Jan Stephenson

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 (9) in competition. She was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, class of 2019.[1]

Jan Stephenson
Personal information
Full nameJan Lynn Stephenson
Born (1951-12-22) 22 December 1951
Sydney, Australia
Height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Nationality Australia
ResidenceNew Port Richey, 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)
ANA Inspiration2nd: 1985
Women's PGA C'shipWon: 1982
U.S. Women's OpenWon: 1983
du Maurier ClassicWon: 1981
Women's British OpenDNP
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame2019 (member page)
LPGA Tour
Rookie of the Year		1974

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.[2]

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.[2]

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.[2]

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.[2]

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.[2]

Stephenson was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.[3] She was a contestant in the 2011 season of Dancing with the Stars on Channel Seven.

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 recognized for her philanthropic work by the Government of Australia and other charitable organizations. 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.

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’.

Controversy

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.[4] She later apologised, saying that she "did not intend to make it a racial issue."[5]

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 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.YearTournamentOpponent(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 with 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 with par on first hole

ALPG Tour (2)
  • 1973 (1) Wills Australian Ladies Open
  • 1977 (1) Wills Qantas Australian Ladies Open

Ladies European Tour (1)
  • 1985 (1) Hennessy Cognac Ladies Cup

LPGA of Japan Tour (2)

Legends Tour (3)

Other (2)
  • 1983 JCPenney Mixed Team Classic (with Fred Couples)
  • 1990 JCPenney/LPGA Skins Game

Major championships

Wins (3)
YearChampionshipWinning scoreMarginRunner(s)-up
1981Peter Jackson Classic−10 (69-66-70-73=278)1 stroke Pat Bradley, Nancy Lopez-Melton
1982LPGA Championship−9 (69-69-70-71=279)2 strokes JoAnne Carner
1983U.S. Women's Open+6 (72-73-71-74=290)1 stroke JoAnne Carner, Patty Sheehan

Team appearances

Professional

  • Handa Cup (representing World team): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 (tie), 2013 (winners), 2015

See also

References
  1. "World Golf Hall of Fame introduces the Class of 2019: Peggy Kirk Bell, Retief Goosen, Billy Payne, Jan Stephenson and Dennis Walters to be enshrined into the World Golf Hall of Fame on June 10, 2019 in Pebble Beach". PGA Tour. 10 October 2018.
  2. Jan Stephenson at About.com
  3. "Jan Stephenson". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  4. https://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/jan-stephenson-lpgas-original-siren-still-making-waves
  5. Markus, Don (26 May 2004). "Bridging the gap". ESPN. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
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