A Special Week at Royal Portrush

At 53, Justin Leonard made his first cut in a major championship this week since 2014. He’s averaging 268 yards off the tee at the 2025 Open Championship, dead last in the field and 30 yards shorter than the tournament average.

Asked about which holes present the biggest challenge given how much distance he’s giving up to his competitors, Leonard said, “Golly, there’s so many. Like 11, guys are hitting it over the corner, and I've got to play it out to the left.”

“There's always going to be advantage for guys that hit it farther…They can take certain bunkers out of play that I can't, but I can use the ground and get it out there in certain instances. The problem is when I miss the fairway. If the ball doesn't land in the fairway and just lands in the rough, I'm way back because it's only flying 250. If I can hit it in the fairway, at least then if it trundles into the rough, at least it's going another 20 or 30 yards.”

Leonard had nothing but praise for the unique challenge of links golf, noting that “Sometimes you can almost throw the yardage book out the window.” He also asserted that Royal Portrush is in the top three Open Championship venues he’s played.

Though he won’t be a factor to win the championship on Sunday, it’s a successful week for Leonard, who can hold his head high after beating many of the game’s best players at the highest level. While he wouldn’t answer whether or not he believes he can contend in future Open Championships, it was clear this week will give Leonard confidence in his ability to see the weekend when he decides to see it up again at an Open.

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“To come over at my experience -- and age -- and make the cut is pretty special. I can't say that I'm going to play every year,” he said. “I think playing well and making the cut this week, when I do come back, I'll kind of have that great memory to think that I can probably do it again.”

‍This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

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