Lee Janzen

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 60) Austin, Minnesota, U.S.
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Orlando, Florida, U.S.
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

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	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

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	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

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	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

  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	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

• 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

1. "Week 47 1995 Ending 26 Nov 1995" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
2. "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.

External links

• 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