Stephen Robert Pate (born May 26, 1961) is an American professional golfer who has played on both the PGA Tour, the Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour.
Career Pate was born in Ventura, California. He attended UCLA and was a member of the golf team; one teammate was Corey Pavin, who joined Pate on the PGA Tour. Pate helped lead the team to the 1983 Pac-10 Championship, and earned All-American honors that year. He turned pro and joined the PGA Tour later that year.
Pate has won six PGA Tour events. His first victory was at the 1987 Southwest Golf Classic; and his most recent win was at the 1998 CVS Charity Classic. His best years in professional golf were 1988 when he won twice and finished 12th on the money list; and 1991, when he had five top-3 finishes including a win at the Honda Classic, earned $727,997 and finished 6th on the money list. His best finish in a major is a T-3 at both the 1988 U.S. Open and the 1991 Masters. Pate has had more than 70 top-10 finishes in PGA Tour events. He has featured in the top-50 of the Official World Golf Ranking.
Pate's golf career is riddled by injuries. At the height of his career, playing some of the best golf on the PGA Tour, he was in a three vehicle pile up at the 1991 Ryder Cup and mainly cheered his teammates on from the sidelines. In 1996, he was in a nearly fatal car accident, where he shattered his wrist. Pate was not sure he would ever compete again at the highest level. He did return to the PGA Tour and in 1999, he finished T-4 in the Masters, setting the record, which holds today, of seven consecutive birdies in his third round (later to be tied by Tiger Woods). Finishing 13th on the 1999 money list, Pate was named the PGA Tour's Comeback Player of the Year.
Pate was a member of two winning Ryder Cup teams, 1991 and 1999. As he entered his 40s, he began to split his playing time between the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. He has one victory on the Nationwide Tour, the 2010 Pacific Rubiales Bogotá Open, which he won at age 48. It was his first professional win since 1998.
Pate made his Champions Tour debut on May 26, 2011, his 50th birthday, in the Senior PGA Championship.
Pate lives in Westlake Village, California. He acquired the nickname "Volcano" due to his eruptions on the golf course. In 2006, Pate teamed with Damian Pascuzzo completing numerous golf course design projects, including a recent remodel of La Costa.
Professional wins (8) PGA Tour wins (6) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Sep 27, 1987Southwest Golf Classic−15 (67-71-68-67=273)1 stroke Mark O'Meara, Bob Eastwood, Dan Halldorson, David Edwards2Jan 17, 1988MONY Tournament of Champions−14 (66-66-70=202)*1 stroke Larry Nelson 3Feb 21, 1988Shearson Lehman Hutton Andy Williams Open−19 (68-66-67-68=269)1 stroke Jay Haas4Mar 10, 1991Honda Classic−9 (69-65-70-75=279)3 strokes Paul Azinger, Dan Halldorson5Feb 23, 1992Buick Invitational of California (2)−16 (64-69-67=200)*1 stroke Chip Beck6Jul 26, 1998CVS Charity Classic−15 (70-65-67-67=269)1 stroke Bradley Hughes, Scott Hoch *Note: Tournament shortened to 54 holes due to rain.
PGA Tour playoff record (0–3) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult11985Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic Wayne LeviLost to birdie on second extra hole 21991BellSouth Atlanta Golf Classic Corey PavinLost to par on second extra hole31999GTE Byron Nelson Classic Loren RobertsLost to par on first extra hole
Nationwide Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Mar 7, 2010Pacific Rubiales Bogotá Open−11 (70-66-66-71=273)Playoff Aaron Watkins
Nationwide Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12010Pacific Rubiales Bogotá Open Aaron WatkinsWon with par on second extra hole
Other wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunners-up1Dec 6, 1998JCPenney Classic(with Meg Mallon)−29 (61-66-66-62=255)4 strokes Rachel Hetherington and Rocco Mediate
Other playoff record (0–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult11989Isuzu Kapalua International Peter JacobsenLost to birdie on third extra hole
Playoff record PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (0–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult11990The Crowns Noboru SugaiLost to par on first extra hole
Results in major championships Tournament1986198719881989Masters TournamentT36T26U.S. OpenT24T3T51The Open ChampionshipCUTT13PGA ChampionshipT53T61T62T41
Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999Masters TournamentT3T6CUTT4U.S. OpenT33T49CUTT19T21CUTT32T34The Open ChampionshipT8T644CUTT45PGA ChampionshipT31T7T4870T58CUTT8
Tournament200020012002Masters TournamentT49U.S. OpenCUTCUTThe Open ChampionshipT20PGA ChampionshipT4175
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 1 2 3 3 7 6U.S. Open 0 0 1 1 1 4 13 9The Open Championship 0 0 0 1 2 4 8 6PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 2 2 13 12Totals 0 0 2 4 8 13 41 33 Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1988 PGA – 1992 Masters) Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1992 PGA – 1992 Masters)
Results in The Players Championship Tournament1986198719881989The Players ChampionshipT72CUT57T34 Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999The Players ChampionshipT11T27T40CUTCUTCUTT42T58 Tournament20002001The Players ChampionshipT27T58
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place.
Results in World Golf Championships Tournament199920002001Match Play4R64R64ChampionshipT46NT1InvitationalT1237 1Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = Tied NT = No tournament
U.S. national team appearances Kirin Cup: 1988 (winners) Dunhill Cup: 1991 Ryder Cup: 1991, 1999
See also 1984 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 2003 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
References
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