Leonard Thompson (golfer)

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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 nationalityFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Residence Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, U.S.
Career
College Wake 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 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.

Contents

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.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1Feb 24, 1974 Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic −10 (72-69-69-68=278)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Hale Irwin
2Oct 30, 1977 Pensacola Open −16 (70-65-65-68=268)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Curtis Strange
3Jul 30, 1989 Buick Open −15 (65-71-69-68=273)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Billy Andrade, Flag of the United States.svg Payne Stewart,
Flag of the United States.svg Doug Tewell

Other wins (2)

this list may be incomplete

Senior PGA Tour wins (3)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
1Aug 9, 1998 Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic −10 (68-66=134)Playoff Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Isao Aoki
2Jul 9, 2000 State Farm Senior Classic −11 (67-69-69=205)Playoff Flag of Japan.svg Isao Aoki
3May 13, 2001 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Match Play Championship 1 up Flag of Argentina.svg Vicente Fernández

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1998 Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Isao Aoki Won with birdie on second extra hole
2 2000 State Farm Senior Classic Flag of Japan.svg Isao Aoki Won with birdie on second extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament197119721973197419751976197719781979
Masters Tournament T41T24T7
U.S. Open CUTT21T35CUT
PGA Championship T35T17T10T22T15T42T54
Tournament19801981198219831984198519861987198819891990
Masters Tournament CUTCUT
U.S. Open T43CUTCUT
PGA Championship T26T61T22T84T48CUTT34

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

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References

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