Justin Leonard didn’t know exactly how many shots behind he was on the 18th hole of the Dominion Energy Charity Classic on Sunday, but he knew he needed to do something special.
He said he hit the “perfect 4-hybrid number” on the green on Richmond’s par-5 home hole after a steady drive on the James River Course at Virginia Country Club. He hit the smooth hybrid just outside of 20 feet and made a right-to-left breaking eagle putt for a 4-under 68 and victory in his first Schwab Cup playoff event.
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Leonard, 53, shot 66-70-68 for a total of 12-under 204, beating Thomas Bjorn and Ernie Els by one stroke. Bjorn made a birdie on the final hole and fell one short, but Els made bogey on the 17th hole and only made par in the end, missing a 10-foot chance for birdie. This is Leonard’s second PGA Tour Champions victory this season, following February’s Chubb Classic.
“It was a battle,” said Leonard, a 12-time winner on the PGA Tour. “On days when scores and numbers aren’t so important, you just have to manage the conditions. The wind was moving a little bit, so it was very tricky.”
Bernhard Langer, 68, whose age is unknown and who has won at least one tournament every year since he turned 50, was within two strokes of the leader in the closing stages, but a three-putt bogey ended his chances of winning his first championship of the season. He shot 72 and tied for 5th place.
Sixty-nine of the top 72 players in the Schwab Cup standings were participating in the Dominion Energy Charity Classic. The top 54 will now advance to the Simmons Bank Championship in Arkansas next week. After this event, the top 36 finishers will advance to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship (November 13-16) at Phoenix Country Club in Arizona.
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Leonard’s win moved him from 17th to 9th place.
“That’s nice,” he said. “I’ve had some great results here over the last three or four months, had some chances to win, and played some pretty good golf. It might not have been my best golf all this time, but it’s a really special golf course, we had a great crowd, and today was really special.”
