Stephen Robert Pate (born May 26, 1961) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who has played on both the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

, the Nationwide Tour and

Champions Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many year ...

Career

Pate was born in

Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura ( Spanish for " Saint Bonaventure"), is a city on the Southern Coast of California and the county seat of Ventura County. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist d ...

. He attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

and was a member of the

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

team; one teammate was

Corey Pavin Corey Allen Pavin (born November 16, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and currently on the PGA Tour Champions. He spent over 150 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1986 and 1997 a ...

, 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

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 The Honda Classic is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in south Florida. It was founded in 1972 as Jackie Gleason's Inverrary Classic, and prior to a schedule change in 2021 was frequently the first of the Florida events in late winte ...

, 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 The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

. 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 The 29th Ryder Cup Matches were held September 27–29, 1991, on The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, southwest of Charleston. The United States team won the competition by 14 to 13 points, winning b ...

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 Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

). 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

debut on May 26, 2011, his 50th birthday, in the

Senior PGA Championship The Senior PGA Championship, established in 1937, is the oldest of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both PGA ...

. Pate lives in

Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vil ...

. 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)

''*Note: Tournament shortened to 54 holes due to rain.'' PGA Tour playoff record (0–3)

Nationwide Tour wins (1)

Nationwide Tour playoff record (1–0)

Other wins (1)

Other playoff record (0–1)

Playoff record

Japan Golf Tour playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1988 PGA – 1992 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1992 PGA – 1992 Masters)

Results in The Players Championship

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

Results in World Golf Championships

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 The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (International competition which nation ...

: 1988 (winners) * Dunhill Cup:

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pate, Steve American male golfers UCLA Bruins men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golf course architects Golfers from California People from Ventura, California People from Westlake Village, California Sportspeople from Ventura County, California 1961 births Living people