Chasing Justin Leonard
Posted 11:10 p.m., April 18, 2008
HILTON HEAD ISLAND - Friday morning at the Heritage, I bumped into some friends from Charleston who were looking to find Justin Leonard and see if he remembered them.
Rusty and Terri Neal and their 15-year-old daughter, Shelley recently traveled to New York to celebrate Rusty’s 50th birthday. During the trip, Terri and Shelley went to see the play, “The Little Mermaid.” While waiting for the play to begin, they heard the couple behind them discussing coming to South Carolina to play golf.
Terri turned to the couple and asked the man if he played golf. She explained she was from South Carolina and our state had some really good golf courses. She asked him if he had ever played any South Carolina courses. The man replied that he had played at Harbour Town and Kiawah Island.
They eventually discovered that the man sitting behind them was Leonard, the 2002 Heritage champion, who was at the play with his wife, Amanda, and their two daughters.
So Friday, the Neals followed Leonard for 18 holes. They eventually bumped into his wife, Amanda, and she remembered them, even pointing out Shelley from a distance. Justin later signed a shirt for Shelly.
Asked if he could attend a Broadway play without being recognized, Leonard said: “Well, they way I played last year I probably could.”
Leonard, by the way, was the first-round co-leader in the Heritage after a 66, then shot 71 Friday. He trails Lucas Glover by five shots.
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