Lee_Janzen
Lee Janzen
American professional golfer
Lee McLeod Janzen (born August 28, 1964) is an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the U.S. Open twice in 1993 and 1998. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions, and was an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour.
| Lee Janzen | |
|---|---|
Janzen in 2008 | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Lee MacLeod Janzen |
| Born | (1964-08-28) August 28, 1964 (age 59) Austin, Minnesota |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  United States |
| Residence | Orlando, Florida |
| Career | |
| College | Florida Southern College |
| Turned professional | 1986 |
| Current tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour U.S. Golf Tour |
| Professional wins | 16 |
| Highest ranking | 13 (November 26, 1995)[1] |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 8 |
| European Tour | 2 |
| PGA Tour Champions | 2 |
| Other | 6 |
| Best results in major championships (wins: 2) | |
| Masters Tournament | T12: 1995, 1996 |
| PGA Championship | 4th: 1997 |
| U.S. Open | Won: 1993, 1998 |
| The Open Championship | T24: 1995, 1998 |
Janzen was born in Austin, Minnesota, and spent most of his childhood in Baltimore, Maryland, where he played Little League baseball.[2] When Janzen was 12, his father's company transferred him to Florida and his parents started him in golf and tennis, and he continued playing baseball. Janzen liked golf best and started playing that sport exclusively. He won his first tournament at age 15 as a member of the Greater Tampa Junior Golf Association.[2]
Janzen chose to attend a small college – Florida Southern. In 1985 and 1986, Florida Southern won the Division II national team championship. Janzen was the individual medalist in 1986. He turned professional later that same year.
In 1989, Janzen joined the PGA Tour.[3] He has won eight times on the PGA Tour, most notably the 1993 and 1998 U.S. Opens. In 1993, Janzen defeated Payne Stewart at Baltusrol in Springfield, New Jersey, en route to tying the 72-hole U.S. Open scoring record of 8-under-par. Five years later, he again beat out Stewart to win his second U.S. Open, this time at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. He overcame a five stroke deficit on Sunday, marking the best final-round comeback in a U.S. Open for 25 years since Johnny Miller's win in 1973.[4]
Janzen also notched a victory at The Players Championship in 1995. The Players is a premiere event on the PGA Tour and includes the largest purse of the season. He has been featured in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking.
Janzen had several opportunities to win additional major golf championships. In 1996, he was in contention at both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship before finishing in the top-10 in both events. He finished fourth at the 1997 PGA Championship after sharing the 36-hole lead at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, New York.
Janzen also played on two American Ryder Cup teams, in 1993 and 1997.
Janzen has lived in various places in Central Florida since becoming a professional golfer. He is a Republican.[5]
PGA Tour wins (8)
| Legend |
| Major championships (2) |
| Players Championships (1) |
| Other PGA Tour (5) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb 16, 1992 | Northern Telecom Open | 71-67-67-65=270 | −18 | 1 stroke |  Bill Britton |
| 2 | Jan 31, 1993 | Phoenix Open | 67-65-73-68=273 | −11 | 2 strokes | Andrew Magee |
| 3 | Jun 20, 1993 | U.S. Open | 67-67-69-69=272 | −8 | 2 strokes | Payne Stewart |
| 4 | Jun 12, 1994 | Buick Classic | 69-69-64-66=268 | −16 | 3 strokes |  Ernie Els |
| 5 | Mar 26, 1995 | The Players Championship | 69-74-69-71=283 | −5 | 1 stroke |  Bernhard Langer |
| 6 | Jun 11, 1995 | Kemper Open | 68-69-68-67=272 | −12 | Playoff | Corey Pavin |
| 7 | Aug 20, 1995 | Sprint International | 34 pts (10-9-6-9=34) | 1 point | Ernie Els | |
| 8 | Jun 21, 1998 | U.S. Open (2) | 73-66-73-68=280 | E | 1 stroke | Payne Stewart |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1995 | Kemper Open | Corey Pavin |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
U.S. Golf Tour wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 7, 1989 | Reserve Invitational | 68-73-65-70=276 | −12 | 1 stroke | Steve Lowery |
| 2 | Jun 11, 1989 | Pepsi Open | 67-70-66-69=272 | −16 | 4 strokes | Marco Dawson |
Space Coast Tour wins (2)
Other wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 27, 1999 | Tylenol Par-3 Shootout | $260,000 | $30,000 | Phil Mickelson | |
| 2 | Nov 24, 2002 | Franklin Templeton Shootout (with Rocco Mediate) |
65-60-60=185 | −31 | 1 stroke | David Gossett and Matt Kuchar, John Huston and Jeff Maggert |
Other playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2014 | Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational | Tommy Armour III |
Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
PGA Tour Champions wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb 15, 2015 | ACE Group Classic | −16 (68-65-67=200) | Playoff | Bart Bryant |
| 2 | Oct 17, 2021 | SAS Championship | −12 (67-70-67=204) | Playoff |  Miguel Ángel Jiménez |
PGA Tour Champions playoff record (2–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2015 | ACE Group Classic | Bart Bryant |
Won with par on first extra hole |
| 2 | 2021 | SAS Championship | Miguel Ángel Jiménez |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
Wins (2)
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | U.S. Open | 1 shot lead | −8 (67-67-69-69=272) | 2 strokes | Payne Stewart |
| 1998 | U.S. Open (2) | 5 shot deficit | E (73-66-73-68=280) | 1 stroke | Payne Stewart |
Results timeline
| Tournament | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | ||||
| The Open Championship | |||||
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T54 | T39 | T30 | T12 | T12 | T26 | T33 | T14 | ||
| U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | 1 | CUT | T13 | T10 | T52 | 1 | T46 | |
| The Open Championship | T39 | T48 | T35 | T24 | CUT | CUT | T24 | 70 | ||
| PGA Championship | T21 | T22 | T66 | T23 | T8 | 4 | CUT | CUT |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | T31 | CUT | CUT | ||||||
| U.S. Open | T37 | CUT | CUT | T55 | T24 | T57 | CUT | T13 | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | CUT | T80 | CUT | |||||||
| PGA Championship | T19 | CUT | T53 | T34 | CUT |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | |||||
| The Open Championship | ||||||
| PGA Championship |
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 9 |
| U.S. Open | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 11 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 7 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 9 |
| Totals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 19 | 56 | 36 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1994 Open Championship – 1996 U.S. Open)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)
Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | The Players Championship | 1 shot deficit | −5 (69-74-69-71=283) | 1 stroke | Bernhard Langer |
Results timeline
| Tournament | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | CUT | CUT | T34 | T35 | 1 | T46 | T37 | T13 | CUT | T9 | T18 | CUT | 68 | CUT | T68 | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match Play | R32 | R64 | R64 | |
| Championship | NT1 | |||
| Invitational | T30 |
1Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament
- Ryder Cup: 1993 (winners), 1997
- Dunhill Cup: 1995
- Presidents Cup: 1998
- Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing PGA Tour): 1993, 1995, 1999
- "Week 47 1995 Ending 26 Nov 1995" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
- "PGA Tour Media Guide – Lee Janzen". PGA Tour. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
- "Lee Janzen bio". 4U management. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
- "U.S. Open History – Records". USGA. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- "Bearing gifts, Republican golfers meet with Obama". 20 June 2011.
- Woods, Bill (May 8, 1989). "Charging Janzen claims Reserve". The Tribune. Port St. Lucie, Florida. p. D1. Retrieved January 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- Henson, Bob (June 12, 1989). "Steady Janzen cruises to USGT Pepsi Open win". Florence Morning News. Florence, South Carolina. p. 1-B. Retrieved January 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Scoreboard | Golf | Space Coast Tour". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. December 14, 1988. p. C-6. Retrieved January 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- Purks, Scott (September 23, 1989). "Local wins big". The Tampa Tribune. Tampa, Florida. p. 6-P/H. Retrieved January 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- Lee Janzen at the PGA Tour official site
- Lee Janzen at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- Profile at the Florida Southern College Athletics Hall of Fame