Steve Jones (golfer)

Steve Jones
Personal information
Full name	Steven Glen Jones
Born	(1958-12-27) December 27, 1958 (age 64) Artesia, New Mexico, U.S.
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Tempe, Arizona, U.S.
Career
College	University of Colorado
Turned professional	1981
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	10
Highest ranking	14 (February 23, 1997) [1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	8
European Tour	1
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
PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year 1996

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. ^[2] He was a semi-finalist at the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1976. He attended the University of Colorado and turned professional in 1981. ^[2]

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 came at the Texas Open in September 1985, and in 1986 he was medalist at the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, allowing him 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, 1989, was the winningest of his career with three PGA Tour wins. In January, he opened the season with a win in the MONY Tournament of Champions. He won again the next week, in a playoff over Paul Azinger and Sandy Lyle in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. In June he captured the Canadian Open with a two-stroke win over Mark Calcavecchia, Mike Hulbert and Clark Burroughs. He finished the season 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 and U.S. Open win

Jones began his comeback in earnest in 1995, when he had two top-10 finishes. In 1996, he achieved three top-10 finishes by May. Considered a rank outsider in June 1996, Jones won the U.S. Open which was the only major championship of his career, defeating Tom Lehman and Davis Love III by one stroke. He was also the first sectional qualifier to win the tournament since Jerry Pate in 1976. Afterwards, Jones was selected as the PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year for 1996 and he played for the United States in the 1996 World Cup of Golf.

Jones won two more PGA Tour events in 1997. In January, he shot 26-under to defeat Jesper Parnevik by an impressive 11 strokes at the Phoenix Open. ^[3] He followed that in September with his second career win at the Canadian Open, by one stroke over Greg Norman. ^[4]

In 1998, he won the Quad City Classic, his last PGA Tour victory 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 a 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 with no top-25 finishes. ^[2]

Return to professional golf

In 2008 and 2009, Jones had surgeries for tennis elbow. He made his first full golf swings in January 2011. ^[5] In 2011, Jones returned to playing professional golf. In January, Jones played the Bob Hope Classic on the PGA Tour.

Champions Tour

Jones began playing on the Champions Tour (now PGA Tour Champions) in April 2011, making his debut at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, where he and partner Doug Tewell tied for 10th in the Raphael Division. ^[4] His best individual effort among his 10 official starts was a T16 at The Senior Open Championship at Walton Heath. In 2012, he played in 12 Champions Tour events, with five top-25 finishes, earnings of $164,934, ^[4] and a Champions Tour personal best finish of a tie for second at the 2012 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf. ^[6] His 11th-place finish at the National Qualifying Tournament earned him a conditional spot on the tour for the following year. In 2013, he played in 15 events with three top-25 finishes and $153,335 in earnings. In 2014, he played 11 events on the Champions Tour, making 9 cuts, and with a best finish T40 at the Pacific Links Hawaii Championship. In 2015, he played 13 events, making all the cuts and posting one top ten, T9 at the Senior PGA Championship. Jones has not played any Champions Tour events in 2016. ^[7]

His career on the PGA Tour Champions consists of 70 events played, making 66 cuts and two top-10 finishes. His total career earnings are over $800,000. ^[7]

Professional wins (10)

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	72-64-70-74=280	−8	Playoff	Bob Tway
2	Jan 8, 1989	MONY Tournament of Champions	69-69-72-69=279	−9	3 strokes	David Frost, Jay Haas
3	Jan 15, 1989	Bob Hope Chrysler Classic	76-68-67-63-69=343	−17	Playoff	Paul Azinger, Sandy Lyle
4	Jun 25, 1989	Canadian Open	67-64-70-70=271	−17	2 strokes	Clark Burroughs, Mark Calcavecchia, Mike Hulbert
5	Jun 16, 1996	U.S. Open	74-66-69-69=278	−2	1 stroke	Tom Lehman, Davis Love III
6	Jan 26, 1997	Phoenix Open	62-64-65-67=258	−26	11 strokes	Jesper Parnevik
7	Sep 7, 1997	Bell Canadian Open (2)	71-68-67-69=275	−5	1 stroke	Greg Norman
8	Jul 12, 1998	Quad City Classic	64-65-68-66=263	−17	1 stroke	Scott Gump

PGA Tour playoff record (2–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1988	AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am	Bob Tway	Won with birdie on second extra hole
2	1989	Bob Hope Chrysler Classic	Paul Azinger, Sandy Lyle	Won with birdie on first extra hole
3	1990	MCI Heritage Golf Classic	Larry Mize, Payne Stewart	Stewart won with birdie on second extra hole Jones eliminated by par on first hole

Other wins (2)

• 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	Tom Lehman, Davis Love III

Results timeline

Tournament	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament		T30	T31
U.S. Open			T46
The Open Championship			CUT
PGA Championship	T61	T9	T51

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament	T20	CUT						CUT	T26	CUT
U.S. Open	T8	CUT					1	T60	CUT	CUT
The Open Championship	T16	T64					CUT	T48	T57
PGA Championship	CUT						CUT	T41		CUT

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Masters Tournament	T25	T27
U.S. Open	T27	T30	CUT			T57	T32
The Open Championship	T31	CUT	T43
PGA Championship	T24

  Win

  Top 10

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

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)

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament	1987	1988	1989
The Players Championship	T15	T48	T41

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
The Players Championship	T3	T41					T33	CUT	T25	CUT

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
The Players Championship	T27	T50	CUT	T62		T75	CUT

  Top 10

  Did not play

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

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament	1999
Match Play	R16
Championship
Invitational

  Top 10

  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

• World Cup: 1996

See also

• Fall 1981 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
• 1984 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
• 1986 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates

References

1. "Week 08 1997 Ending 23 Feb 1997" (pdf). OWGR . Retrieved September 25, 2019.
2. "Steve Jones – Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
3. "1997 Results for Phoenix Open". Database Golf. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
4. "Steve Jones – Season". PGA Tour. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
5. Martin, Sean (January 17, 2011). "Bob Hope Classic: Steve Jones makes a surprise appearance". Golfweek . Retrieved August 1, 2011.
6. "Steve Jones profile – 73rd Senior PGAChampionship". PGA of America. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
7. "Steve Jones – Career" . Retrieved May 9, 2019.

External links

• Steve Jones at the PGA Tour official site
• Steve Jones at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
• University of Colorado Athletics Hall of Fame