# Steve Elkington

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. Elkington won a major title at the PGA Championship in 1995, and is a two-time winner of The Players Championship.

## Early years

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

## Professional career

Elkington was the runner-up at the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in December 1986 to earn his tour card for 1987. 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, and a tied for second in 2005 at Baltusrol, behind winner Phil Mickelson, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
He turned fifty in late 2012 and made his debut on the Champions Tour in June 2013.

## Television

In 2014, RFD-TV began airing The Rural Golfer, starring Elkington. 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.

## Personal life

Elkington met his wife, Lisa, while at the University of Houston, and they have two children. 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, and played on the golf team at the University of Houston from 2015 to 2020. 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 | 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.
PGA Tour playoff record (4–4)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 1992 | Infiniti Tournament of Champions | Brad Faxon | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 1992 | Buick Open | Brad Faxon, Dan Forsman | Forsman won with par on second extra hole Faxon eliminated by par on first hole |
| 3 | 1992 | H.E.B. Texas Open | Nick Price | Lost to par on second extra hole |
| 4 | 1993 | KMart Greater Greensboro Open | Rocco Mediate | Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole |
| 5 | 1995 | Mercedes Championships | Bruce Lietzke | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 6 | 1995 | PGA Championship | Colin Montgomerie | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 7 | 1998 | Buick Challenge | Fred Funk | Won with par on first extra hole |
| 8 | 2002 | The Open Championship | Stuart Appleby, Ernie Els, 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 | 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 | 2 and 1 | 2 and 1 | Tom Lehman and Duffy Waldorf |
| 5 | 15 Nov 1998 | Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout (3) (with Greg Norman) | 67-64-58=189 | −27 | Playoff | John Cook and Peter Jacobsen |
Other playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
| 1 | 1998 | Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout (with Greg Norman) | John Cook and 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) | Playoff$^1$ | Colin Montgomerie |
$^1$Defeated 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 | 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 |
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 |
* 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 |

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

## Results in World Golf Championships

| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2005 | 2006 |
| Match Play | R64 | R64 | | | R64 |
| Championship | T34 | | NT$^1$ | WD | |
| Invitational | 39 | | T23 | T49 | |
$^1$Cancelled due to 9/11
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 | |
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place WD = withdrew

## Team appearances

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