Some opportunities can be life-changing or cause a lifetime of regret. Well, this is what has happened with Justin Leonard, who has been among the greatest Ryder Cup players. But despite his performance, he never got the opportunity to lead the team. Now, when his memory is refreshed, he makes his feelings clear about not being the captain’s preference.

In the latest episode of the Favorite Chamblee podcast, Bailey and Brandel Chamblee invited Leonard as the guest. Talking about the Ryder omission, Chamblee mentioned two names who missed out to be the captain. Among the two, Leonard was the one, and Chamblee asked if he was surprised not being named as the captain. Answering to which, he said, “Yes, I was. You know, I had a couple of chances to get involved years ago. Not as a captain, but as an assistant or vice-captain. And I didn’t feel like the timing was right for me. I think, when looking back on it, turning that opportunity down, unfortunately, I think it told too many people that make those decisions that the Ryder Cup wasn’t important enough to me, which couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Justin Leonard featured in three Ryder Cup editions and has recorded some of the most significant moments of comeback. But with him being offered the vice-captain role, he denied that, considering the bigger opportunities in the future. But unfortunately, it never came across him after that. Though the timeline of these instances never came out before this, as he denied in the early stage talks only. Talking further about that decision, he shared the reason.

Leonard added, “I just didn’t feel like it was the right time to take that role and pull myself out of it at that point. You know, looking back, I think if I’d known, I would have taken on those roles, those chances, those opportunities that I had. But at the time, I wasn’t thinking, ‘Well, this could affect my possibility of being a captain someday.'” In 1999, Leonard was 27 years old, and getting the role of vice-captain was a strong move, but with an expectation of a long career, he dropped the opportunity at that time, and it was taken otherwise, leaving him with regret for the rest of his life.

Even though Leonard could not achieve a win at the Ryder Cup in his three appearances, he still managed to help the team with a remarkable comeback. His record of 0-4-7 includes one of the most crucial matches that brought back the American side to victory. In 1999, he drained a 45-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole in a singles match against Jose Maria Olazabal. That putt helped Team USA to win the Ryder Cup and was heralded as the most dramatic comeback in history. But that wasn’t enough for him to be the captain. Well, not just him, but there was another player who was never named as the captain despite being the top prospect. It was Larry Nelson.

With an exceptional record of 9-3-1, he was the top choice, but never became one. However, for the 2025 season, Keegan Bradley made the right move to honor the outstanding efforts of the 77-year-old.

Larry Nelson gets special recognition at the 2025 Ryder Cup

At the beginning of September, Larry Nelson was approached by Keegan Bradley to be the ambassador to Team USA. The move came to light with a post from Dave Stockton Jr.. He wrote, “My dad told me last night that @Keegan_Bradley has asked Larry Nelson to be at The Ryder Cup as Ambassador to Team USA. What a class move by Captain Keegan! Larry Nelson was 9-3-1 in 3 Ryder Cups and should’ve been a Captain years ago. 3-time Major Champion too! 😎”

Nelson’s fellow was chosen over him for the role of captaincy, sidelining his exceptional win numbers. Even that decision has left him disappointed. He shared, “It’s disappointing, certainly not devastating. We don’t quite know how the decisions are made and what goes into those. We just have to react to what they are.” The efforts were overshadowed for years, but not anymore, as Nelson has a crucial role to serve. In fact, talking about the role, he said, “It really meant a lot that Keegan made an effort to include me.” 

Though Nelson has got the opportunity he deserved, Justin Leonard is hopeful to be the choice to lead or be a part of the Ryder Cup team. Will he ever be included in the team? What are your thoughts on it? Share with us in the comments below.