Show notes
Justin Leonard Breaks Down the US Open at Shinnecock — The Course, the Contenders, and Scottie's Chase for History
Justin Leonard knows what it takes to win on the biggest stages in golf. The 1997 Open Champion. A three-time Ryder Cup player. The man who hit the putt at Brookline in 1999 that completed one of the greatest comebacks in Ryder Cup history. Now a vice captain for Team USA heading into 2027, Justin joins Trey for a wide-ranging conversation that covers the US Open at Shinnecock, the state of the Ryder Cup, and a few personal stories along the way.
Shinnecock — American Links Golf
Justin's description of Shinnecock is simple and perfect — American links. Not modeled after anything else. Just itself. He spoke with NBC's Tommy Roy the morning of this interview, and Roy's assessment was equally simple — this place is made for this tournament.
The history of Shinnecock and the US Open has not always been smooth. In 2004, the USGA had to water a green between groupings because conditions got out of hand. In 2018, Brooks Koepka shot five over in the first round and still won, before the USGA toned the course down enough on Sunday for Tommy Fleetwood to shoot a 63. Justin's hope is simple — let this be a US Open where the story is the golf course, the difficulty, and the champion, without controversy in between. At Shinnecock, with firm and fast greens, the margin between a fair-but-tough pin placement and an unfair one is a matter of inches. He trusts the USGA and the Shinnecock grounds crew to tiptoe that line successfully.
Who Is Built for This
After a season everyone expected to be Scotty versus Rory at every major, Justin's pick for Shinnecock might surprise people. If he were a betting man — which he says he is not — he would take the field over either of the top two.
Three names stand out:
Cameron Young — playing with total confidence right now. Driving the ball beautifully, controlling his irons, putting well, and completely unfazed by results. Justin sees him practicing in Florida regularly and describes someone who keeps putting the work in regardless of outcomes — exactly the temperament Shinnecock demands.
Brooks Koepka — the last champion at Shinnecock in 2018, playing his way back into the form that produced five major championships. He says he's hitting the ball as well as ever. If his putting confidence comes around even slightly, he becomes a serious threat. He doesn't need to putt lights out — just make the putts he's supposed to make.
Alex Fitzpatrick — the sleeper. Five PGA Tour starts, over three and a half million dollars earned, multiple top tens, and a win at Zurich alongside brother Matt. Justin calls it playing with house money — and notes that a links golf background, which Fitzpatrick has, is a real advantage at Shinnecock given the bouncy conditions and runoff areas around the greens.
And one more name worth watching according to Trey — Aaron Rai, statistically the most accurate driver on the PGA Tour over the last three years. At a course where finding the fairway is paramount, that skill set lines up perfectly.
Scottie's Grand Slam Chase
Scottie Scheffler is one win away from the career grand slam, just as Rory completed his 15 months ago. Justin's read on Scottie's season is nuanced — the bar Scheffler set over the previous three to four years was so high that "what's wrong with him" became a real question, even though he's still having a great year statistically.
The pattern Justin identifies — Scottie has had a tendency this season to play a mediocre first round, sometimes a couple over par, then play his way back into contention over the next three days. In a regular tour event that's recoverable. In a major, that first-round deficit becomes much harder to overcome. Justin draws the parallel to Rory's own stretch after winning the 2014 PGA at Valhalla — shooting himself out of contention on Thursdays despite playing great the rest of the week.
As for whether Scottie thinks about the Grand Slam itself — Justin's answer is direct. He doesn't think Scottie gives it any thought unless asked in a press conference, and even then he downplays it. The results and accolades aren't what drives him. Family and faith keep him grounded, and his focus stays entirely on the next tournament — which, this week, happens to be the US Open.
Team USA and the Ryder Cup
Justin is now a vice captain under Jim Furyk heading into the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor. He talks candidly about what it means to support Furyk after a process where Keegan Bradley — a player who could have made the team on merit — was passed over for the captaincy. Justin's own self-assessment is interesting — he sees his slight detachment from the current player pool as a strength for a future captain, someone who can make hard decisions without the complications of weekly friendships on tour.
The bigger story is the long-term plan Furyk and his staff are building — not just for 2027, but with an eye toward continuity across 2029, 2031, and 2033. That includes addressing the scheduling disasters of the past — in 2018, the team flew to France immediately after the Tour Championship with no buffer. In 2023, players had five weeks off before Rome with no rhythm. For 2027, there are two weeks between the Tour Championship and Adare Manor — which Justin sees as ideal, giving the team time to travel early, acclimate, and build the kind of cohesive atmosphere the European side has mastered for years.
The Personal Stories
Two moments from Justin's career bookend the conversation. His acceptance speech at the 1997 Open Championship — where he had to pause and compose himself thinking about his parents and coach back home — remains one of the most human moments in major championship history, and Justin says people reference that speech more than any shot he hit that week.
And then there's Brookline, 1999. The putt on 17 that clinched the largest comeback in Ryder Cup history. Justin walks through the moment in detail — knowing from the leaderboard that a win on 17 would secure the Cup, the putt breaking right and dropping, and the chaos that followed as his teammates stormed the green before the match was technically over. More than two decades later, it's still the signature moment of his career — and very possibly his calling card if a Ryder Cup captaincy is ever in his future. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
for information about our collection and use of personal data for
advertising.