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Jan Stephenson

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Jan Stephenson
Personal information
Full nameJan Lynne Stephenson
Born (1951-12-22) 22 December 1951 (age 72)
Sydney, Australia
Height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Sporting nationality Australia
ResidenceWindermere, Florida
Career
CollegeHales College
Turned professional1973
Former tour(s)LPGA Tour (joined 1974)
ALPG Tour (joined 1973)
Professional wins26
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour16
Ladies European Tour1
LPGA of Japan Tour2
ALPG Tour2
Other5
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 3)
Chevron Championship2nd: 1985
Women's PGA C'shipWon: 1982
U.S. Women's OpenWon: 1983
du Maurier ClassicWon: 1981
Women's British OpenDNP
Achievements and awards
LPGA Tour
Rookie of the Year
1974

Jan Lynne 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 in all.

Career

Stephenson was born 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. She turned professional in 1973 and won the Wills Australian Ladies Open that year. Stephenson joined the LPGA Tour in 1974 and was named LPGA Rookie of the Year.[1]

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.[1]

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.[1]

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.[1]

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, missing the cut. 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.[1]

Stephenson was a contestant in the 2011 season of Dancing with the Stars on Channel Seven.

She was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.[2]

Controversy

She 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, which is ironic because she was also an international player. She later apologised, saying that she "did not intend to make it a racial issue."[3]

Professional wins (26)

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 United States Sandra Haynie, United States Judy Meister
2 25 Apr 1976 Birmingham Classic −13 (65-70-68=203) 4 strokes United States Kathy Martin
3 8 May 1978 Women's International −5 (68-72-69-74=283) 4 strokes United States Beth Daniel (a)
4 2 Mar 1980 Sun City Classic −13 (66-71-67-71=275) 1 stroke New Zealand M.J. Smith
5 5 Jul 1981 Peter Jackson Classic −10 (69-66-70-73=278) 1 stroke United States Pat Bradley, United States Nancy Lopez
6 16 Aug 1981 Mary Kay Classic −18 (65-69-64=198) 11 strokes United States Sandra Haynie
7 13 Sep 1981 United Virginia Bank Classic −14 (66-71-68=205) 3 strokes United States Janet Alex, South Africa Sally Little
8 13 Jun 1982 LPGA Championship −9 (69-69-70-71=279) 2 strokes United States JoAnne Carner
9 20 Jun 1982 Lady Keystone Open −5 (71-71-69=211) 1 stroke United States Barbara Moxness, United States Alexandra Reinhardt
10 27 Feb 1983 Tucson Conquistadores LPGA Open −9 (72-68-67=207) 5 strokes United States Amy Alcott
11 19 Jun 1983 Lady Keystone Open −11 (69-67-69=205) 1 stroke United States Pat Bradley
12 31 Jul 1983 U.S. Women's Open +6 (72-73-71-74=290) 1 stroke United States JoAnne Carner, United States Patty Sheehan
13 24 Mar 1985 GNA Classic +2 (70-73-72-75=290) 1 stroke United States Amy Alcott, United States Pat Bradley,
United States Barbara Moxness
14 19 Apr 1987 Santa Barbara Open −1 (74-68-73=215) 1 stroke United States Jane Geddes, Japan Ayako Okamoto
15 20 Sep 1987 Safeco Classic −11 (68-70-71-68=277) 1 stroke United States Nancy Lopez
16 27 Sep 1987 Konica San Jose Classic −11 (69-71-65=205) 5 strokes United States Amy Alcott

LPGA Tour playoff record (0–4)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1979 Women's Kemper Open United States Donna Caponi, United States JoAnne Carner,
Japan Chako Higuchi, United States Nancy Lopez
Carner won with par on second extra hole
Caponi, Lopez, and Stephenson eliminated with par on first hole
2 1981 Inamori Classic United States Amy Alcott, United States Donna Caponi,
United States Hollis Stacy
Stacy won with birdie on first extra hole
3 1986 Mayflower Classic United States Christa Johnson, United States Sandra Palmer Palmer won with birdie on first extra hole
4 1999 Firstar LPGA Classic United States Becky Iverson, United States Rosie Jones Jones won with par on fourth extra hole
Stephenson eliminated with par on first hole

ALPG Tour (2)

Ladies European Tour (1)

  • 1985 (1) Hennessy French Open

LPGA of Japan Tour (2)

Legends Tour (3)

Other (2)

Major championships

Wins (3)

Year Championship Winning score Margin Runner(s)-up
1981 Peter Jackson Classic −10 (69-66-70-73=278) 1 stroke United States Pat Bradley, United States Nancy Lopez-Melton
1982 LPGA Championship −9 (69-69-70-71=279) 2 strokes United States JoAnne Carner
1983 U.S. Women's Open +6 (72-73-71-74=290) 1 stroke United States JoAnne Carner, United States Patty Sheehan

Team appearances

Professional

  • Handa Cup (representing World team): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 (tie), 2013 (winners)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Jan Stephenson at About.com
  2. ^ "Jan Stephenson". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  3. ^ Markus, Don (26 May 2004). "Bridging the gap". ESPN. Retrieved 29 March 2013.

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