Justin Leonard falls just short of 2 straight wins at Chubb Classic, but former Aspen resident continues on torrid stretch that began just after 2025 U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor
By Gary Baines – 2/15/2026
When Justin Leonard finished 22nd at the U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs last June, the former Aspen resident was asked about how his game was trending.
“I like where my game is, but I’m not hitting it exactly the way I want to,” the former British Open champion told Colorado Golf Journal at the time. “Last week I didn’t drive the ball great, but my irons were very good. This week is kind of the opposite. I hit my driver very nicely, but the irons weren’t as good. It’s all in there, but I’ve got to put a few things together.”
Since then, Leonard has indeed done quite a job of putting things together.
On Sunday, he tied for second place in the PGA Tour Champions’ Chubb Classic in Naples, Fla., where only a tap-in birdie after a superb bunker shot on the final hole by David Toms prevented Leonard and Toms from being in a four-way playoff.
So — starting in the next tournament after the 2025 U.S. Senior Open — Leonard has been on quite the tear. Specifically, in his last nine official Champions events, he’s posted an impressive six top-7 finishes. That includes a victory — at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in October — two runner-ups (including at the 2025 Senior British Open), two fifths places and a seventh.
And at the Chubb Classic over the last 366 days, Leonard has recorded a win and a second place. In all, the 53-year-old, who lived in Aspen from 2015-22 before moving to Florida, has two PGA Tour Champions to his credit.
“I feel like that’s the player that I’ve felt that I should be, consistently trying to win tournaments, winning golf tournaments,” Leonard said last month. “I feel like I’m approaching where I feel like I should be from a physical standpoint, a mental standpoint with my golf game.
“I worked TV until 2022, so doing seven years and having that time off, I feel like in golf years I’m 46, 47 (years old), somewhere in there. Taking that time off, I think I got re-energized. I got to watch the best players in the world on the PGA Tour and how they do it, how they take care of their body, how they practice — those things — and I’ve incorporated a lot of that into my own routines. I think those are the things that have really started to pay dividends. That and just the competitive fire. I enjoy playing, I enjoy practicing and working on my game. I wake up in the mornings trying to figure out, ‘OK, what am I doing to do just to get that 1 percent better today? It doesn’t always happen, but that’s the goal.”
At the Chubb Classic, Leonard went 66-68-70, finishing at 12 under par in windy conditions after playing his last 27 holes bogey-free. After parring his first 13 holes on Sunday, he birdied No. 14 from 10 feet and No. 17 from 20 feet to move into a tie for the lead, but missed a 14-foot birdie try on 18.
Meanwhile, Toms, winner of the 2018 U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor and the 1999 Sprint International at Castle Pines on the PGA Tour, scored his first Champions victory since 2023. Sunday marked Toms’ fifth Champions victory overall as he posted scores of 67-63-73 for a 13-under total.
For all the scores from the Chubb Classic, CLICK HERE.
Colorado Golf Journal 