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 life and amateur career Janzen was born in Austin, Minnesota, and spent most of his childhood in Baltimore, Maryland, where he played Little League baseball. 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.
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.
Professional career In 1986, Janzen turned professional later that same year. In 1989, Janzen joined the PGA Tour. 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.
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.
Personal life Janzen has lived in various places in Central Florida since becoming a professional golfer. He is a Republican.
Professional wins (16) PGA Tour wins (8) LegendMajor championships (2) Players Championships (1)Other PGA Tour (5) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1 Feb 16, 1992Northern Telecom Open 71-67-67-65=270−181 stroke Bill Britton2Jan 31, 1993Phoenix Open67-65-73-68=273−112 strokes Andrew Magee3Jun 20, 1993U.S. Open67-67-69-69=272−82 strokes Payne Stewart4Jun 12, 1994Buick Classic69-69-64-66=268−163 strokes Ernie Els5Mar 26, 1995The Players Championship 69-74-69-71=283−51 stroke Bernhard Langer6Jun 11, 1995Kemper Open68-69-68-67=272−12Playoff Corey Pavin7Aug 20, 1995Sprint International34 pts (10-9-6-9=34)1 point Ernie Els8Jun 21, 1998U.S. Open (2)73-66-73-68=280E1 stroke Payne Stewart
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult11995Kemper Open Corey PavinWon with birdie on first extra hole
U.S. Golf Tour wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1 May 7, 1989Reserve Invitational68-73-65-70=276−121 stroke Steve Lowery2 Jun 11, 1989Pepsi Open67-70-66-69=272−164 strokes Marco Dawson Sources:
Space Coast Tour wins (2) 1988 Wedgewood tournament 1989 Poinciana tournament
Other wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1 Jul 27, 1999Tylenol Par-3 Shootout$260,000$30,000 Phil Mickelson2Nov 24, 2002Franklin Templeton Shootout(with Rocco Mediate)65-60-60=185−311 stroke David Gossett and Matt Kuchar, John Huston and Jeff Maggert
Other playoff record (0–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12014Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational Tommy Armour IIILost to birdie on first extra hole
PGA Tour Champions wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Feb 15, 2015ACE Group Classic−16 (68-65-67=200)Playoff Bart Bryant2Oct 17, 2021SAS Championship−12 (67-70-67=204)Playoff Miguel Ángel Jiménez
PGA Tour Champions playoff record (2–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12015ACE Group Classic Bart BryantWon with par on first extra hole22021SAS Championship Miguel Ángel JiménezWon with birdie on first extra hole
Major championships
Wins (2) YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-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 TournamentU.S. OpenCUTThe Open ChampionshipPGA Championship Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Masters TournamentT54T39T30T12T12T26T33T14U.S. OpenCUTCUT1CUTT13T10T521T46The Open ChampionshipT39T48T35T24CUTCUTT2470PGA ChampionshipT21T22T66T23T84CUTCUT Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009Masters TournamentCUTT31CUTCUTU.S. OpenT37CUTCUTT55T24T57CUTT13CUTThe Open ChampionshipCUTT80CUTPGA ChampionshipT19CUTT53T34CUT Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015Masters TournamentU.S. OpenCUTThe Open ChampionshipPGA 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 madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 3 12 9U.S. Open 2 0 0 2 3 6 20 11The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 4 11 7PGA Championship 0 0 0 1 2 6 13 9Totals 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) YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up 1995 The Players Championship 1 shot deficit −5 (69-74-69-71=283) 1 stroke Bernhard Langer
Results timeline Tournament19911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010The Players ChampionshipCUTCUTT34T351T46T37T13CUTT9T18CUT68CUTT68CUT
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place.
Results in World Golf Championships Tournament1999200020012002Match PlayR32R64R64ChampionshipNT1InvitationalT30 1Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = Tied NT = No tournament
U. S. national team appearances Ryder Cup: 1993 (winners), 1997 Dunhill Cup: 1995 Presidents Cup: 1998 Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing PGA Tour): 1993, 1995, 1999
See also 1989 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
References
External links
Profile at the Florida Southern College Athletics Hall of Fame