Levity at the right time from Leonard

SAN FRANCISCO – Golfers are supposed to be robots, incapable of ever spotting the humor in their own misfortune, and that’s a pity. Because this cruel game is more about heartbreak than heroism, and if you don’t find a way to poke fun at yourself and the situation, the demons will claim another victim.

Ask Jean Van de Velde or Greg Norman or Tom Watson. Better yet, ask yourself.

Which is why the behavior of Justin Leonard stands out.

On Friday, paired with Phil Mickelson, Leonard converted several critical putts, including the clincher on 16, to defeat Retief Goosen and Adam Scott 3 & 2. The U.S. maintained its one-point lead over the International squad after the second day of the Presidents Cup at Harding Park.

But it was the performance he turned in on Thursday that deserves the real praise, and no doubt led to his strong contribution 24 hours later.

Roll the tape. Standing over the kind of 3-footer he has made a trillion times, Leonard, teamed with Jim Furyk in the final match of the alternate-shot foursomes, was under the impression his putt would be conceded, securing a 1-up triumph over Goosen and Y.E. Yang.

The impression was wrong. No matter. Leonard would calmly knock it in.

Oops. He missed, and shockingly, the match was halved.

Leonard was steamed, and the U.S. was stunned. Leonard went to the putting green to cool off.

It didn’t seem to work.

In the team room about an hour later, Leonard decided to take five shots, and we’re talking the shots that do not involve swinging a club.

One by one, he downed them, slamming each glass to the counter. The room grew silent. A few of the players’ wives started to get concerned.

“Everyone is going, ‘Is Justin going to be OK?’ ” his wife, Amanda, said.

Justin was more than OK. Justin was in the middle of a charade he worked up in the locker room, enlisting Mike “Fluff” Cowan, Furyk’s caddie, to lay out the five glasses for him. The glasses were filled with water.

Amanda caught on quickly, after just a second of wondering what her husband was up to. She knows him too well. She knows he never would allow a missed 3-footer to cause him to drink. She just stayed quiet and enjoyed the show.

“It was hysterical,” she said.

Leonard explained his motivation.

“I was worried that everybody was going to be worried about me back in the team room,” he said. “And I did chase it with a beer. The beer tasted a lot better than the water did.”

The win on Friday tasted even better than the beer.

“I was obviously disappointed right after play,” Leonard said, “but you know I had to get past it and come out today. And Phil was a big help. We talked a little bit last night about strategy and kind of helping me stop thinking about yesterday and start thinking about today’s match. It was nice to come out and play well and help him on a couple of holes and win our match.”

Leonard didn’t waste any time, making a birdie at the first to put his team 1 up. Then at the sixth, with the Americans a hole down, it turned into the Mickelson show. Lefty made three straight birdies, two after brilliant iron shots, to regain the advantage.

The match still was up for grabs when Leonard rolled in a 14-footer at No. 14. Fittingly, he closed the match with an 11-foot birdie at No. 16.

Surprisingly, given how long the two have competed in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup, it was their first time paired together. They both made the request to U.S. captain Fred Couples, who was happy to oblige.

“They’re such great friends off the course,” Amanda said. “They’re really good for each other.”

Having Leonard in top form could be critical this weekend. The U.S. will not be able to rely solely on Mickelson and the seemingly invincible tandem of Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker, who cruised to another lopsided victory. Even with the outstanding play from those three, the U.S. is up by only one point after some late heroics from Greg Norman’s International squad.

“Greg’s guys were great today,” Couples said, “to battle back and get three points when they needed to was a great finish.”

Perhaps as important for the Americans will be maintaining the right mindset, not getting too down if things don’t go their way. It’s only a game, after all.

If they have any trouble, they could always turn to their resident thespian.

He’s in town all week.