Paul Stankowski

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Paul Stankowski
Personal information
Full namePaul Francis Stankowski
Born (1969-12-02) December 2, 1969 (age 55)
Oxnard, California
Sporting nationalityFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Residence Flower Mound, Texas
Career
College University of Texas at El Paso
Turned professional1991
Current tour(s) PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Nationwide Tour
Gateway Tour
Professional wins8
Highest ranking 25 (September 7, 1997) [1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour2
Japan Golf Tour1
Korn Ferry Tour1
Other4
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T5: 1997
PGA Championship T41: 2000
U.S. Open T19: 1997
The Open Championship CUT: 1997

Paul Francis Stankowski (born December 2, 1969) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He previously played on the Korn Ferry Tour, where he won one event, and the PGA Tour, where he was a two-time champion.

Contents

Early life

Stankowski was born in Oxnard, California. [2] [3] He first played golf on Easter Sunday in 1978 at the age of 8. He attended the University of Texas at El Paso.

Professional career

In 1991, Stankowski turned professional. He initially played on the Nike Tour. His first and only victory in this tour came at the 1996 Nike Louisiana Open. The following week, he played in the BellSouth Classic on the PGA Tour. Stankowski started the week as the sixth alternate. He won becoming the only golfer in history to win a developmental tour event and a PGA Tour event in back-to-back weeks. He had another big year in 1997, winning the United Airlines Hawaiian Open. His best finish in a major was T5 at the 1997 Masters Tournament. [4]

In 1998, however, his fortunes began to change due to a host of injury-related ailments. He injured his right shoulder at the Bay Hill Invitational that year and also had LASIK surgery. As a Callaway sponsored player in 1999, he tried to help his game by sneaking Ping clubs into his bag at the Colonial. [5] In 2004, he suffered a major injury to his left wrist and played the two following years under a Major Medical Extension.

Stankowski made over 400 starts on the PGA Tour. Towards the end of his PGA Tour career, his desire to be closer to his family resulted in him focusing entrepreneurship and radio broadcasting. He is the co-owner of Francis Edward, a leather goods company whose name is derived from the middle names of Stankowski and co-founder Mike Vicary. [6]

In 2018 and 2019, he took advantage of an exemption reserved for those 48 and 49 years old on the Korn Ferry Tour, playing in a total of six events but not making the cut in any of them.

In December 2021, Stankowski finished high enough at the PGA Tour Champions Qualifying School (Q-School) to earn eligibility to compete in open qualifiers for PGA Tour Champions events in 2022. [7]

Personal life

Stankowski is married and has two children.

Stankowski is active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and sponsored the annual Paul Stankowski FCA Golf Scramble in El Paso for a time. He lives in Flower Mound, Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Professional wins (8)

PGA Tour wins (2)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1Apr 7, 1996 BellSouth Classic −8 (68-71-70-71=280)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Brandel Chamblee
2Feb 16, 1997 United Airlines Hawaiian Open −17 (71-66-64-70=271)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Jim Furyk, Flag of the United States.svg Mike Reid

PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1996 BellSouth Classic Flag of the United States.svg Brandel Chamblee Won with par on first extra hole
2 1997 United Airlines Hawaiian Open Flag of the United States.svg Jim Furyk, Flag of the United States.svg Mike Reid Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
Reid eliminated by par on first hole

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Nov 24, 1996 Casio World Open −11 (69-69-71-68=277)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg David Ishii

PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1996 Casio World Open Flag of the United States.svg David Ishii Won with birdie on first extra hole

Nike Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Mar 31, 1996 Nike Louisiana Open −22 (69-66-64-67=266)4 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Greg Whisman

Gateway Tour wins (1)

Other wins (3)

Results in major championships

Tournament199419951996199719981999200020012002
Masters Tournament CUTT5T39
U.S. Open CUTT19CUTT62
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship CUTT47T67CUTT4174
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament1995199619971998199920002001200220032004
The Players Championship CUTT14WDCUTCUTT44CUTCUTT16
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in senior major championships

Tournament2021202220232024
The Tradition T23
Senior PGA Championship T23T43T26T17
U.S. Senior Open T18T8
Senior Players Championship T20T38T4416
The Senior Open Championship CUTCUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Week 36 1997 Ending 7 Sep 1997" (pdf). OWGR . Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  2. ↑ Glick, Shav (July 30, 1989). "Stankowski Leads SoCal Team in Pacific Coast Play". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  3. ↑ Ledin, Loren (March 6, 2019). "Ronney Jenkins leads Fab Five into Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame". Ventura County Star. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Paul Stankowski". Golf Major Championships. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Stankowski caught with wrong clubs in his bag". Brownsville Herald. May 26, 1999. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Francis Edward, Stankowski's belt company".
  7. ↑ Kelly, Todd (December 10, 2021). "Rob Labritz among five golfers to earn 2022 tour cards at PGA Tour Champions Q-School". Golfweek. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
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