GGOATRANK
🇺🇸
Golf · Professional golfer · United States

Justin Leonard

1994–2018 · Open champion in 1997 and holed the putt that sealed the 1999 Ryder Cup.

Retired
Ranking model

100% titles, statistics, dominance, longevity and global competition depth.

Pure sporting data
79.7
Cultural & brand footprint 52/100 · total legacy 69.9
Major titles
1
PGA Tour wins
12
Ryder Cup appearances
3
Players Championship top-5s
2
Seasons played
25

Category profile

Dominance
74
Peak
88
Longevity
82
Honours
76
Statistics
80

Career timeline · Wins per season

SeasonWins per seasonShare of career
199425
199547
199669
199791
199888
199984
200081
200177
200274
200370
200467
200563
200660
200756
200853
200949
201046
201142
201239
201335
201432
201528
201625
201721
201818

Data sources

  • PGA Tour records
  • The R&A championship archives
  • World Golf Hall of Fame

Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method

Why Justin Leonard ranks #168 in Golf

Justin Leonard ranks 168th among Golf athletes on GOAT Rank and 3432nd of 4013 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 79.7 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 74, Peak 88, Longevity 82, Honours 76, Statistics 80. Those categories are normalised against the full Golf reference universe of 265 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.

The record covers 1994–2018 with 25 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1997, which sets the Peak component at 88. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 88 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes major titles 1, pga tour wins 12, ryder cup appearances 3, players championship top-5s 2.

Immediately ahead sits David Brown on 79.8, a gap of 0.1 points. Directly behind is Nelly Korda on 79.4. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.

Justin Leonard GOAT Score explained

Dominance74/100 · weight 25%
Measures how far Leonard stood above the field while competing. Scored 74/100 against the full Golf cohort.
Peak88/100 · weight 20%
Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1997. Scored 88/100.
Longevity82/100 · weight 20%
Rewards staying at that level over time: 24 years of competition and 25 recorded seasons. Scored 82/100.
Honours76/100 · weight 20%
Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 76/100.
Statistics80/100 · weight 15%
Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 80/100.

Justin Leonard — frequently asked

Is Justin Leonard the GOAT?
Not on the current data. Justin Leonard ranks 168th in Golf with a GOAT Score of 79.7, behind Jack Nicklaus on 95.0.
What is Justin Leonard's GOAT Score?
79.7 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 74 (25%), Peak 88 (20%), Longevity 82 (20%), Honours 76 (20%), Statistics 80 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
Where does Justin Leonard rank all time?
3432nd of 4013 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 168th within Golf.
Justin Leonard vs David Brown: who ranks higher?
David Brown, on 79.8 against Justin Leonard's 79.7 — a margin of 0.1 points.
Compare with Nicklaus