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Steve Elkington
Elkington in 2023
Personal information
Full name Stephen John Elkington
Born (1962-12-08) 8 December 1962 (age 62)
Inverell, New South Wales, Australia
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Nationality  Australia
Residence Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Spouse Lisa Elkington
Children 2
Career
College University of Houston
Turned professional 1985
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
PGA Tour Champions
Professional wins 17
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 10
Asian Tour 1
PGA Tour of Australasia 1
Other 5
Best results in Major Championships
(Wins: 1)
The Masters Tournament T3: 1993
U.S. Open T21: 1989, 1990
The Open Championship T2: 2002
PGA Championship Won: 1995
Achievements and awards
Vardon Trophy 1995

Stephen John Elkington (born 8 December 1962) is an Australian professional golf player. He plays on the PGA Tour Champions, a golf tour for older players. Before that, he played on the PGA Tour.

From 1995 to 1998, he was one of the top 10 golfers in the world for over 50 weeks. Steve Elkington won a major golf tournament called the PGA Championship in 1995. He also won The Players Championship two times.

Early Life & College Golf

Steve Elkington was born in Inverell, New South Wales, Australia. He grew up in a town called Wagga Wagga. He later moved to the United States to go to college.

He studied at the University of Houston in Texas. There, he played on the Cougar golf team. His team won national championships in 1982, 1984, and 1985. Steve was one of the first famous Australian golfers to play college golf in the U.S. He became a professional golfer in 1985.

Steve Elkington's Golf Career

PlayersElkington
Elkington in 2008

Steve Elkington joined the PGA Tour in 1987. He won ten tournaments on the PGA Tour, all in the 1990s. He even won four of these events twice!

He finished in the top 10 at major championships ten times. His best results were at the PGA Championship. He won this major tournament in 1995 at Riviera. In 2005, he tied for second place at Baltusrol. This helped him get back into the top 50 golfers in the world.

Steve also won The Players Championship twice. This is a very important event on the PGA Tour. He won it in 1991 and again in 1997. Only five players have won this event twice at TPC Sawgrass. Steve's six-year gap between wins is the shortest.

Besides his PGA Tour wins, Steve Elkington won the Australian Open in 1992. He also won the Honda Invitational on the Asian Tour in 1996.

Steve was part of the International Team for the first four Presidents Cup events. These were in 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2000. In 1998, his team won! In 1995, he received the Vardon Trophy. This award goes to the PGA Tour player with the lowest average score each year.

Steve's golf career was sometimes difficult because of health issues. He had problems with allergies, especially to grass. This caused him to miss some tournaments. He also had sinus surgeries, infections, and severe headaches. He even had viral meningitis at times.

In 2012, Steve turned 50 years old. He then started playing on the PGA Tour Champions in June 2013. This tour is for professional golfers aged 50 and older.

Television Shows

In 2014, Steve Elkington starred in a TV show called The Rural Golfer. It aired on RFD-TV. The show followed him as he traveled across the United States, finding interesting golf stories. In 2015, the show's second season aired on CBS Sports Network. It was renamed Secret Golf with Steve Elkington.

Family Life

Steve Elkington met his wife, Lisa, when they were both at the University of Houston. They have two children together. Their family lives in both Australia and the U.S. They have homes in Sydney and Houston.

His son, Sam, also played golf. He played on his high school team in Houston. Then, he played for the University of Houston golf team from 2015 to 2020. Steve's daughter works as a ceramics teacher.

Professional Wins

Steve Elkington has won 17 professional golf tournaments.

PGA Tour Wins (10)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Players Championships (2)
Other PGA Tour (7)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 22 Apr 1990 KMart Greater Greensboro Open 74-71-71-66=282 −6 2 strokes United States Mike Reid, United States Jeff Sluman
2 31 Mar 1991 The Players Championship 66-70-72-68=276 −12 1 stroke United States Fuzzy Zoeller
3 12 Jan 1992 Infiniti Tournament of Champions 69-71-67-72=279 −9 Playoff United States Brad Faxon
4 2 Oct 1994 Buick Southern Open 66-66-68=200* −16 5 strokes Australia Steve Rintoul
5 8 Jan 1995 Mercedes Championships (2) 69-71-71-67=278 −10 Playoff United States Bruce Lietzke
6 13 Aug 1995 PGA Championship 68-67-68-64=267 −17 Playoff Scotland Colin Montgomerie
7 9 Mar 1997 Doral-Ryder Open 70-66-70-69=275 −13 2 strokes United States Larry Nelson, Zimbabwe Nick Price
8 30 Mar 1997 The Players Championship (2) 66-69-68-69=272 −16 7 strokes United States Scott Hoch
9 4 Oct 1998 Buick Challenge (2) 66-70-66-65=267 −21 Playoff United States Fred Funk
10 7 Mar 1999 Doral-Ryder Open (2) 72-70-69-64=275 −13 1 stroke United States Greg Kraft

*Note: The 1994 Buick Southern Open was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

Asian PGA Tour Wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 5 May 1996 Honda Invitational 71-73-68-69=281 −7 1 stroke Philippines Felix Casas

PGA Tour of Australasia Wins (1)

Legend
Flagship events (1)
Other PGA Tour of Australasia (0)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1 29 Nov 1992 Australian Open 69-68-69-74=280 −8 2 strokes Australia Peter McWhinney, United States Duffy Waldorf

Other Wins (5)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1 24 Aug 1993 Fred Meyer Challenge
(with United States Tom Purtzer)
63-63=128 −16 1 stroke United States Fred Couples and United States Davis Love III,
United States Brad Faxon and United States Rick Fehr,
United States Jim Gallagher Jr. and United States Bruce Lietzke
2 21 Nov 1993 Franklin Funds Shark Shootout
(with United States Raymond Floyd)
62-64-62=188 −28 1 stroke United States Mark Calcavecchia and United States Brad Faxon,
United States Hale Irwin and United States Bruce Lietzke,
United States Tom Kite and United States Davis Love III,
United States Mark O'Meara and United States Curtis Strange
3 19 Nov 1995 Franklin Templeton Shootout (2)
(with United States Mark Calcavecchia)
64-61-59=184 −32 1 stroke United States Chip Beck and United States Lee Janzen
4 14 Dec 1997 Diners Club Matches
(with United States Jeff Maggert)
2 and 1 United States Tom Lehman and United States Duffy Waldorf
5 15 Nov 1998 Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout (3)
(with Australia Greg Norman)
67-64-58=189 −27 Playoff United States John Cook and United States Peter Jacobsen

Major Championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1995 PGA Championship 6 shot deficit −17 (68-67-68-64=267) Playoff1 Scotland Colin Montgomerie

1Defeated Montgomerie with birdie on first extra hole.

Summary of Major Results

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 1 2 2 5 11 8
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 3 12 9
The Open Championship 0 1 0 1 2 2 15 7
PGA Championship 1 1 2 5 6 8 19 13
Totals 1 2 3 8 10 18 57 37
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (twice)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

The Players Championship

Wins (2)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1991 The Players Championship 4 shot deficit −12 (66-70-72-68=276) 1 stroke United States Fuzzy Zoeller
1997 The Players Championship (2) 2 shot lead −16 (66-69-68-69=272) 7 strokes United States Scott Hoch

Team Appearances

Steve Elkington has represented Australia in several team golf events:

  • Presidents Cup (International team): 1994, 1996, 1998 (winners), 2000
  • World Cup (representing Australia): 1994
  • Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Australia): 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
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