Leonard Thompson (golfer)

Leonard Thompson
Personal information
Full nameLeonard Stephen Thompson
Born (1947-01-01) January 1, 1947 (age 77)
Laurinburg, North Carolina, U.S.
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight215 lb (98 kg; 15.4 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidencePonte Vedra Beach, Florida, U.S.
Career
CollegeWake Forest University
Turned professional1971
Current tour(s)Champions Tour
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins8
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour3
PGA Tour Champions3
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT7: 1979
PGA ChampionshipT10: 1975
U.S. OpenT21: 1974
The Open ChampionshipDNP

Leonard Stephen Thompson (born January 1, 1947) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, and Champions Tour.

Early life and amateur career

Thompson was born in Laurinburg, North Carolina. He attended Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and was a member of the golf team. He was a teammate of future fellow PGA Tour players Joe Inman and Lanny Wadkins. Thompson graduated from college in 1969.

Professional career

Thompson turned pro in 1971. He had more than 70 top-10 finishes in PGA Tour events during his career winning three times. His first win came in 1974 at Jackie Gleason's Inverrary Classic. His best finish in a major championship was T-7 at 1979 Masters Tournament.[1]

During his late forties, Thompson, like so many of his colleagues, played some on the Nationwide Tour to prepare for the Champions Tour. His best finish in that venue was 6th at the 1996 Nike Tallahassee Open.

After turning 50 at the beginning of 1997, Thompson began play on the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the Champions Tour). He has three wins on this Tour. He played in his milestone 1000th PGA Tour and Champions Tour event combined at the 2009 SAS Championship.[2]

Thompson was inducted into the Wake Forest University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997.

Personal life

He lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Amateur wins

Professional wins (8)

PGA Tour wins (3)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Feb 24, 1974 Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic −10 (72-69-69-68=278) 1 stroke United States Hale Irwin
2 Oct 30, 1977 Pensacola Open −16 (70-65-65-68=268) 2 strokes United States Curtis Strange
3 Jul 30, 1989 Buick Open −15 (65-71-69-68=273) 1 stroke United States Billy Andrade, United States Payne Stewart,
United States Doug Tewell

Other wins (2)

this list may be incomplete

Senior PGA Tour wins (3)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 Aug 9, 1998 Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic −10 (68-66=134) Playoff Japan Isao Aoki
2 Jul 9, 2000 State Farm Senior Classic −11 (67-69-69=205) Playoff Japan Isao Aoki
3 May 13, 2001 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Match Play Championship 1 up Argentina Vicente Fernández

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1998 Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic Japan Isao Aoki Won with birdie on second extra hole
2 2000 State Farm Senior Classic Japan Isao Aoki Won with birdie on second extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament T41 T24 T7
U.S. Open CUT T21 T35 CUT
PGA Championship T35 T17 T10 T22 T15 T42 T54
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990
Masters Tournament CUT CUT
U.S. Open T43 CUT CUT
PGA Championship T26 T61 T22 T84 T48 CUT T34

Note: Thompson never played in The Open Championship

  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

See also

References

  1. ^ "Golf Major Championships".
  2. ^ Round 1 notes: SAS Championship Archived 2009-09-28 at the Wayback Machine