Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images

Justin Leonard celebrates holing a long birdie putt on the 17th green during the final day of the Ryder Cup at Brookline Country Club in 1999.

Leonard met Amanda Beach in a Dallas parking garage, and they were married in February 2002. Their first daughter, Reese, was born in September of 2003; sister Avery came along in March of 2005 and Luke was born in July of 2006.

“That takes getting used to,” said Scott Verplank, his longtime friend and a father of four. “Now when you go back to your hotel, it all begins. But I knew Justin well enough to know this was only a temporary setback.”

Leonard’s wife didn’t know much about golf when they were dating, but she knew he was talented enough to make annual stops at the Tour Championship, win majors, be part of the Ryder Cup team. When they weren’t changing diapers, they had honest discussions about his game and his goals, and it started with the Ryder Cup.

“I told him, ’You’re the one who’s got to do this,” she said.

The night after the PGA Championship — Leonard was No. 6 in the standings — they had a quiet celebration in their room and raised a glass of wine for a toast that was a long time coming.

“It was a genuine celebration,” she said, “because he earned it.”

Now comes the hard part. Leonard laughs when he recalls the late Payne Stewart chirping in 1999 that the Americans had not won the Ryder Cup since he was last on the team. The 36-year-old Texan won’t go that far, but he’s happy to be back.

“He has been the link from our last winning Ryder Cup team,” Phil Mickelson said. “He hasn’t played since ’99, and I think he’s going to bring that winning inspiration.”

“He has a lot of heart and a lot of moxie,” Azinger said. “He’s going to be fun to have on this team.”

The last Ryder Cup was anything but that until the final day. Leonard halved two fourball matches and lost his foursomes match with Stewart. At one point, NBC Sports analyst Johnny Miller suggested that Leonard would be better off at home, a remark that riled Leonard and the U.S. team.

But it didn’t look far from the truth when Olazabal went 4 up through 11 holes, and Leonard opted to lay up short of the green on the par-4 12th. He wound up making a 12-footer for par to win the hole.

“That was the start of it,” he said.

Davis Love III, who already had won his singles match, decided to walk with him. Leonard politely suggested that Love go somewhere else, perhaps another match that was closer than his.

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Leonard won four straight holes, the last one with a 35-foot birdie on the 15th, setting up his Ryder Cup moment on No. 17, a putt that is the last link to a U.S. victory. He does not remember anything about the 18th hole, only that he should have conceded a putt to Olazabal, who won the final hole for a halve. By then, the celebration was on.

Little did Leonard know it would take so long for an encore.