Leonard Thompson (golfer)

Leonard Thompson
Leonard Thompson
Personal information
Full name	Leonard Stephen Thompson
Born	January 1, 1947 (age 77); Laurinburg, North Carolina, U.S.
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	215 lb (98 kg; 15.4 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, U.S.
Career
College	Wake Forest University
Turned professional	1971
Current tour(s)	Champions Tour
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	8
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	3
PGA Tour Champions	3
Best results in major championships;
Masters Tournament	T7: 1979
PGA Championship	T10: 1975
U.S. Open	T21: 1974
The Open Championship	DNP

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

1969 Sunnehanna Amateur

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	Hale Irwin
2	Oct 30, 1977	Pensacola Open	−16 (70-65-65-68=268)	2 strokes	Curtis Strange
3	Jul 30, 1989	Buick Open	−15 (65-71-69-68=273)	1 stroke	Billy Andrade, Payne Stewart, Doug Tewell

Other wins (2)

this list may be incomplete

1975 Carolinas Open
1985 Carolinas PGA Championship

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	Isao Aoki
2	Jul 9, 2000	State Farm Senior Classic	−11 (67-69-69=205)	Playoff	Isao Aoki
3	May 13, 2001	Enterprise Rent-A-Car Match Play Championship	1 up		Vicente Fernández

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

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

Results in major championships

Tournament	1971	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	1986	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

References

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

External links

Leonard Thompson at the PGA Tour official site
Leonard Thompson at the Official World Golf Ranking official site

[1] "Golf Major Championships".

[2] Round 1 notes: SAS Championship Archived 2009-09-28 at the Wayback Machine

[1]