Jan Stephenson
Australian professional golfer (born 1951)
Jan Lynn Stephenson (born 22 December 1951) is an Australian professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1974 and won three major championships and 16 LPGA Tour events. She has 41 worldwide victories including (10) LPGA Legends Tour wins and 8 worldwide major championships. She has 15 holes-in-one with nine in competition. She was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, class of 2019.
01Early life and amateur career
Stephenson was born on 22 December 1951 in Sydney. While a teenager, she won five consecutive New South Wales Schoolgirl Championships in Australia, beginning in 1964, and followed that up with three straight wins in the New South Wales Junior Championship.
02Professional career
In 1973, Stephenson turned professional. She won the Wills Australian Ladies Open that year. She joined the LPGA Tour in 1974 and was named LPGA Rookie of the Year.
Stephenson's first LPGA victory was the 1976 Sarah Coventry Naples Classic. Her most productive period was the early 1980s, when she won all of her majors in consecutive years: 1981 Peter Jackson Classic, the 1982 LPGA Championship and the 1983 U.S. Women's Open.
Stephenson was one of the first LPGA stars to openly embrace and champion a sex-sells approach to marketing. Stephenson became as famous for her sex appeal as her golf during the early to mid-1980s, when she posed in a bathtub, covered up only by the golf balls filling the tub, and later in a pinup calendar. She urged the LPGA Tour to fully embrace her approach to marketing.
On the golf course, Stephenson won three times each in 1981, 1983 and 1987, those wins in 1987 being her final ones on the LPGA. Stephenson continued playing LPGA events throughout the 1990s, but was hampered by an injury incurred during a mugging in Miami in 1990. Her left ring finger was broken in two places, an injury that still bothers her play in cold or wet weather.
Stephenson went on to win on the Women's Senior Golf Tour, a tour she helped found. In 2003, she became the first woman to play on the Champions Tour at the Turtle Bay Championship, where she finished in last place. Stephenson is among the few women in the course design business, and produced an exercise video for people with arthritis. Her many charitable efforts include being an honorary chairman of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Stephenson is an Ambassador for blind and disabled golf through ISPS Handa and has acquired Tarpon Woods Golf Club in Palm Harbor through her Foundation (Jan Stephenson's Crossroads Foundation) www.jscrossroads.com. The golf course provides initiatives for blind/disabled and wounded veterans and first responders. Her mission is, "Giving to Those that have Given so Much". She has been recognised for her philanthropic work by the Government of Australia and other charitable organisations. She was awarded recognition by the Military Order of the Purple Heart in October 2017 for her service to combat wounded/disabled/blind veterans and first responders. Her Foundation was awarded the Charity of the Year by the Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce in September 2018.
03Controversy
Stephenson made a controversial remark in 2003 when she said "Asians are killing the (LPGA) Tour", referring to the large number of Korean-born players who were winning on tour, and calling for quotas on international players, although she was also an international player she believed that the LPGA should focus on American players. She later apologised, saying that she "did not intend to make it a racial issue."
04Personal life
Stephenson was briefly married to Sydney business man Gilbert Thomas in her young adulthood.
She was a contestant in the 2011 season of Dancing with the Stars on Channel Seven.
05Awards and honours
- In 1974, Stephenson earned LPGA Rookie of the Year honors.
- In 1985, she was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
- In the 2018 Australia Day Honours, Stephenson was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) "for service to golf, and to not-for-profit organisations."
- In 2019, she was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame.
06Professional wins (27)
LPGA Tour (16)
| Legend |
|---|
| LPGA Tour major championships (3) |
| Other LPGA Tour (13) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 Feb 1976 | Sarah Coventry Naples Classic | +2 (73-69-76=218) | 1 stroke | Sandra Haynie Judy Meister |
| 2 | 25 Apr 1976 | Birmingham Classic | −13 (65-70-68=203) | 4 strokes | Kathy Martin |
| 3 | 8 May 1978 | Women's International | −5 (68-72-69-74=283) | 4 strokes | Beth Daniel (a) |
| 4 | 2 Mar 1980 | Sun City Classic | −13 (66-71-67-71=275) | 1 stroke | M.J. Smith |
| 5 | 5 Jul 1981 | Peter Jackson Classic | −10 (69-66-70-73=278) | 1 stroke | Pat Bradley Nancy Lopez |
| 6 | 16 Aug 1981 | Mary Kay Classic | −18 (65-69-64=198) | 11 strokes | Sandra Haynie |
| 7 | 13 Sep 1981 | United Virginia Bank Classic | −14 (66-71-68=205) | 3 strokes | Janet Alex Sally Little |
| 8 | 13 Jun 1982 | LPGA Championship | −9 (69-69-70-71=279) | 2 strokes | JoAnne Carner |
| 9 | 20 Jun 1982 | Lady Keystone Open | −5 (71-71-69=211) | 1 stroke | Barbara Moxness Alexandra Reinhardt |
| 10 | 27 Feb 1983 | Tucson Conquistadores LPGA Open | −9 (72-68-67=207) | 5 strokes | Amy Alcott |
| 11 | 19 Jun 1983 | Lady Keystone Open | −11 (69-67-69=205) | 1 stroke | Pat Bradley |
| 12 | 31 Jul 1983 | U.S. Women's Open | +6 (72-73-71-74=290) | 1 stroke | JoAnne Carner Patty Sheehan |
| 13 | 24 Mar 1985 | GNA Classic | +2 (70-73-72-75=290) | 1 stroke | Amy Alcott Pat Bradley Barbara Moxness |
| 14 | 19 Apr 1987 | Santa Barbara Open | −1 (74-68-73=215) | 1 stroke | Jane Geddes Ayako Okamoto |
| 15 | 20 Sep 1987 | Safeco Classic | −11 (68-70-71-68=277) | 1 stroke | Nancy Lopez |
| 16 | 27 Sep 1987 | Konica San Jose Classic | −11 (69-71-65=205) | 5 strokes | Amy Alcott |
LPGA Tour playoff record (0-4)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1979 | Women's Kemper Open | Donna Caponi JoAnne Carner Chako Higuchi Nancy Lopez |
Carner won with par on second extra hole Caponi, Lopez, and Stephenson eliminated by par on first hole |
| 2 | 1981 | Inamori Classic | Amy Alcott Donna Caponi Hollis Stacy |
Stacy won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1986 | Mayflower Classic | Christa Johnson Sandra Palmer |
Palmer won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 4 | 1999 | Firstar LPGA Classic | Becky Iverson Rosie Jones |
Jones won with par on fourth extra hole Stephenson eliminated by par on first hole |
ALPG Tour (2)
- 1973 (1) Wills Australian Ladies Open
- 1977 (1) Wills Qantas Australian Ladies Open
Ladies European Tour (1)
LPGA of Japan Tour (2)
- 1981 (1) World Ladies
- 1985 (1) Nichirei Ladies Cup
Legends Tour (4)
- 2000 HyVee Classic
- 2005 BJ's Charity Championship (with Cindy Rarick; tie with Pat Bradley and Patty Sheehan)
- 2007 Handa Australia Cup
- 2021 BJ's Charity Championship (with Laura Diaz)
Other (2)
- 1983 JCPenney Mixed Team Classic (with Fred Couples)
- 1990 JCPenney/LPGA Skins Game
07Major championships
Wins (3)
| Year | Championship | Winning score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Peter Jackson Classic | −10 (69-66-70-73=278) | 1 stroke | Pat Bradley, Nancy Lopez-Melton |
| 1982 | LPGA Championship | −9 (69-69-70-71=279) | 2 strokes | JoAnne Carner |
| 1983 | U.S. Women's Open | +6 (72-73-71-74=290) | 1 stroke | JoAnne Carner, Patty Sheehan |
08Team appearances
Amateur
- Tasman Cup (representing Australia): 1970 (winners)
Professional
- Handa Cup (representing World team): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 (tie), 2013 (winners), 2015
Sources and credits
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