Steven Glen Jones (born December 27, 1958) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the U.S. Open in 1996. Early life and education Jones was born in Artesia, New Mexico. He was a semi-finalist at the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1976. He attended the University of Colorado and turned professional in 1981. Golf career Early years In the early years of his professional career, Jones did not have much success. He played the PGA Tour in 1982, but only made three cuts. His first top-10 finish came at the Texas Open in September 1985, and in 1986 he was medalist at the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, allowing him to retain his card for the following year. 1987–1994 Jones won on the PGA Tour for the first time at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in 1988. The following year, 1989, was the winningest of his career with three PGA Tour wins. In January, he opened the season with a win in the MONY Tournament of Champions. He won again the next week, in a playoff over Paul Azinger and Sandy Lyle in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. In June he captured the Canadian Open with a two-stroke win over Mark Calcavecchia, Mike Hulbert and Clark Burroughs. He finished the season a career-best eighth on the money list. In November 1991, Jones suffered ligament and joint damage to his left ring finger in a dirtbike accident, and he missed almost three years of play as a professional. He played in only two events in 1994. Comeback and U.S. Open win Jones began his comeback in earnest in 1995, when he had two top-10 finishes. In 1996, he achieved three top-10 finishes by May. Considered a rank outsider in June 1996, Jones won the U.S. Open which was the only major championship of his career, defeating Tom Lehman and Davis Love III by one stroke. He was also the first sectional qualifier to win the tournament since Jerry Pate in 1976. Afterwards, Jones was selected as the PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year for 1996 and he played for the United States in the 1996 World Cup of Golf. Jones won two more PGA Tour events in 1997. In January, he shot 26-under to defeat Jesper Parnevik by an impressive 11 strokes at the Phoenix Open. He followed that in September with his second career win at the Canadian