Steve Jones (golfer)
Steve Jones | |||
---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||
Full name | Steven Glen Jones | ||
Born | Artesia, New Mexico | December 27, 1958||
Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||
Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st) | ||
Sporting nationality | ![]() | ||
Residence | Tempe, Arizona | ||
Career | |||
College | University of Colorado | ||
Turned professional | 1981 | ||
Current tour(s) | Champions Tour | ||
Former tour(s) | PGA Tour | ||
Professional wins | 10 | ||
Highest ranking | 14 (February 23, 1997)[1] | ||
Number of wins by tour | |||
PGA Tour | 8 | ||
Other | 2 | ||
Best results in major championships (wins: 1) | |||
Masters Tournament | T20: 1990 | ||
PGA Championship | T9: 1988 | ||
U.S. Open | Won: 1996 | ||
The Open Championship | T16: 1990 | ||
Achievements and awards | |||
|
Steven Glen Jones (born December 27, 1958) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the U.S. Open in 1996.
Early life and education
Jones was born in Artesia, New Mexico. He was a semi-finalist at the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1976. He attended the University of Colorado and turned professional in 1981.
Golf career
Early years
In the early years of his professional career, Jones did not have much success. He played the PGA Tour in 1982, but only made three cuts. His first top 10 finish on the PGA Tour came at the Texas Open in September 1985, and in 1986 he was medalist at the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament allowing Jones to retain his card for the following year.
1987–1994
Jones won on the PGA Tour for the first time at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in 1988. The following year in 1989 was most victorious year of his career with three PGA Tour wins, and he finished a career best eighth on the money list.
In November 1991, Jones suffered ligament and joint damage to his left ring finger in a dirtbike accident, and he missed almost three years of play as a professional. He played in only two events in 1994.
Comeback
Jones began his comeback in earnest in 1995, when he had two top 10 finishes. In 1996 he achieved three top ten places by May, but he was still a rank outsider when he picked up the U.S. Open title that June, which was the only major championship of his career. He defeated Tom Lehman and Davis Love III by one stoke, and was the first sectional qualifier to win the tournament since Jerry Pate in 1976.
Jones played for the United States in the 1996 World Cup of Golf. He won two more PGA Tour events in 1997; in 1998, he won another, his last to date.
1999–2007
Since 1999, Jones has slipped steadily down the money list. He remained exempt on the PGA Tour through 2006 because a major tournament win carried a 10-year exemption when he won in 1996. He missed part of 2003 and all of 2004 after undergoing surgery for tennis elbow, but starting playing again in 2005.
Jones was captain's assistant for the United States team at the Ryder Cup in 2004.
In 2007, he played in nine PGA tour events and four Nationwide tour events, making the cut six times, but no top-25 finishes.[2]
Comeback (again)
In 2008 and 2009, Jones had surgeries for tennis elbow. He made his first full golf swings in January 2011.[3] In 2011, Jones returned to playing professional golf. In January, Jones played the Bob Hope Classic on the PGA Tour. He then began playing on the Champions Tour in April.[4]
Professional wins
PGA Tour wins (8)
Legend |
Major championships (1) |
Other PGA Tour (7) |
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Feb 7, 1988 | AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am | 74-64-70-74=280 | −8 | Playoff | ![]() |
2 | Jan 8, 1989 | MONY Tournament of Champions | 69-69-72-69=279 | −9 | 3 strokes | ![]() ![]() |
3 | Jan 15, 1989 | Bob Hope Chrysler Classic | 76-68-67-63-69=343 | −17 | Playoff | ![]() ![]() |
4 | Jun 25, 1989 | Canadian Open | 67-64-70-70=271 | −17 | 2 strokes | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
5 | Jun 16, 1996 | U.S. Open | 74-66-69-69=278 | −2 | 1 stroke | ![]() ![]() |
6 | Jan 26, 1997 | Phoenix Open | 62-64-65-67=258 | −30 | 11 strokes | ![]() |
7 | Sep 7, 1997 | Bell Canadian Open | 71-68-67-69=275 | −13 | 1 stroke | ![]() |
8 | Jul 12, 1998 | Quad City Classic | 64-65-68-66=263 | −17 | 1 stroke | ![]() |
PGA Tour playoff record (2–1)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1988 | AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am | ![]() |
Won with birdie on second extra hole |
2 | 1989 | Bob Hope Chrysler Classic | ![]() ![]() |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
3 | 1990 | MCI Heritage Golf Classic | ![]() ![]() |
Stewart won with birdie on second extra hole |
Other wins
- 1987 JCPenney Classic (with Jane Crafter)
- 1988 Colorado Open
Major championships
Wins (1)
Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runners-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | U.S. Open | 1 shot deficit | −2 (74-66-69-69=278) | 1 stroke | ![]() ![]() |
Results timeline
Tournament | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | DNP | T30 | T31 |
U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | T46 |
The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | CUT |
PGA Championship | T61 | T9 | T51 |
Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | T20 | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | T26 | CUT |
U.S. Open | T8 | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | 1 | T60 | CUT | CUT |
The Open Championship | T16 | T64 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | T48 | T57 | DNP |
PGA Championship | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | T41 | DNP | CUT |
Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | T25 | T27 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
U.S. Open | T27 | T30 | CUT | DNP | DNP | T57 | T32 |
The Open Championship | T31 | CUT | T43 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
PGA Championship | T24 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
Summary
Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 |
U.S. Open | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 8 |
The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 |
PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 |
Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 38 | 25 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (2000 Masters – 2001 U.S. Open)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)
U.S. national team appearances
Professional
- World Cup: 1996
See also
References
- ^ "Week 08 1997 Ending 23 Feb 1997" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ "PGA Tour Profile – Steve Jones". PGA Tour. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
- ^ Martin, Sean (January 17, 2011). "Bob Hope Classic: Steve Jones makes a surprise appearance". Golfweek. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
- ^ "Champions Tour Season results – Steve Jones". PGA Tour. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
External links
- Steve Jones at the PGA Tour official site
- University of Colorado Athletics Hall of Fame