Steve Elkington

Category: Sporting Hall of Fame
Sport: Golf
Year Inducted: 1998

Steve Elkington


"I've always had a good head for golf."  Steve Elkington

Born in Inverell on 12 August 1962, Steve moved to Wagga Wagga with his family while still a young boy.

One of his idols growing up was fellow Australian Bruce Devlin, an eight-time winner on the PGA TOUR as well as a former winner on the Champions Tour.  A keen sportsman, it was on the greens of the Wagga Wagga Country Club that Steve perfected his now famous swing, perhaps surprisingly, as he is allergic to grass!

Steve moved to America to attend college at the University of Houston, where he became a member of their golf team, becoming the first prominent Australian player to play college golf in the U.S.A.

Turning professional in 1985, Steve has had ten PGA Tour victories in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995 (two wins), 1997 (two wins), 1998 and 1999.  In addition to this, he also had ten top-ten finishes in major championships including the 1980 Australian and New Zealand Amateur tournaments, the 1981 Australian Amateur, 1992 Australian Open and 1996 Honda Invitational in Asia.

Steve also successfully competed in the 1993, 1995 and 1998 Franklin Templeton Shootout, the longest-running PGA Tour-sanctioned post-season event, which throughout its history has included many of golf's greatest players, competing as pairs.  Steve partnered Raymond Floyd, Mark Calcavecchia and Greg Norman respectively.

A tie for second in the 2005 PGA Championship behind winner Phil Mickelson moved Steve back into the top 50 in official world golf rankings.

He was a member of the International team in 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000 Presidents Cups and in 1995, was awarded the Vardon Trophy.  This annual award is presented by the PGA of America to the tour player with the lowest scoring average.

Today, in 2016, Steve still plays on the Tour, and has his own show on RFD-TV called 'The Rural Golfer' which made its debut in July 2014.  He splits his leisure time between homes in Houston and Sydney.