His 4-up lead after 12 holes shrunk to 1-up thru 17 holes, but he was able to win the match, 2-up.

Match Play, Round Two
Unlike Leonard, University of Florida junior Brian Gay, his second round opponent, completed his first round match before the storm delay hit during the first day's play, so he teed it up fresh for the match against Leonard. He birdied Nos. 7-9 fom 12, 15 and five feet to go 3-up on Gay then won with a six-foot birdie at No. 14.

Match Play, Round Three
Defeated Robert Hughes, a 31-year-old property inspector and bartender from Watertown, N.Y., 4&3. Leonard jumped to a 4-up lead on Hughes with four birdies thru 12 holes.

Match Play, Quarterfinals
Trailing his quarterfinals opponent, Arkansas junior David White, by 4-down with nine to play, things looked bleak for Leonard. He birdied Nos. 11-13 and No. 17 in what he would call his then "greatest comeback." Leonard had parred the first three holes of the match, but birdies by White on each hole left him in an early 3-down deficit. Making the turn at 4-down, he won six of the next eight holes, including a 25-footer for birdie at No. 12. He clinched with a 15-foot birdie on No. 17.

Match Play, Semifinals
Leonard was even with 1991 Walker Cup Team Member Allen Doyle, 44, thru 15 holes and proceeded to birdie Nos. 16 and 17 from six-and-a-half and four feet after two bogeys in a row. He hit a 218-yard 5-iron on the par-3 16th and a 138-yard wedge at No. 17, both downwind. Early in the round, Leonard won the seventh hole with an eagle after holing out with an 8-iron from 138 yards. He had landed a shot on the fly in the same cup that morning against David White, but it bounced out and landed 12 feet away.

Finals
Leonard took all of the suspense from the final match against Tom Scherrer with nine birdies in 29 holes and a 9&8 victory. It was the most lopsided U.S. Amateur final since Jay Sigel beat Chris Perry by the same score in 1983. He built an early 3-up lead with birdies at Nos. 2, 6 and 11 and chip-ins from 18 feet at No. 4 and 30-feet at No. 14. Leonard lost only one hole on the first 18. To start the second 18, he birdied the first two holes to move ahead 7-up and went to 8-up when Scherrer bogeyed No. 10 and finished the rout with a par on No. 11. Scherrer played well, but Leonard simply got it going early and never let up.

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