Stephen Robert Pate (born May 26, 1961) is an American professional golfer who has played on both the PGA Tour, the Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour.

Steve Pate
Pate in 2013
Personal information
Full nameStephen Robert Pate
NicknameVolcano
Born (1961-05-26) May 26, 1961 (age 63)
Ventura, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight200 lb (91 kg; 14 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceWestlake Village, California, U.S.
SpouseSheri
Children2
Career
CollegeUCLA
Turned professional1983
Current tour(s)Champions Tour
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Nationwide Tour
Professional wins8
Highest ranking18 (February 23, 1992)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour6
Korn Ferry Tour1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT3: 1991
PGA ChampionshipT7: 1991
U.S. OpenT3: 1988
The Open Championship4th: 1992
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour
Comeback Player of the Year
1999

Career

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Pate was born in Ventura, California. He attended UCLA and was a member of the golf team; one teammate was Corey Pavin, 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 PGA Tour 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, earned $727,997 and finished 6th on the money list.[2] His best finish in a major is a T-3 at both the 1988 U.S. Open and the 1991 Masters.[3] 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.

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 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). 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.[4] 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 Champions Tour debut on May 26, 2011, his 50th birthday, in the Senior PGA Championship.[2]

Pate lives in Westlake Village, California. He acquired the nickname "Volcano" due to his eruptions on the golf course.[4][5] In 2006, Pate teamed with Damian Pascuzzo completing numerous golf course design projects, including a recent remodel of La Costa.

Professional wins (8)

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PGA Tour wins (6)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Sep 27, 1987 Southwest Golf Classic −15 (67-71-68-67=273) 1 stroke   Mark O'Meara,   Bob Eastwood,
  Dan Halldorson,   David Edwards
2 Jan 17, 1988 MONY Tournament of Champions −14 (66-66-70=202)* 1 stroke   Larry Nelson
3 Feb 21, 1988 Shearson Lehman Hutton Andy Williams Open −19 (68-66-67-68=269) 1 stroke   Jay Haas
4 Mar 10, 1991 Honda Classic −9 (69-65-70-75=279) 3 strokes   Paul Azinger,   Dan Halldorson
5 Feb 23, 1992 Buick Invitational of California (2) −16 (64-69-67=200)* 1 stroke   Chip Beck
6 Jul 26, 1998 CVS Charity Classic −15 (70-65-67-67=269) 1 stroke   Bradley Hughes,   Scott Hoch

*Note: Tournament shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

PGA Tour playoff record (0–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1985 Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic   Wayne Levi Lost to birdie on second extra hole
2 1991 BellSouth Atlanta Golf Classic   Corey Pavin Lost to par on second extra hole
3 1999 GTE Byron Nelson Classic   Loren Roberts Lost to par on first extra hole

Nationwide Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Mar 7, 2010 Pacific Rubiales Bogotá Open −11 (70-66-66-71=273) Playoff   Aaron Watkins

Nationwide Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2010 Pacific Rubiales Bogotá Open   Aaron Watkins Won with par on second extra hole

Other wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1 Dec 6, 1998 JCPenney Classic
(with   Meg Mallon)
−29 (61-66-66-62=255) 4 strokes   Rachel Hetherington and   Rocco Mediate

Other playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1989 Isuzu Kapalua International   Peter Jacobsen Lost to birdie on third extra hole

Playoff record

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PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1990 The Crowns   Noboru Sugai Lost to par on first extra hole

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament T36 T26
U.S. Open T24 T3 T51
The Open Championship CUT T13
PGA Championship T53 T61 T62 T41
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament T3 T6 CUT T4
U.S. Open T33 T49 CUT T19 T21 CUT T32 T34
The Open Championship T8 T64 4 CUT T45
PGA Championship T31 T7 T48 70 T58 CUT T8
Tournament 2000 2001 2002
Masters Tournament T49
U.S. Open CUT CUT
The Open Championship T20
PGA Championship T41 75
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 1 2 3 3 7 6
U.S. Open 0 0 1 1 1 4 13 9
The Open Championship 0 0 0 1 2 4 8 6
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 2 2 13 12
Totals 0 0 2 4 8 13 41 33
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1988 PGA – 1992 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1992 PGA – 1992 Masters)

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 1986 1987 1988 1989
The Players Championship T72 CUT 57 T34
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Players Championship T11 T27 T40 CUT CUT CUT T42 T58
Tournament 2000 2001
The Players Championship T27 T58
  Did not play

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

Results in World Golf Championships

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Tournament 1999 2000 2001
Match Play 4 R64 R64
Championship T46 NT1
Invitational T12 37

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

U.S. national team appearances

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 8 1992 Ending 23 Feb 1992" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Steve Pate – Season". PGA Tour. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  3. ^ "Steve Pate". Golf Major Championships. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Lagarde, Dave (March 3, 2008). "Pate finding balance in life between designing, Nationwide Tour". PGA Tour. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  5. ^ Verdi, Bob (February 2000). "The Grillroom – Steve Pate – Brief Article – Interview". Golf Digest. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
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