Stan Leonard, a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame who won three times on the PGA Tour, has died at 90. Leonard succumbed on December 15th to heart failure in his hometown of Vancouver, B.C.

On the PGA Tour, Leonard won the Greater Greensboro Open in 1957, the Tournament of Champions a year later and got his third and last victory in the 1960 Western Open. He had three top-10 finishes in 12 Masters appearances and took the Canadian PGA Championship an unprecedented eight times from 1940 to 1961.

Leonard won six amateur titles and 40 professional tournaments across Canada. He won the 1932 B.C. Amateur title when he was 17. In addition to his eight Canadian PGA Championships, Leonard won five B.C. Opens, nine Alberta Opens and two Saskatchewan Opens.
Leonard became Marine Drive's head pro in 1942, but continued to win at the highest levels of golf. He didn't really start on the Tour until he was 40. According to Lorne Rubenstein of the (Toronto) Globe and Mail, Leonard and Ben Hogan were kindred spirits, and they played many practice rounds together.

Rubenstein said that Leonard's late start in tour golf might have contributed to his cantankerousness. He regretted that he hadn't played on the PGA Tour when he was younger, even though he enjoyed his work at Marine Drive.

Gary Alles of Toronto caddied for Leonard during the 1962 Canadian PGA Championship at the Mississaugua Golf and Country Club west of Toronto. "He was a grouchy bugger," Alles told Rubenstein. "But he could play."

Until the end, Leonard visited Marine Drive to interact with members, play bridge or hit a few putts on the practice green. He was proud to have represented British Columbia nine times on its Willingdon Cup team. The interprovincial event is held annually during the Canadian Amateur.
In appreciation of his years of his service, Marine Drive made Leonard its honorary professional for life. The club will host a celebration of his life on Thursday (December 22) afternoon.