Justin Leonard: The American Luke Donald for Ryder Cup

Here's why Justin Leonard shouldn't be overlooked.

Late on Saturday night at the 1997 British Open, Justin Leonard was eating dinner alone and lamenting that he had kicked away a golden opportunity to win the Claret Jug, falling five strokes behind the lead. That’s when Barbara Nicklaus, the better half of Jack, who had watched her share of majors shake out in all sorts of fashion on Sundays for more than three decades, walked over and with a warm smile on her face said, “You can still win this tournament tomorrow. ” Leonard, 25 at the time, did just that thanks to a spectacular 6-under 65 at Royal Troon that earned him his first and only major title.

Perhaps it is time for Barbara, the first lady of golf, to reach out to Leonard again all these years later and remind him of something else: he can still lead the U. S. Ryder Cup team to victory (and on foreign soil).

With Tiger Woods having pulled out of consideration to captain the 2027 team in Ireland after his recent car accident, the PGA of America is left scrambling to select a leader to square off with Europe’s Luke Donald, who is seeking to captain a winner for a third straight time. Donald has been playing chess while America's back room leadership of Zach Johnson in Rome and Keegan Bradley at Bethpage have been playing checkers. Leonard should be the logical choice given that the American version of Donald is none other than Leonard.