Leopoldo Ruiz (7 August 1926 – 10 May 1986) is an
Argentine professional golfer. He tied for fifth place in the
1958 Open Championship
The 1958 Open Championship was the 87th Open Championship, held from 2–5 July at the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, England. Peter Thomson won his fourth Claret Jug in five years in a 36-hole Saturday playoff, four stro ...
and tied for ninth the following year. He represented Argentina eight times in the
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
.
Golf career
Born in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, Ruiz worked as a caddie in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, before turning professional in 1951.
During his career, Ruiz won the Argentine Professional Ranking four times, and competed in seven
major championships, appearing five times 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 t ...
, from 1958 to 1961 and 1968, and twice in the
Masters Tournament in 1962 and 1965. In 1958, he missed out on being in a playoff for the Open title, when he had a triple bogey at the last hole at
Royal Lytham & St Annes
Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England, is one of the courses in the The Open Championship, Open Championship rotation. The Women's British Open has also been played on the course five times: once prior to being ...
to finish tied for 5th place, three strokes off the leaders.
A year later, at
Muirfield
Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for The ...
, he finished in a tie for 9th.
In 1960, on the European circuit, Ruiz was second in the
French Open, and a year later finished fourth in the
German Open. He had most success in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
, where he won the
Argentine Open in 1957 and 1959, the
Colombian Open and the Uruguay Open in 1958, and the
Argentine PGA Championship
The Argentine PGA Championship is a golf tournament played in Argentina since 1920. It was generally supported by the leading Argentine golfers and its list of champions includes Eduardo Romero (8 times), José Jurado (7 times), Vicente Fernández ...
on six occasions, in addition to many other regional opens. He was also second in the
Brazil Open
The Brasil Open was a tennis tournament held annually in São Paulo, Brazil. It was part of the ATP Tour 250 series, and was one of the main events in the Brazilian tennis calendar alongside ATP Tour 500 Rio Open. Since 2004, it was a part of t ...
in 1957 and 1958, the
Argentine Open in 1960 and 1973, and the
Colombian Open in 1972.
Ruiz represented Argentina in the
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
on eight occasions between 1957 and 1969, and was runner up in the team competition alongside
Roberto De Vicenzo
Roberto De Vicenzo (14 April 1923 – 1 June 2017) was a professional golfer from Argentina. He won a record 229 professional tournaments worldwide during his career, including seven on the PGA Tour and most famously the 1967 Open Championship. ...
in 1964.
Professional wins
Argentine wins (27)
*1953
Argentine PGA Championship
The Argentine PGA Championship is a golf tournament played in Argentina since 1920. It was generally supported by the leading Argentine golfers and its list of champions includes Eduardo Romero (8 times), José Jurado (7 times), Vicente Fernández ...
*1956
Argentine PGA Championship
The Argentine PGA Championship is a golf tournament played in Argentina since 1920. It was generally supported by the leading Argentine golfers and its list of champions includes Eduardo Romero (8 times), José Jurado (7 times), Vicente Fernández ...
*1957
Argentine Open,
Abierto del Litoral,
South Open
*1958
Argentine PGA Championship
The Argentine PGA Championship is a golf tournament played in Argentina since 1920. It was generally supported by the leading Argentine golfers and its list of champions includes Eduardo Romero (8 times), José Jurado (7 times), Vicente Fernández ...
,
Abierto del Litoral
*1959
Argentine Open,
Metropolitan Championship
*1960
Center Open
*1961
Argentine PGA Championship
The Argentine PGA Championship is a golf tournament played in Argentina since 1920. It was generally supported by the leading Argentine golfers and its list of champions includes Eduardo Romero (8 times), José Jurado (7 times), Vicente Fernández ...
,
Center Open
*1963
Argentine Masters
The Argentine Masters or Torneo de Maestros was one of the most prestigious golf tournaments in Argentina, despite not having been played continuously since the inaugural event in 1961. It was always held at the Olivos Golf Club near Buenos Aires. ...
,
North Open
*1964
Center Open,
Rio Cuarto Open
*1965
Argentine Masters
The Argentine Masters or Torneo de Maestros was one of the most prestigious golf tournaments in Argentina, despite not having been played continuously since the inaugural event in 1961. It was always held at the Olivos Golf Club near Buenos Aires. ...
,
Metropolitan Championship
*1966
South Open,
Center Open,
Rio Cuarto Open
*1967
Argentine PGA Championship
The Argentine PGA Championship is a golf tournament played in Argentina since 1920. It was generally supported by the leading Argentine golfers and its list of champions includes Eduardo Romero (8 times), José Jurado (7 times), Vicente Fernández ...
,
Abierto del Litoral
*1968 Jockey Club Rosario Open
*1970
South Open
*1972 Jujuy Open
*1975
Argentine PGA Championship
The Argentine PGA Championship is a golf tournament played in Argentina since 1920. It was generally supported by the leading Argentine golfers and its list of champions includes Eduardo Romero (8 times), José Jurado (7 times), Vicente Fernández ...
Other wins (3)
*1958
Colombian Open, Uruguay Open
*1968 Los Leones Open (Chile)
Results in major championships
''Note: Ruiz never played in the
U.S. Open nor 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 halfway cut (3rd round cut in 1968 Open Championship)
"T" = tied
Team appearances
*
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
(representing Argentina):
1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a 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, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...
,
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
,
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
,
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Jan ...
,
1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 (K ...
,
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
,
1966,
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz, Leopoldo
Argentine male golfers
Sportspeople from Buenos Aires
1926 births
1986 deaths