Steve Jones (golfer)


Steven Glen Jones 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 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, 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 stroke, 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 January, he shot 26-under to defeat Jesper Parnevik by 11 strokes at the Phoenix Open. He followed that in September with his second career win at the Canadian Open, by one stroke over Greg Norman.
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.

Second comeback

In 2008 and 2009, Jones had surgeries for tennis elbow. He made his first full golf swings in January 2011. 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 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. 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, and a Champions Tour personal best finish of a tie for second at the 2012 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf. 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.
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.

Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (8)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Feb 7, 1988AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am72-64-70-74=280−8Playoff Bob Tway
2Jan 8, 1989MONY Tournament of Champions69-69-72-69=279−93 strokes David Frost, Jay Haas
3Jan 15, 1989Bob Hope Chrysler Classic76-68-67-63-69=343−17Playoff Paul Azinger, Sandy Lyle
4Jun 25, 1989Canadian Open67-64-70-70=271−172 strokes Clark Burroughs, Mark Calcavecchia,
Mike Hulbert
5Jun 16, 1996U.S. Open74-66-69-69=278−21 stroke Tom Lehman, Davis Love III
6Jan 26, 1997Phoenix Open62-64-65-67=258−2611 strokes Jesper Parnevik
7Sep 7, 1997Bell Canadian Open 71-68-67-69=275−51 stroke Greg Norman
8Jul 12, 1998Quad City Classic64-65-68-66=263−171 stroke Scott Gump

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11988AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Bob TwayWon with birdie on second extra hole
21989Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Paul Azinger, Sandy LyleWon with birdie on first extra hole
31990MCI Heritage Golf Classic Larry Mize, Payne StewartStewart won with birdie on second extra hole
Jones eliminated with par on first hole

Other wins (2)

Wins (1)

Results timeline

CUT = missed the half way cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

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

Results in World Golf Championships

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

U.S. national team appearances

Professional