Steve Melnyk
Steve Melnyk | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Full name | Steven Nicholas Melnyk |
Born | (1947-02-26) February 26, 1947 (age 77) Brunswick, Georgia, U.S. |
Sporting nationality | United States |
Career | |
College | University of Florida |
Turned professional | 1971 (reinstated amateur ~2009) |
Former tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Professional wins | 1 |
Best results in major championships | |
Masters Tournament | T12: 1972 |
PGA Championship | T17: 1975 |
U.S. Open | T16: 1977 |
The Open Championship | T41: 1970 |
Steven Nicholas Melnyk (born February 26, 1947) is a former American professional golfer and golf sportscaster best known for his success as an amateur golfer. Melnyk won both the U.S. Amateur and British Amateur.
Early life
Melnyk was born in Brunswick, Georgia.[1] He attended Glynn Academy in Brunswick for his high school education.[1] Melnyk won the Georgia Open as an 18-year-old amateur golfer in 1965.[2]
Amateur career
Melnyk attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Buster Bishop's Florida Gators men's golf team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 1967 to 1969.[3] He was a two-time All-American at Florida,[4] and was the number one golfer on the 1968 team that won their first NCAA Division I Golf Championship.[3][5] Melnyk graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in industrial management in 1969.
Melnyk won the 1969 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club, shooting a 2-over-par 286 to beat Vinny Giles by five shots at stroke play. He claimed the British Amateur with a 3 & 2 victory over fellow American Jim Simons at Carnoustie Golf Links in 1971. Melnyk also had wins at the Western Amateur and Eastern Amateur and played on the 1969 and 1971 Walker Cup teams. He won the 1965 Georgia Open as an amateur. He was low amateur in the 1970 British Open (tie for 41st) and at the 1971 Masters Tournament (tie for 24th).
Professional career
In 1971, Melnyk turned professional after his British Amateur win and started playing on the PGA Tour. He did not find the success he had as an amateur carried over to his professional career. He never won a tournament on the PGA Tour but he did place second four times: the 1973 Phoenix Open, 1974 Houston Open, 1979 First NBC New Orleans Open and 1981 Pensacola Open. His best finish in a major was a tie for 12th at the 1972 Masters Tournament. He did win the 1972 Masters Par 3 Contest.
At the 1982 Phoenix Open, Melnyk slipped and broke his right elbow. While recuperating from the injury, he became an on-course reporter for CBS Sports. He resumed playing later that year and both played and reported through the 1984 season when he retired from playing. He stayed with CBS until 1992, when joined ABC Sports. He retired from television in 2004, after 22 years as a reporter and analyst for CBS Sports, ABC Sports and ESPN. He has also designed or co-designed several golf courses.[6]
Personal life
Melnyk is retired from professional golf and broadcasting but has regained his amateur golfer status and continues to play.[7] He remains actively involved as a University of Florida alumnus and serving a ten-year stint on the board of directors of the Gators athletic boosters, including a term as its president.[7]
He lives in Jacksonville, Florida.[7]
Awards and honors
- In 1970, Melnyk was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great."[8]
- In 1992, Melnyk was inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.[2]
- In 2000, Melnyk was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame.[1]
Tournament wins
- 1965 Georgia Open (as an amateur)
- 1969 U.S. Amateur, Western Amateur
- 1970 Eastern Amateur
- 1971 British Amateur
Results in major championships
Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | 43 | T24LA | T12 | T34 | 51 | |||||
U.S. Open | CUT | T35 | T29 | CUT | T16 | T35 | CUT | |||
The Open Championship | T41LA | T49 | ||||||||
PGA Championship | T17 | T44 |
Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 |
---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | |||
U.S. Open | T53 | ||
The Open Championship | |||
PGA Championship | CUT |
LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
- Walker Cup: 1969 (winners), 1971
See also
- 1971 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- List of Florida Gators men's golfers on the PGA Tour
- List of University of Florida alumni
- List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members
References
- ^ a b c Florida Sports Hall of Fame, Inductees, Steve Melnyk (2000). Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ^ a b Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, Members, Steve Melnyk. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ^ a b Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 37, 39, 40, 41, 43 (2010). Retrieved July 11, 2011.
- ^ 2008–09 Florida Gators Men's Golf Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 36 (2008). Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- ^ Robbie Andreu, "Top 25 Gator teams: #20 1968 Men's golf," The Gainesville Sun (June 5, 2009). Retrieved July 20, 2011.
- ^ WorldGolf.com, Golf Architects, Steve Melnyk – Courses Built. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ^ a b c Fred Seely, "Steve Melnyk: A good pro, now an amateur Archived 2011-11-02 at the Wayback Machine," Jacksonville Golf (June 12, 2011). Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ^ F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
External links
- Steve Melnyk at the PGA Tour official site
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- 1895 Charles B. Macdonald
- 1896 H. J. Whigham
- 1897 H. J. Whigham
- 1898 Findlay S. Douglas
- 1899 Herbert M. Harriman
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- 1904 Chandler Egan
- 1905 Chandler Egan
- 1906 Eben Byers
- 1907 Jerome Travers
- 1908 Jerome Travers
- 1909 Robert Gardner
- 1910 William C. Fownes Jr.
- 1911 Harold Hilton†
- 1912 Jerome Travers
- 1913 Jerome Travers
- 1914 Francis Ouimet
- 1915 Robert Gardner
- 1916 Chick Evans
- 1917–18 Cancelled due to World War I
- 1919 Davidson Herron
- 1920 Chick Evans
- 1921 Jesse Guilford
- 1922 Jess Sweetser
- 1923 Max Marston†
- 1924 Bobby Jones
- 1925 Bobby Jones
- 1926 George Von Elm
- 1927 Bobby Jones
- 1928 Bobby Jones
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- 1930 Bobby Jones
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- 1935 Lawson Little
- 1936 Johnny Fischer†
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- 1939 Bud Ward
- 1940 Dick Chapman
- 1941 Bud Ward
- 1942–1945 Cancelled due to World War II
- 1946 Ted Bishop†
- 1947 Skee Riegel
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- 1949 Charles Coe
- 1950 Sam Urzetta†
- 1951 Billy Maxwell
- 1952 Jack Westland
- 1953 Gene Littler
- 1954 Arnold Palmer
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- 1956 Harvie Ward
- 1957 Hillman Robbins
- 1958 Charles Coe
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- 1961 Jack Nicklaus
- 1962 Labron Harris Jr.
- 1963 Deane Beman
- 1964 William C. Campbell
- 1965 Bob Murphy
- 1966 Gary Cowan†
- 1967 Bob Dickson
- 1968 Bruce Fleisher
- 1969 Steve Melnyk
- 1970 Lanny Wadkins
- 1971 Gary Cowan
- 1972 Vinny Giles
- 1973 Craig Stadler
- 1974 Jerry Pate
- 1975 Fred Ridley
- 1976 Bill Sander
- 1977 John Fought
- 1978 John Cook
- 1979 Mark O'Meara
- 1980 Hal Sutton
- 1981 Nathaniel Crosby
- 1982 Jay Sigel
- 1983 Jay Sigel
- 1984 Scott Verplank
- 1985 Sam Randolph
- 1986 Buddy Alexander
- 1987 Billy Mayfair
- 1988 Eric Meeks
- 1989 Chris Patton
- 1990 Phil Mickelson
- 1991 Mitch Voges
- 1992 Justin Leonard
- 1993 John Harris
- 1994 Tiger Woods
- 1995 Tiger Woods
- 1996 Tiger Woods†
- 1997 Matt Kuchar
- 1998 Hank Kuehne
- 1999 David Gossett
- 2000 Jeff Quinney†
- 2001 Bubba Dickerson
- 2002 Ricky Barnes
- 2003 Nick Flanagan†
- 2004 Ryan Moore
- 2005 Edoardo Molinari
- 2006 Richie Ramsay
- 2007 Colt Knost
- 2008 Danny Lee
- 2009 An Byeong-hun
- 2010 Peter Uihlein
- 2011 Kelly Kraft
- 2012 Steven Fox†
- 2013 Matt Fitzpatrick
- 2014 Gunn Yang
- 2015 Bryson DeChambeau
- 2016 Curtis Luck
- 2017 Doc Redman
- 2018 Viktor Hovland
- 2019 Andy Ogletree
- 2020 Tyler Strafaci
- 2021 James Piot
- 2022 Sam Bennett
- 2023 Nick Dunlap
- † indicates the event was won in extra holes.