 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
Leonard Thompson  |
EXEMPT STATUS: Top 31 on All-Time Money List FULL NAME: Leonard Thompson HEIGHT: 6-1 WEIGHT: 220 BIRTHDATE: January 1, 1947 BIRTHPLACE: Laurinburg, NC RESIDENCE: Ponte Vedra Beach, FL FAMILY: Wife, Lea; Marti (6/7/67), Stephen (4/6/74); two grandchilden EDUCATION: Wake Forest University (1969) SPECIAL INTERESTS: Fishing TURNED PROFESSIONAL: 1970 JOINED TOUR: 1997 |
| PGA TOUR Victories |
| (3) 1974 Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic. 1977 Pensacola Open. 1989 Buick Open. |
| Champions Tour Victories |
| (3) 1998 Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic. 2000 State Farm Senior Classic. 2001 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Match Play Championship. |
| Current Year Charles Schwab Cup Points and Positions |
| 153 (31) |
| Current Year Champions Tour Money and Positions |
| $270,917 (31) |
| Current Year Best Champions Tour Finishes |
| T2--Emerald Coast Classic |
| Current Year Champions Tour Best Round |
| 63 at Round 1, Emerald Coast Classic |
| Current Year Champions Tour Highlights |
| Shared the first-round lead at the Emerald Coast Classic thanks to a Champions Tour career-low tying round of 63. Eventually T2 in the event after posting a final-round 66 at The Moors. Credited a change to the long putter for his runner-up performance in Pensacola, his best overall effort since winning near St. Louis in May 2001. |
| Best PGA TOUR Finishes |
| 1--1974 Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic. 1977 Pensacola Open. 1989 Buick Open. |
| Best Champions Tour Finishes |
| 1--1998 Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic. 2000 State Farm Senior Classic. 2001 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Match Play Championship. |
| Best Nationwide Tour Finishes |
| 6--1996 NIKE Tallahassee Open. |
| Best 2002 Champions Tour Finishes |
| T5--BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland |
| 2002 Season Champions Tour |
| Tournaments Entered--32; in money--31; Top 10 finishes--1 |
| 2002 Season Highlights |
| Finished out of the top-50 on the prior-year money list for the first time since joining the Champions Tour...Had just one top-10 performance during the campaign, a T5 at the BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland. Closed with a 5-under 67 at Springhouse GC. Dropped out of the top 31 for first time since 1997...Saw driving distance drop from 275.6 in 2001 to 265.7 in 2002. |
| Career Highlights |
| 2001: Claimed his third career Champions Tour title when he bested Vicente Fernandez 2-up in the final of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Match Play Championship near St. Louis. Victory was worth a career-best $300,000 and also avenged his loss to Fernandez in the finals of the unofficial 2000 Chrysler Senior Match Play Championship in Puerto Rico. Played 104 competitive holes on his way to the victory, the most of any player in the field. 2000: Collected his second Champions Tour crown along the way when he ended almost a two-year victory drought with win at the State Farm Senior Classic. Birdied the third playoff hole to defeat Isao Aoki at Hobbit's Glen near Columbia, MD. 1999: Recorded his two best efforts of the campaign in his first third of the season...Closed with a final-round 66 at the Royal Caribbean Classic to finish T3...Shot two rounds of 70 at Desert Mountain and T3 at The Tradition after the event was shortened to 36 holes. 1998: Won the rain-shortened Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic. Birdied the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to defeat Isao Aoki for the title at Bunker Hills GC. 1997: As a rookie, played in 30 events and two of those appearances were as a Monday qualifier (Toshiba Senior Classic and Nationwide Championship)...T5 at the U.S. Senior Open at Olympia Fields CC outside of Chicago. |
| Personal |
| Played collegiately at Wake Forest University, where he was a teammate of Joe Inman and Lanny Wadkins...Inducted into Wake Forest Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997...Has worked with instructor Jimmy Ballard...His hero is fellow Wake Forest product Arnold Palmer...Was a standout high school basketball player who turned down scholarship opportunities to play college golf...His daughter is an attorney and his son is a biomedical engineer. |
| Champions Tour Playoff Record |
| 2-0 |
|
|
U.S. Open, U.S. Open Championship and United States Golf
Association are
registered service marks of the United States Golf Association (USGA) Copyright © 2003. United States Golf Association. All Rights Reserved Use of this Web site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy |