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Paul Stankowski

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Paul Stankowski
Personal information
Full namePaul Francis Stankowski
Born (1969-12-02) December 2, 1969 (age 54)
Oxnard, California
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceFlower Mound, Texas
Career
CollegeUniversity of Texas at El Paso
Turned professional1991
Current tour(s)PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Nationwide Tour
Gateway Tour
Professional wins8
Highest ranking25 (September 7, 1997)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour2
Japan Golf Tour1
Korn Ferry Tour1
Other4
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT5: 1997
PGA ChampionshipT41: 2000
U.S. OpenT19: 1997
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 1997

Paul Francis Stankowski (born December 2, 1969) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He previously played on the Korn Ferry Tour, where he won one event, and the PGA Tour, where he was a two-time champion.

Early life

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Stankowski was born in Oxnard, California. He first played golf on Easter Sunday in 1978 at the age of 8. He attended the University of Texas at El Paso.

Professional career

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In 1991, Stankowski turned professional. He initially played on the Nike Tour. His first and only victory in this tour came at the 1996 Nike Louisiana Open. The following week, he played in the BellSouth Classic on the PGA Tour. Stankowski started the week as the sixth alternate. He won becoming the only golfer in history to win a developmental tour event and a PGA Tour event in back-to-back weeks. He had another big year in 1997, winning the United Airlines Hawaiian Open. His best finish in a major was T5 at the 1997 Masters Tournament.[2]

In 1998, however, his fortunes began to change due to a host of injury-related ailments. He injured his right shoulder at the Bay Hill Invitational that year and also had LASIK surgery. As a Callaway sponsored player in 1999, he tried to help his game by sneaking Ping clubs into his bag at the Colonial.[3] In 2004, he suffered a major injury to his left wrist and played the two following years under a Major Medical Extension.

Stankowski made over 400 starts on the PGA Tour. Towards the end of his PGA Tour career, his desire to be closer to his family resulted in him focusing entrepreneurship and radio broadcasting. He is the co-owner of Francis Edward, a leather goods company whose name is derived from the middle names of Stankowski and co-founder Mike Vicary.[4]

In 2018 and 2019, he took advantage of an exemption reserved for those 48 and 49 years old on the Korn Ferry Tour, playing in a total of six events but not making the cut in any of them.

In December 2021, Stankowski finished high enough at the PGA Tour Champions Qualifying School (Q-School) to earn eligibility to compete in open qualifiers for PGA Tour Champions events in 2022.[5]

Personal life

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Stankowski is married and has two children.

Stankowski is active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and sponsored the annual Paul Stankowski FCA Golf Scramble in El Paso for a time. He lives in Flower Mound, Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Professional wins (8)

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PGA Tour wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Apr 7, 1996 BellSouth Classic −8 (68-71-70-71=280) Playoff United States Brandel Chamblee
2 Feb 16, 1997 United Airlines Hawaiian Open −17 (71-66-64-70=271) Playoff United States Jim Furyk, United States Mike Reid

PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1996 BellSouth Classic United States Brandel Chamblee Won with par on first extra hole
2 1997 United Airlines Hawaiian Open United States Jim Furyk, United States Mike Reid Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
Reid eliminated by par on first hole

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Nov 24, 1996 Casio World Open −11 (69-69-71-68=277) Playoff United States David Ishii

PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1996 Casio World Open United States David Ishii Won with birdie on first extra hole

Nike Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Mar 31, 1996 Nike Louisiana Open −22 (69-66-64-67=266) 4 strokes United States Greg Whisman

Gateway Tour wins (1)

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  • 2009 DFW Summer 10

Other wins (3)

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Results in major championships

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Tournament 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Masters Tournament CUT T5 T39
U.S. Open CUT T19 CUT T62
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship CUT T47 T67 CUT T41 74
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
The Players Championship CUT T14 WD CUT CUT T44 CUT CUT T16
  Did not play

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

Results in senior major championships

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Tournament 2021 2022 2023 2024
The Tradition T23
Senior PGA Championship T23 T43 T26 T17
U.S. Senior Open T18 T8
Senior Players Championship T20 T38 T44 16
The Senior Open Championship CUT CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 36 1997 Ending 7 Sep 1997" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  2. ^ "Paul Stankowski". Golf Major Championships. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  3. ^ "Stankowski caught with wrong clubs in his bag". Brownsville Herald. May 26, 1999. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  4. ^ "Francis Edward, Stankowski's belt company".
  5. ^ Kelly, Todd (December 10, 2021). "Rob Labritz among five golfers to earn 2022 tour cards at PGA Tour Champions Q-School". Golfweek. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
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