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Justin Leonard birdied five of his last seven holes Sunday at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, to win the 2025 Chubb Classic to mark his first win on the PGA Tour Champions.
Leonard, 52, was making his 45th start on the senior circuit and started the final round with a one-shot lead but pulled away from the field late. His final-round 68 brought him to 15 under overall, four ahead of Billy Andrade and five better than Darren Clarke.
Leonard’s win snaps a streak of 16 years, eight months and eight days since his last victory in the PGA Tour’s 2008 Stanford St. Jude Championship.
“Last year was a struggle,” he admitted after the trophy ceremony. “I think finally I got to kind of rock bottom going to play at Troon, at The Open, and then at Carnoustie for the Senior British. I just knew I had to kind of make some changes. Luke, my 18 year old son, has worked some with Mike Thomas. I’ve always enjoyed the way he communicated and his eye. So I reached out to him when I was at Troon after the first round and he kind of showed me what was going on and why I was struggling.”
But did he ever have any doubts he’s find the winner’s circle again?
“I didn’t have doubt, but I had to keep reminding myself that I’ve won,” he said. “You know, so technically that makes me a winner, even though it was 17 years ago the last time I did it. No, I never had any doubt. I would say at times I was impatient, and that was from focusing too much on trying to win and not just the things that I needed do each and every day to try and have my game ready to be in a position like this.”
Leonard’s previous best Champions finish was as the runner-up at the 2023 PURE Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach, where he lost to Thongchai Jaidee in sudden death. His most recent Tour-sanctioned win prior to this week was the 2008 FedEx St. Jude Classic.
“Controlling my attitude and work ethic is all I can do,” Leonard said. “I just have to keep putting the work in and let the outcome be what it is. You just have to let the result surprise you.”
For Andrade, it’s his best finish on the Champions tour in more than five years. Making his 12th appearance in the Chubb Classic, he rallied from a bogey at the second hole with birdies at Nos. 3 and 4. He then reeled off four straight on Nos. 11-14 before signing for a 4-under 68 to finish solo-second by at 11-under 205.
Andrade’s lone top-10 finish in the event prior to this week was a tie for eighth in his first start of 2014. His sidekick on caddie duty this week was Mike “Fluff” Cowan, who picked up the job while his full-time boss, Jim Furyk, continues to recover from injury.
“He hadn’t caddie for me since 1988, my rookie year on Tour,” Andrade said. “Just to have him out for the first time since last year at Dick’s after his surgery getting his hip replaced…it was so much fun to be with him and getting him around.”
Gaining ground on Leonard early was Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke, who carded five birdies through 13 holes. Blemish-free through 17, the 56-year-old ended his round with a bogey to drop to 4-under 68 for the day and 10-under 206 total, good for third place.
This week marked Clarke’s sixth start in the Chubb Classic and first foray into the top-10. His best showing before this week was tied for 16th in 2019.
Fred Couples finished tied for fourth after closing with a 66, the low round of the day.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Justin Leonard wins first PGA Champions Tour title at the 2025 Chubb Classic in 45th start
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