Leonard Dodson (March 29, 1912 – January 14, 1997) was 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 ...

. One of four boys, Dodson was born in

Mumford, Missouri Mumford is an unincorporated community in Greene County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is at the junction of Jones Branch and Pierson Creek, about 1.3 miles east of the current U.S. 65 U.S. Route 65 (US 65) is a north–south United States h ...

, and grew up in the Springfield area. Dodson won three times on the early

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 ...

between 1936 and 1941. During his colorful life, Dodson was known for gambling with friend

Titanic Thompson Alvin Clarence Thomas (November 30, 1893 – May 19, 1974) was an American gambler, golfer and hustler better known as Titanic Thompson. Thompson traveled the country wagering at cards, dice games, golf, shooting, billiards, horseshoes and propo ...

. He was posthumously inducted into the Ozarks Golf Hall of Fame in 2004.

Professional wins (8)

PGA Tour wins (3)

*1936

St. Petersburg Open The St. Petersburg Open (russian: Открытый Санкт-Петербург) is a professional men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is part of the ATP Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tou ...

*1937

Philadelphia Open Championship The Philadelphia Open Championship is an annual golf tournament played in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. It is organized by the Golf Association of Philadelphia. It has been played annually since 1903 (except for war years & 2020) at member c ...

*1941

Oakland Open Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...

Other wins (5)

*1937

Iowa Open The Iowa Open is the Iowa state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Iowa section of the PGA of America. It has been played annually since 1927 at a variety of courses around the state. Winners ...

, Western Missouri-Eastern Kansas tournament, Hollywood Beach Hotel Open (Florida) *1946

*1948

Waterloo Open Golf Classic The Waterloo Jaycees Greater Waterloo Open Golf Classic is the oldest and largest golf tournament in the state of Iowa. It has been played annually since 1934, and celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2008. It is traditionally played over the course ...

References

American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Golfers from Missouri People from Greene County, Missouri 1912 births 1997 deaths {{US-golf-bio-stub