Lee Janzen

Lee Janzen
Janzen in 2008
Personal information
Full nameLee MacLeod Janzen
Born (1964-08-28) August 28, 1964 (age 60)
Austin, Minnesota, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceOrlando, Florida, U.S.
Career
CollegeFlorida Southern College
Turned professional1986
Current tour(s)PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
U.S. Golf Tour
Professional wins16
Highest ranking13 (November 26, 1995)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour8
European Tour2
PGA Tour Champions2
Other6
Best results in major championships
(wins: 2)
Masters TournamentT12: 1995, 1996
PGA Championship4th: 1997
U.S. OpenWon: 1993, 1998
The Open ChampionshipT24: 1995, 1998

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.

Early years and amateur career

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 NCAA Division II national team championship. Janzen was the individual champion in 1986. He turned professional later that same year.

Professional career

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]

Professional wins (16)

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 United States Bill Britton
2 Jan 31, 1993 Phoenix Open 67-65-73-68=273 −11 2 strokes United States Andrew Magee
3 Jun 20, 1993 U.S. Open 67-67-69-69=272 −8 2 strokes United States Payne Stewart
4 Jun 12, 1994 Buick Classic 69-69-64-66=268 −16 3 strokes South Africa Ernie Els
5 Mar 26, 1995 The Players Championship 69-74-69-71=283 −5 1 stroke Germany Bernhard Langer
6 Jun 11, 1995 Kemper Open 68-69-68-67=272 −12 Playoff United States Corey Pavin
7 Aug 20, 1995 Sprint International 34 pts (10-9-6-9=34) 1 point South Africa Ernie Els
8 Jun 21, 1998 U.S. Open (2) 73-66-73-68=280 E 1 stroke United States Payne Stewart

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1995 Kemper Open United States 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 United States Steve Lowery
2 Jun 11, 1989 Pepsi Open 67-70-66-69=272 −16 4 strokes United States Marco Dawson

Sources:[6][7]

Space Coast Tour wins (2)

  • 1988 Wedgewood tournament[8]
  • 1989 Poinciana tournament[9]

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 United States Phil Mickelson
2 Nov 24, 2002 Franklin Templeton Shootout
(with United States Rocco Mediate) 		65-60-60=185 −31 1 stroke United States David Gossett and United States Matt Kuchar,
United States John Huston and United States Jeff Maggert

Other playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2014 Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational United States 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 United States Bart Bryant
2 Oct 17, 2021 SAS Championship −12 (67-70-67=204) Playoff Spain Miguel Ángel Jiménez

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (2–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2015 ACE Group Classic United States Bart Bryant Won with par on first extra hole
2 2021 SAS Championship Spain Miguel Ángel Jiménez Won with birdie on first extra hole

Major championships

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 United States Payne Stewart
1998 U.S. Open (2) 5 shot deficit E (73-66-73-68=280) 1 stroke United States 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
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

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)

The Players Championship

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 Germany 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
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament 1999 2000 2001 2002
Match Play R32 R64 R64
Championship NT1
Invitational T30

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

U. S. national team appearances

See also

References

  1. ^ "Week 47 1995 Ending 26 Nov 1995" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "PGA Tour Media Guide – Lee Janzen". PGA Tour. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  3. ^ "Lee Janzen bio". 4U management. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  4. ^ "U.S. Open History – Records". USGA. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  5. ^ "Bearing gifts, Republican golfers meet with Obama". June 20, 2011.
  6. ^ Woods, Bill (May 8, 1989). "Charging Janzen claims Reserve". The Tribune. Port St. Lucie, Florida. p. D1. Retrieved January 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Scoreboard | Golf | Space Coast Tour". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. December 14, 1988. p. C-6. Retrieved January 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Purks, Scott (September 23, 1989). "Local wins big". The Tampa Tribune. Tampa, Florida. p. 6-P/H. Retrieved January 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.