Leonard Stephen Thompson (born January 1, 1947) is an American

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 has played on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

Nationwide Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. ...

, and

Champions Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, open to golfers age 50 and over, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, f ...

Early life and amateur career

Thompson was born in

Laurinburg, North Carolina Laurinburg is a city in and the county seat of Scotland County, North Carolina, United States. Located in southern North Carolina near the South Carolina border, Laurinburg is southwest of Fayetteville, North Carolina, Fayetteville and is home t ...

. He attended

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

and was a member of the

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

team. He was a teammate of future fellow PGA Tour players Joe Inman and

Lanny Wadkins Jerry Lanston "Lanny" Wadkins Jr. (born December 5, 1949) is an American professional golfer. He won 21 tournaments on the PGA Tour, including one Men's major golf championships, major, the 1977 PGA Championship. He ranked in the top 10 of the Of ...

. In 1969, Thompson graduated from college.

Professional career

In 1971, Thompson turned pro. 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. During his late forties, Thompson, like so many of his colleagues, played some on the

to prepare for the

. 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. 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 The SAS Championship is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour Champions. It is played annually in the autumn in Cary, North Carolina at the Prestonwood Country Club. SAS Institute SAS Institute (or SAS, pronounced "sass") is an American multin ...

.Round 1 notes: SAS Championship

Personal life

He lives in

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida Ponte Vedra Beach is a wealthy unincorporated community and suburb of Jacksonville, Florida in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located in the Jacksonville metropolitan area, southeast of downtown Jacksonville and north of St. Augu ...

Awards and honors

In 1997, Thompson was inducted into the Wake Forest University Athletics Hall of Fame

Amateur wins

*1969 Sunnehanna Amateur

Professional wins (8)

PGA Tour wins (3)

Other wins (2)

''this list may be incomplete'' *1975 Carolinas Open *1985 Carolinas PGA Championship

Senior PGA Tour wins (3)

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

Results in major championships

''Note: Thompson never played in

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Leonard American male golfers Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from North Carolina Sportspeople from Laurinburg, North Carolina Golfers from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida 1947 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen