Stan Leonard (February 2, 1915 – December 15, 2005) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who played on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

in the 1950s and 1960s. Leonard won three PGA Tour events, eight Canadian PGA Championships, and 16 other events on the Canadian Tour. He is a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.

Early years

Leonard was born in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. He worked as a

caddie In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives the player advice and moral support. Description A good caddie is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with th ...

, and had success in top British Columbia events. He became a professional golfer in 1938, and played almost exclusively, and very successfully, on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour until 1954, while concurrently maintaining a club job at the Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver. He competed mainly in western Canada; money was tight, prize money was low, and travel costs to eastern Canada were high. In one of his early events on the

, Leonard challenged to win the 1946 Crosby Pro-Am in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, before losing to

Lloyd Mangrum Lloyd Eugene Mangrum (August 1, 1914 – November 17, 1973) was an American professional golfer. He was known for his smooth swing and his relaxed demeanour on the course, which earned him the nickname "Mr. Icicle." Early life and family Mangrum ...

Canadian success

Leonard won the Canadian PGA Championship eight times from 1940–1961, and this is a record. He was the low Canadian in the Canadian Open nine times from 1945–1961. He won the

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

Open five times, the

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Open nine times, and the

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...

Open twice. He won a total of six significant amateur and 40 professional tournaments in Canada over the course of his career – second only to Moe Norman in Canadian golf history.

International success

Leonard won the individual title at the

Canada Cup The Canada Cup (french: Coupe Canada) was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true worl ...

in both 1954 and 1959. Leonard joined the PGA Tour full-time in 1954, at age 39. He won three

events between 1957 and 1960. He enjoyed a great deal of success in one major tournament –

The Masters The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first ma ...

. His best finishes at the

Augusta National Golf Club Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. Unlike most private clubs which operate as non-profits, Augusta National is a for-profit corporation, and it does no ...

were T-4 in 1958 and 1959, T-8 in 1955 and T-9 in 1960. Leonard's game was respected by his PGA Tour rivals; legend

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (pronounced sni:d">English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four ...

said that he was glad Leonard had not come out onto the PGA Tour full-time until he was 40 years old!

Later years

Leonard retired from the PGA Tour in the 1960s, and took a club pro job at the Desert Island Golf Club in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by la ...

; however, he eventually made his way back home to Vancouver. He competed successfully at the Senior level in Canada, winning three Canadian Senior PGA Championships between 1967 and 1975. He assisted in designing the Redwood Meadows Golf Course, in

Bragg Creek, Alberta Bragg Creek is a hamlet in southern Alberta under the jurisdiction of Rocky View County in Division No. 6. Bragg Creek is located west of Calgary (via Highway 8 and Highway 22) at the confluence of the Elbow River and Bragg Creek north of ...

, near

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

.''The Golf Course'', by

Geoffrey Cornish Geoffrey St John Cornish (August 6, 1914 – February 10, 2012) was a golf course architect, author, and a fellow of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. He designed over 200 courses, including 9-hole additions, around the world. Ear ...

and Ronald Whitten, 1981. Leonard was one of the best ball strikers and longest hitters of his era, despite being a diminutive 5' 6" in height. Part of his powerful swing could be attributed to his massive forearms. The other players noticed this physical feature and gave him the nickname ''Popeye''. Leonard was inducted into

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

in 1964, the

BC Sports Hall of Fame The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in BC Place Stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia's sp ...

in 1966, and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1972. He died of heart failure in Vancouver at the age of 90.

Amateur wins

*1932 British Columbia Amateur *1934 Vancouver & Dist. Championship *1935 British Columbia Amateur *1936 Vancouver & Dist. Championship

Professional wins (44)

PGA Tour wins (3)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

Other wins (38)

:''This list may be incomplete'' *1937 (2) Northwest Open (as an amateur), Alberta Open *1938 (1) Tacoma Jubilee *1939 (1) Alberta Open *1940 (1) Canadian PGA Championship *1941 (2) Alberta Open, Canadian PGA Championship *1942 (1) Alberta Open *1943 (1) Alberta Open *1947 (2) Alberta Open, British Columbia Open *1948 (1) Vancouver City Match Play Championship *1949 (3) Alberta Open, British Columbia Open, Vancouver City Match Play Championship *1950 (6) Alberta Open, Canadian PGA Championship, British Columbia Open, Vancouver City Match Play Championship, Saskatchewan Open, Western Canada Open *1951 (1) Canadian PGA Championship *1953 (1) Vancouver City Match Play Championship *1954 (3) Canadian PGA Championship, British Columbia Open, Vancouver City Match Play Championship *1955 (2) Alberta Open, Saskatchewan Open *1956 (1) Canadian Match Play *1957 (1) Canadian PGA Championship *1959 (2) Canadian PGA Championship,

(individual event) *1960 (2) Northwest Open, Canadian Match Play Open *1961 (1) Canadian PGA Championship *1962 (1) British Columbia Open

Senior wins (3)

*1967 Canadian PGA Seniors' Championship *1972 Canadian PGA Seniors' Championship *1975 Canadian PGA Seniors' Championship

Results in major championships

''Note: Leonard never played in the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (1957 Masters – 1961 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1958 Masters – 1960 Masters)

Team appearances

(representing Canada): 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956,

1957 1957 (Roman numerals, MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday, common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, t ...

, 1959 (individual winner), 1960,

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

* Hopkins Trophy (representing Canada): 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956

References

External links

Profile at Canadian Golf Hall of FameInductee Accomplishment Summary from British Columbia Golf House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Stan Canadian male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfing people from British Columbia Sportspeople from Vancouver 1915 births 2005 deaths