Steve Jones - Part 4 (Career #2 and Senior Golf)

Intro Music 0:07

Straight down the middle. It went straight down the middle. Then it started to just be a good thing.

Bruce Devlin 0:16

A couple of other things happened. Uh uh, Steve in in 1996. You uh you got to represent your country in the World Cup, and you also were voted uh player of the comeback player of the year, the Ben Hogan Award. So that fit that kept off a fabulous year for you.

Steve Jones 0:36

Yeah, 96 was a great, great uh year for me, golf-wise. And Tom Lehman asked me to join him at the World Cup in South Africa, and then the next week we played the Sun City tournament, so that was really cool. Uh, we got beat up pretty bad by Ernie Ells and Wayne Westner. I think we lost by double figures, uh, but we did finish second and uh capped off a pretty decent year. And then the next year in 1997 at the Masters, they gave out the Ben Hogan Award, uh Comeback Player of the Year. But even special in 1996, summer of 96, uh, NBC got a recording from Ben Hogan congratulating me on winning the U.S. Open and thanking me for the kind words that uh I I said that he was responsible for me winning the U.S. Open because I read his book, the book about him. And that was uh really special to to hear that recording. And I had after that I'd actually, after his uh after he died, had contacted his wife through letter, and she wrote me back a nice letter, and that was really special.

Mike Gonzalez 1:51

Well, that it sure was, and I don't know if you're aware, but uh of course Bruce uh had a wonderful opportunity throughout the 60s to get to know Mr. Hogan pretty well. As a matter of fact, Bruce, I think uh you played your first practice round at Augusta with Mr. Hogan. I did, yes.

Bruce Devlin 2:07

Yeah, that was quite a quite a way to start at Augusta, isn't it? First of all, you turn the invitation down in 1961 to go to Augusta and then get invited back again in 62 and then get to play my first practice round with Mr. Hogan, which was uh quite a week. Uh incidentally, I missed the cut, so he didn't inspire me that much that I played well. I played terrible. But it was uh it was a long and fruitful relationship that I had with him. I played just about every practice round where we both played in the tournament. Oh, all the way up until 69. So it was uh it was uh he was a great friend and a wonderful individual, actually. I think he's one of the one of the really nicest men I've ever met in the game of golf.

Steve Jones 2:58

Well, I wish I could have met him personally, but uh I've watched enough and read enough about him to feel like I know him very well.

Mike Gonzalez 3:06

Well, what a keepsake to have, and I hope you still have that audio of uh of his words.

Steve Jones 3:14

Yep, there's a there's a lot of stuff that comes with uh winning tournaments, and um it's it's nice. I mean, it's you know, we got a couple kids. I don't have a museum to to send stuff like you know the framed uh picture back here, all the autographs from all the players in '96. Every uh winner gets to take that home with him. And that's one of my special keepsakes. You know, it's one of a kind. And obviously that was Tiger's last year as an amateur, and in uh '96, he turned pro right there at the end of the year, and obviously his career speaks for itself.

Mike Gonzalez 3:56

Yeah, yeah. Well, uh, you still had a few more wins in you, so let's just go on to 1997. Uh you toddle on down to the Phoenix Open, and uh you must had your putter going that week.

Steve Jones 4:11

Yeah, it was uh I think you know my my goal was to uh be on a Ryder Cup team in '97, and that's why I didn't go around the world playing exhibitions or anything after winning the US Open. And I came to Phoenix, obviously my hometown, and uh had a lot of support, a lot of support, had a lot of people out there. My parents were there, and it was just one of those magical weeks where uh the putter was really hot and it just stayed hot right to the last hole. And uh it was it was pretty cool. Uh I mean to win win by 11, you know, it almost felt like I used used up all my putts for the rest of my career, only won one more time after that. Um, but uh the biggest thing I think was and uh Tiger got the hole in one on 16 that year. Yeah, obviously. And a lot of people remember that, but they don't remember the winner, and that's okay, because Tiger's Tiger, and I remember his hole in one probably better than my victory, it seems like.

Bruce Devlin 5:25

There is one thing about that victory, Steve, that I noticed is you know, you you just kept getting worse round after round. You've your scoring become terrible. You went 62, 64, 65, 67, uh to minus 26. That's a pretty pretty low score around that course.

Steve Jones 5:52

Yeah, it was the weather was not the warmest, and it was a little windy, and the they had the grass was really high in the rough, and it wasn't the easiest time. Um, but for me, it seemed easy. I I didn't hit a lot of greens, but I was still getting up and down for par. Um, but that's the first that's funny you said that because that's the first thing my brother Mike was kind of a stat guy. He said to me, He said, You got worse every day. First thing he said. Hey, one by 11, good job. Well, you got worse every day.

Mike Gonzalez 6:26

You think Jesper Parnovic felt like he got second place that week?

Steve Jones 6:31

Yeah, exactly. Um it was fun playing with him and David Duvall and a couple of other guys there towards the end.

Mike Gonzalez 6:39

Yeah. Wait, you got a uh second Canadian Open at the Royal Montreal uh that year, and that was by one over Mr. Norman. That had to be a pretty good battle, huh?

Steve Jones 6:50

Yeah, I mean the opportunity to play with Greg back, you know, 25 years ago, 26 years ago, you know, he was still the man and uh very intimidating. Uh it was it was an incredible week for me. I was able to throw out a few French words every once in a while to the crowd, and they laughed. Yeah, yeah, and they kind of I think they kind of took a liking to me because I did that, and it felt like a major, it was a shorter course, but it was real tight, the rough was bad, really high, so it was like a major, and I don't think I shot I think four or five under is all, but it felt just like a U.S. Open to me. Um, but to get to play with Greg the last day, going down to the stretch, and uh last hole we both bogeied, but uh you know you missed the fairway there, and uh left was no good, left was in the water, so I had to keep it right. Um, but it was just a thrill. He was a gracious, gracious loser. He was fun to play with. Uh, we've always had a good relationship and uh very talented, obviously. His uh record speaks for itself.

Mike Gonzalez 8:08

Yeah, I I probably would have uh come off that victory and told my brother Mike that I got better every day except on Sunday. Exactly. You went 71, 68, 67, a little 69, five under, but uh to beat Norman by one, and again what uh back then felt like a major championship uh for your second win at the Canadian Open, that had to feel pretty good to uh to cap off a pretty good 1997 as well.

Steve Jones 8:36

Yeah, it was uh I just moved to Montana, so we had been there for about three, two, three months, and I remember practicing um the week before putting, I said, wow, this really feels good. My putter really feels good. I I think I'm gonna win again in the next couple weeks, and I had been left off the Ryder Cup team, I'd finished 12th. Um, I never scored a point since the Tucson Open in February, and I just the point thing always never set right with me trying to get top 10 to get a point. But I told him when I didn't get picked, I said, I'm gonna win in the next couple weeks after the PGA, and uh played well at the World Series Golf, didn't win, but I said must be the Canadian Open, and I went up and and won. And every every win I won, every time I won, I felt like I was gonna win. Um didn't happen a lot, but you just kind of have that feeling, things are going well, you know how it is, Bruce. You yeah, you're hitting it good, you're putting good, your your mentality's right. Um, and you know, being hurt a third of my career, I don't know if I ever would have won again, but uh I I don't look back at it. I I'm very thankful for the time I got to play. And I'm still playing golf right now at 65.

SPEAKER_00 10:06

Yeah, good.

Steve Jones 10:06

Not right now with my leg, but uh my goal is to play, you know, 10 times on a champions tour and kind of keep active doing that. And I've got another little business I'm working in, but uh other than that, you know, you just try to keep try to keep moving, right?

Bruce Devlin 10:22

Yeah, yeah. That second Canadian Open was not the end of your winning career, though, Steve. You uh you come back in 1998 and win at Quad Cities. Uh pretty fancy scoring there, too. 64, 65, 68, 66, 17 under pie, and you beat uh Scott Gump by a shot.

Steve Jones 10:48

Yeah, I remember playing with Frank Lickladder in that last group. He was a young guy coming out and uh hit the ball ten times better than I did. He was so good. He just wasn't making the putts, very talented. Um but yeah, it was uh very hot there, and probably the most memorable thing was at the end of it on the on the green on 18. I got the hold. Uh my two kids were holding John Deere flags, and that picture with us four is in the uh up in the hallway at the John Deere Classic right now. So it's that that's a pretty memorable time when you can have your kids come out, just like at the U.S. Open on Father's Day. I got to hold both kids in my arms. That was a that's a great picture. In fact, there's a picture over here. Let me see if let me grab this picture.

Mike Gonzalez 11:44

Rotate your okay, yeah.

Steve Jones 11:46

Yeah, you see this picture here. That that's probably oh man.

Bruce Devlin 11:54

Yeah, that was that's a great picture.

Steve Jones 11:59

She looks young right there, my wife.

Bruce Devlin 12:01

Who who's that young guy and the cobrad? Yeah. So does that guy with the cobra? He looks young too.

Steve Jones 12:09

Yeah.

Bruce Devlin 12:09

Well, he was young.

Steve Jones 12:10

He looks really young. He was young. But uh, yeah, I mean, and that's everybody that has kids and they come out on the green, they say the same thing. That was the coolest that my kid could see me win. Yeah. Um, so to have them, the only tournament I didn't have anybody there. Uh my wife, the only one they missed was the 97 Canadian, and my brother was on the bag. He kept it for me about five or six years. So I still had family there, but uh, but the other seven wins, uh, they were all their family or my wife. Yeah. It was pretty cool.

Mike Gonzalez 12:46

Yeah. So that that was PGA tour win number eight. Of course, it was going to be your final win, as it turns out, to uh bridge the gap then between that win and deciding to hang it up at some point uh on the regular tour.

Steve Jones 13:00

Yeah, it uh you know it's kind of fuzzy. I after 99, 2000, right in there, maybe I had another, I had three elbow surgeries, I had shoulder surgery, knee surgeries, thumb surgeries, you know, I've had open heart, I've had gallbladders, you know, lots of different other issues. But uh, I've had a lot of different things go on, and like I said, a third of my career I didn't get to play, um, but had it had a wonderful time when I did. Friendships are forever, it's great. These guys, that's the one thing a lot of guys miss is being out there on tour. Um, but it's real foggy from around 2002 to 2010. For me, I just I was just trying to get healthy for the champions tour, actually. Yeah, I didn't think I was ever gonna play. Um, I didn't I thought I'd be retired at 45 living in Montana, but we ended up moving back to Arizona in 04 and then uh trying to get rehabbing and play again. And so I did start playing a little bit again, but just too many injuries kept nagging me with tennis elbow. And you know, that's uh that's a tough one. Tennis elbow can get a lot of people guys that stay healthy on tour, they they have amazing uh records, or at least they have really good uh retirement accounts. Yeah, even if they haven't won, they've got a good retirement account.

Mike Gonzalez 14:32

Well, you you'd be jealous to hear what uh what lump sum payment Bruce Dublin got from the regular tour pension.

Bruce Devlin 14:41

I want you to think how much how much do you think I got from the tour?

Steve Jones 14:46

I don't want to guess that.

Bruce Devlin 14:49

You know, you could only you could only defer off the regular tour if your uh deferred payments were more than ten thousand dollars. So I got a one-time check for 4,600 bucks. And put that to 20 years, that's how much uh 20 years in 20 into 4600 is it's not too much a year, is it really? Amazing.

Steve Jones 15:16

Wow, it's probably pretty good in 1810.

Bruce Devlin 15:20

Yeah, right, yeah, right. Yeah, about then what probably was well your senior tour's been pretty good to a lot of guys too with their pensions now. For me, it was a lot better too. And I noticed uh in your record so far on the champions tour, you've played about 70 events and won just a little bit over$800,000. So you know, keep adding to that, uh Steve, as when you get to feeling ready again.

Steve Jones 15:51

Yeah, I mean, the last three years I've played seven every year, but it's too many. Uh had you know different types of surgeries and this and that and the other, and uh not even counting the the things that keep me off for one or two months, or you know, might be an ankle injury or or something. Um I can't even think right now. There's been so many. Uh but you know it just and then the hard part is coming back after you've been off for six months or a year. True. Couple two two times where I was are I was hurt for at least three years where I didn't hit a golf ball. So it's it takes a year at least to kind of get your momentum going and your you know, your just your grip pressure. That I think if if you have strong hands and strong arms, that is such an advantage because that's one of the first things that goes, your legs and your f your hand strength, and you really need that.

Mike Gonzalez 16:48

Yeah. You did have a chance to uh serve it as an assistant captain at the Ryder Cup in 2004 at where? Oakland Hills.

Steve Jones 16:57

Oakland Hills, yeah. Hal Hal Sutton called me up. I was in Montana and he called me up and said, Hey, I'd love to have you captain with uh Jackie Burke and myself. I said, I would love to. Um I wasn't much much help for those guys. I we kind of got beat up pretty good, but it was a great experience and got to spend some time with uh President Bush at the time, uh first first Bush. Bush won. Yeah. And uh just the whole experience was incredible. Um and I just the only thing in my career, if I could have played in one, I was 12th a couple times and didn't get on, uh, that would have really meant a lot to me.

Mike Gonzalez 17:42

Yeah, well, for our listeners also, mentioning Jackie Burke, uh Masters winner back in the 50s, uh PGA winner, I think, too, Bruce Wright, and uh we just lost him a few days ago at nearly age 101. Yeah.

Bruce Devlin 17:56

Just a few days short of being 101. Quite a quite a life he's he had, didn't it?

Steve Jones 18:04

Yep, they say short people live longer, and that's true because all the tall guys, it's it's statistically, the taller you are, the shorter you live statistically. So, you know, I've made it to 65. I'm pretty happy so far. So who knows how long you're gonna go, but you know, you do what you can do and um try to do the best you can be in your career and uh maybe enrich other people's lives, and that's important.

Mike Gonzalez 18:30

Yeah. So, Steve, uh beyond trying to play uh a little bit on the champions tour, particularly when you get healthy again, you you recover from the knee surgery, uh bring us up to speed on uh other things you've been involved in the last few years and what's keeping you occupied.

Steve Jones 18:46

Yeah, I've I've jumped around a couple different things. Actually, for three years, uh six, seven years ago, I was um selling cooling tower technology for big buildings in California and different places. And um, it was a company out of Israel that was saving water, and uh it was pretty good, pretty good technology. They've actually gotten better now since I left five years ago, um, but it was a learning experience. I tell you, I I give a lot of credit to people who are sales salespersons, uh, male and female. Doesn't matter, but uh to be able to sell a product uh is is a certain skill, and you better know your product. Uh I could sell golf, but when you go off into engineering stuff, it's it's a lot different. So yeah, you learn how to defer.

Mike Gonzalez 19:46

Yeah, and now you're involved with a company that helps other companies save on their prescription spending for their employees, I guess. Yes?

Steve Jones 19:54

Yeah, this this company here, I'm really blessed to be a part of Sharks with an RX. The Sharks plan is incredible. We help companies, we we don't sell anything, we just save them money, and uh literally 70-80% on a lot of their uh prescription spins, and it's just so much fun to be a part of it. And Gary Hallberg and I are both doing that with the oh good uh with that company, yeah. So Gary's involved in 25 different companies, and um a couple of them he's kind of kind of brought me in on a few of them. It's just been a a joy to do that for the last year and a half, and uh uh it it definitely fills your time and knowing that you can help companies save money, yeah, it's fun.

Mike Gonzalez 20:42

Yeah, yeah. Well, listen, good luck uh getting healthy again. But before we let you go, there's always three questions that we like to ask our guest as we close out our visits with you, and I'll uh I'll uh defer to uh my longtime partner and give him the tea, Mr. Dublin.

Bruce Devlin 21:04

Okay, Steve, first question. If you knew what you know now, back when you started playing professionally, what would you have done differently?

Steve Jones 21:18

Oh wow, that's a good question. I never thought of that actually. Um because you can't do anything different, so I guess I never thought of it that way. But professionally, golf-wise, what would I have done different golf-wise? I probably would have um I actually probably would have practiced more.

Mike Gonzalez 21:42

Any particular aspect of practice or just volume?

Steve Jones 21:45

Just just volume, yeah. Just I would have dedicated more which means if you practice more you gotta be in better physical shape. And it was just really getting common in the eighties and nineties to get physically sh in shape. Uh there was always guys out there, obviously Gary Player and a lot of different guys were very active, but uh I think if I could have been stronger, I think maybe that would have helped my career. But it's still it was that thing where if you did push-ups, you weren't gonna putt very good back in the 70s and that mentality. So I yeah, it's not like that anymore.

Mike Gonzalez 22:21

But uh no, and probably if you were a gym rat back in 91, it wouldn't have helped from uh going over the handlebars, would it?

Steve Jones 22:29

No.

Mike Gonzalez 22:31

So question number two we're gonna give you one career mulligan. One shot to do over anywhere, where would you take it?

Steve Jones 22:43

Well, I think it's a pretty obvious one. It was at Hilton Head in 1987. I was leading by one going to the last hole, and I hadn't won on tour yet. And uh I I missed I used the three-wood every day at Hilton Head on the last hole, but the wind kicked up, so I said I better hit driver. Well, I was using a five-degree driver at the time, and I could hit a low hook with it, so I said I better aim out to the right in case it goes through at Hilton Head. It could go through into the hazard, so aim it out to the right, so it takes an 80-yard wide fairway, turns it into a 30-yard wide fairway. Yeah, and I held on to it because the wind kind of quit when I got over the ball, and I held on to it and hit a tree and went 20 yards right out of bounds, and that gave Davis Love his first victory uh of five that he had at Hilton Head.

Bruce Devlin 23:36

Yeah, isn't that amazing?

Steve Jones 23:37

And what's the funny thing is, is he when I saw him after I'd won the U.S. Open, I think it was a couple weeks later, he said, you know, I was always wondering if I was gonna have to repay you for that 1987 Hilton Head tournament that you knocked it out of bounds on, but I didn't want it to be a major.

Mike Gonzalez 23:57

Well, you had another shot uh not too long after that, 1990, right? You're gonna play off with Payne Stewart of Larry Maies there.

Steve Jones 24:06

Oh boy, yeah. Payne and I were playing together uh the last day at Hilton Head, and I just love that golf course because it it wasn't exactly real long, but you had to be straight and you had to finagle that ball around. It's just a just a gem. Beautiful golf course. And I actually birdied uh slapped it out of the the rough from 15 to a foot with a slice five iron out of the dirt, uh, and then I birdied uh 17, and then um I birdied 16 too, I can't remember. I don't know what I do. I knew I was behind, but I get to 18, I'm playing with Payne, and I hit it, I hit it like five and a half feet. I mean, I hit it right below the hole, five and a half feet, right lit putt, and it took pain about four minutes to hit his putt, and he missed. And I was ready, I was ready to go. And when you look at the telecast, Ken Venturi uh said, Oh my goodness, he's he's not taking any time at all. And I've been looking at it for almost five minutes. So it's a five-footer. How much time do you need, right? It's a right lip putt, and I hit it, I looked at the replay and I hit it right on the right lip putt, and it just kind of hit some grain and went left. And Ken said, Oh, he he rushed that thing, and of course, uh got in a got in a playoff, and uh Payne birdied 17. I'm and Larry My's birdie 17, and then Payne won on 18. But uh it was fun to to get to know Payne. I just even now I think about Payne Stewart, I think about his rhythm. Yeah, yeah, and I'll I'll say remember Payne, and then I'll try to get that rhythm.

Bruce Devlin 25:53

Okay, last question, you ready for it?

Steve Jones 25:57

Sure.

Bruce Devlin 25:58

How would Steve Jones like to be remembered?

Steve Jones 26:04

Well, I think for me is obviously people first thing they would think of is he's a he played golf, he won the US Open. But other than that, you know, I'm much more than that. Uh my life in Christ, my faith in God, that's changed my whole life, and it can change anybody that puts their faith in Christ and to know that this world is passing away and everything in it, but all you do is do for God, that's what counts. And uh people need to come to Jesus Christ. That's that's the ultimate. I mean, that is eternity in heaven, and that's what I want everybody to know. Thank you.

Bruce Devlin 26:46

Well, thank you for being with us, Steve. It's been fun listening to your story, and uh we thank you for your time. I know Mike feels the same way as I do. It was great having you with us.

Steve Jones 26:57

Well, I thank you for being number 90. I hope number 90 wasn't the most boring one. Um, I appreciate you guys and hope you hope you have another 90 more.

Mike Gonzalez 27:07

Thanks, Steve. Great to add your story to uh all the greats on For the Good of the Game.

Steve Jones 27:12

Thank you.

Mike Gonzalez 27:14

Thank you for listening to another episode of For the Good of the Game. And please, wherever you listen to your podcast on Apple and Spotify, if you like what you hear, please subscribe, spread the word, and tell your friends until we tee it up again for the good of the game. So long, everybody.

Intro Music 27:39

It went smack down the fairway, and it started to slice just smidge off land. It had it for two, but it bounced off nine. My caddies, as long as you're still in the stage, you're okay.