Steve Elkington
Elkington in 2008
Personal information
Full nameStephen John Elkington
Born (1962-12-08) 8 December 1962 (age 61)
Inverell, New South Wales, Australia
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Sporting nationality Australia
ResidenceSydney, New South Wales, Australia
Houston, Texas, U.S.
SpouseLisa Elkington
Children2
Career
CollegeUniversity of Houston
Turned professional1985
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
PGA Tour Champions
Professional wins17
Highest ranking3 (20 April 1997)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour10
Asian Tour1
PGA Tour of Australasia1
Other5
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters TournamentT3: 1993
PGA ChampionshipWon: 1995
U.S. OpenT21: 1989, 1990
The Open ChampionshipT2: 2002
Achievements and awards
Vardon Trophy1995

Stephen John Elkington (born 8 December 1962) is an Australian professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions. Formerly on the PGA Tour, he spent more than fifty weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking from 1995 to 1998.[2] Elkington won a major title at the PGA Championship in 1995,[3] and is a two-time winner of The Players Championship.[4][5]

Early years

Born in Inverell, New South Wales,[6] Elkington grew up in Wagga Wagga.[7] He moved to the United States to attend college in Texas at the University of Houston,[6] where he played on the Cougar golf team that won national titles in 1982, 1984, and 1985.[8] Elkington was the first prominent Australian to play college golf in the U.S., and turned professional in 1985.[6]

Professional career

Elkington was the runner-up at the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in December 1986 to earn his tour card for 1987.[9] He had ten victories on the PGA Tour, all in the 1990s, and won four events twice. Elkington had ten top-10 finishes in major championships, with the best results at the PGA Championship; he won in 1995 at Riviera,[3] and a tied for second in 2005 at Baltusrol, behind winner Phil Mickelson,[10][11] which moved him back into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a two-time winner of The Players Championship, the PGA Tour's marquee event, with victories in 1991 and 1997. Of the five to win twice at TPC Sawgrass, his span of six years between wins is the shortest.

In addition to his PGA Tour success, Elkington won the 1992 Australian Open and 1996 Honda Invitational on the Asian Tour.[12]

Elkington was a participant in the first four editions of the Presidents Cup, on the International Team in 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2000. In 1995, he was awarded the Vardon Trophy; this award is given annually by the PGA of America to the tour player with the lowest scoring average.

Elkington's career has been hampered by constant battles with allergies, notably to grass, which caused several absences from tournament play. He has had sinus surgeries, constant infections, and bouts with viral meningitis, as well as searing headaches.[3]

As of 2013, Elkington had sponsorship/endorsement deals with apparel brand Oxford Golf, Insperity, World Golf Tour, Grieve Family Winery, and Par West Custom Golf Shoes.[13]

He turned fifty in late 2012 and made his debut on the Champions Tour in June 2013.[14]

Controversies

In June 2006, playing in a sectional to qualify for the U.S. Open, Elkington tried to wear shoes with metal spikes. When his attempt was rebuffed, he left rather than change to soft-spiked shoes, and argued that since spiked shoes were allowed in the U.S. Open, the following week, that they should be allowed at sectional events.[15]

In December 2013, Elkington was widely condemned for remarks he made on Twitter following a fatal helicopter crash in Glasgow's Clutha pub. He wrote: "Helicopter crashes into Scottish pub... Locals report no beer was spilled." The tweet was quickly deleted but not before being shared by users of the social networking site. The comment provoked a furious backlash from his fellow players and commentators alike.[16]

Two months later in February 2014, Elkington tweeted that openly gay football player Michael Sam was "leading the handbag throw" at the NFL Combine, which multiple sources described as homophobic.[17][18][19] He was suspended by the PGA Tour for two weeks and fined $10,000 after his tweet.[20]

Television

In 2014, RFD-TV began airing The Rural Golfer, starring Elkington.[21] The production followed Elkington as he toured the United States, digging up golf stories. In 2015, CBS Sports Network began airing the second season of the show, retitled Secret Golf with Steve Elkington.[22]

Personal

Elkington met his wife, Lisa, while at the University of Houston, and they have two children.[23] The family has residences in both Australia and the U.S., at Sydney and Houston. His son Sam played golf on his high school team in Houston,[24] and played on the golf team at the University of Houston from 2015 to 2020.[25] His daughter works as a ceramics teacher.

Professional wins (17)

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.

PGA Tour playoff record (4–4)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1992 Infiniti Tournament of Champions United States Brad Faxon Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1992 Buick Open United States Brad Faxon, United States Dan Forsman Forsman won with par on second extra hole
Faxon eliminated by par on first hole
3 1992 H.E.B. Texas Open Zimbabwe Nick Price Lost to par on second extra hole
4 1993 KMart Greater Greensboro Open United States Rocco Mediate Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole
5 1995 Mercedes Championships United States Bruce Lietzke Won with birdie on second extra hole
6 1995 PGA Championship Scotland Colin Montgomerie Won with birdie on first extra hole
7 1998 Buick Challenge United States Fred Funk Won with par on first extra hole
8 2002 The Open Championship Australia Stuart Appleby, South Africa Ernie Els,
France Thomas Levet 		Els won with par on first extra hole after four-hole aggregate playoff;
Els: E (4-3-5-4=16),
Levet: E (4-2-5-5=16),
Appleby: +1 (4-3-5-5=17),
Elkington: +1 (5-3-4-5=17)

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

Other playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 1998 Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout
(with Australia Greg Norman) 		United States John Cook and United States Peter Jacobsen Won with birdie on third extra hole

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.

Results timeline

Tournament 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament T22 T37 T3 CUT T5 CUT T12 30 T11
U.S. Open T21 T21 T55 CUT T33 T36 T40 T24 CUT T51
The Open Championship CUT T44 T34 T48 T67 T6 CUT CUT WD CUT
PGA Championship T31 T41 CUT T32 T18 T14 T7 1 T3 T45 3
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Masters Tournament T52 CUT
U.S. Open T33 CUT
The Open Championship T60 CUT T2 WD CUT
PGA Championship WD T48 T2 CUT T39 CUT T5 CUT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half way cut
WD = Withdrew
"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 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

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

Results timeline

Tournament 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Players Championship CUT T54 CUT T16 1 CUT T16 T51 WD T19 1 T38
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
The Players Championship T63 CUT T26 T6 T12 T32 CUT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Match Play R64 R64 R64
Championship T34 NT1 WD
Invitational 39 T23 T49

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
WD = Withdrew
NT = No tournament

Results in senior major championships

Tournament 2013 2014
The Tradition T19 T9
Senior PGA Championship WD
Senior Players Championship T24
U.S. Senior Open T6 T49
Senior British Open Championship T11
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Team appearances

See also

References

  1. ^ "Week 16 1997 Ending 20 Apr 1997" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  2. ^ 69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking
  3. ^ a b c Reilly, Rick (21 August 1995). "Nothing to sneeze at". Sports Illustrated. p. 34.
  4. ^ Garrity, John (8 April 1991). "From shadows to glory". Sports Illustrated. p. 28.
  5. ^ Reilly, Rick (7 April 1997). "Show of shows". Sports Illustrated. p. 70.
  6. ^ a b c "Profile on PGA Tour's official site". Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  7. ^ "Steve Elkington profile". Sporting Hall of Fame. Museum of the Riverina. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  8. ^ Duarte, Joseph (25 May 2016). "University of Houston looks to return to golf glory". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  9. ^ "PGA Qualifying". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. 9 December 1986. p. B4.
  10. ^ "Biographical information from PGA Tour's official site". Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  11. ^ "Golf Major Championships". Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  12. ^ "Sports Shorts". Associated Press. 6 May 1996. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  13. ^ Emmett, James (16 May 2013). "Golf veteran Elkington nails a new deal for a new era - Sports Personal Endorsement news -". SportsPro. SportsPro Media. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  14. ^ Crenshaw Jr., Solomon (5 June 2013). "Rookie Steve Elkington says there's a lot of shot-making on the Champions Tour". al.com. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  15. ^ Campbell, Steve (6 June 2006). "Elkington's metal spikes raise clatter". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  16. ^ McEwan, Michael (2 December 2013). "Elkington blasted for Glasgow helicopter tweet". bunkered. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  17. ^ Coscarelli, Joe (25 February 2014). "Professional Golfer Steve Elkington Really Thinks He Nailed This Michael Sam Gay Joke". New York. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  18. ^ Schilken, Chuck (25 February 2014). "Golfer Steve Elkington tweets homophobic joke about Michael Sam". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  19. ^ Uribarri, Jaime (25 February 2014). "Golfer Steve Elkington writes homophobic tweet about Michael Sam". New York Daily News. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  20. ^ McDowell, Coleman (6 July 2015). "Steve Elkington Confirms He Was Suspended Over Michael Sam Tweet". Golf.com. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  21. ^ Sherman, Ed (24 July 2014). "No handicaps for these players: Steve Elkington show finds true winners in golf". www.shermanreport.com. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  22. ^ Bastable, Alan (23 July 2015). "Steve Elkington: The Golf Magazine Interview". Golf.com. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  23. ^ Verdi, Bob (17 May 2004). "A Throwback from the Outback". ESPN. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  24. ^ Stone, Peter (9 June 2012). "Son takes his turn with the master stroke". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  25. ^ "Sam Elkington Bio – Men's Golf". University of Houston Official Athletic Site. Retrieved 7 April 2023.

External links

PGA Championship champions
Steve Elkington in the Presidents Cup
Players Championship champions
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