Steve Elkington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Steve Elkington |
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Elkington in 2023
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| Personal information | |
| Full name | Stephen John Elkington |
| Born | 8 December 1962 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) |
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| 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.
Contents
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
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 |  Mike Reid, Jeff Sluman |
| 2 | 31 Mar 1991 | The Players Championship | 66-70-72-68=276 | −12 | 1 stroke | Fuzzy Zoeller |
| 3 | 12 Jan 1992 | Infiniti Tournament of Champions | 69-71-67-72=279 | −9 | Playoff | Brad Faxon |
| 4 | 2 Oct 1994 | Buick Southern Open | 66-66-68=200* | −16 | 5 strokes |  Steve Rintoul |
| 5 | 8 Jan 1995 | Mercedes Championships (2) | 69-71-71-67=278 | −10 | Playoff | Bruce Lietzke |
| 6 | 13 Aug 1995 | PGA Championship | 68-67-68-64=267 | −17 | Playoff |  Colin Montgomerie |
| 7 | 9 Mar 1997 | Doral-Ryder Open | 70-66-70-69=275 | −13 | 2 strokes | Larry Nelson,  Nick Price |
| 8 | 30 Mar 1997 | The Players Championship (2) | 66-69-68-69=272 | −16 | 7 strokes | Scott Hoch |
| 9 | 4 Oct 1998 | Buick Challenge (2) | 66-70-66-65=267 | −21 | Playoff | Fred Funk |
| 10 | 7 Mar 1999 | Doral-Ryder Open (2) | 72-70-69-64=275 | −13 | 1 stroke | 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 |  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 | Peter McWhinney, 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 Tom Purtzer) |
63-63=128 | −16 | 1 stroke | Fred Couples and Davis Love III, Brad Faxon and Rick Fehr, Jim Gallagher Jr. and Bruce Lietzke |
| 2 | 21 Nov 1993 | Franklin Funds Shark Shootout (with Raymond Floyd) |
62-64-62=188 | −28 | 1 stroke | Mark Calcavecchia and Brad Faxon, Hale Irwin and Bruce Lietzke, Tom Kite and Davis Love III, Mark O'Meara and Curtis Strange |
| 3 | 19 Nov 1995 | Franklin Templeton Shootout (2) (with Mark Calcavecchia) |
64-61-59=184 | −32 | 1 stroke | Chip Beck and Lee Janzen |
| 4 | 14 Dec 1997 | Diners Club Matches (with Jeff Maggert) |
2 and 1 | Tom Lehman and Duffy Waldorf |
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| 5 | 15 Nov 1998 | Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout (3) (with Greg Norman) |
67-64-58=189 | −27 | Playoff | John Cook and 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 | 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 | Fuzzy Zoeller |
| 1997 | The Players Championship (2) | 2 shot lead | −16 (66-69-68-69=272) | 7 strokes | 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
