Paul Stankowski

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 PGA Tour wins
2 Nationwide Tour wins
3 International wins
4 other wins
5 External links

Paul Francis Stankowski (born December 2, 1969) is an American professional golfer who has played on both the Nationwide Tour and the PGA Tour.

Stankowski was born in Oxnard, California. He first played golf on Easter Sunday in 1978 at the age of 8. He attended the University of Texas at El Paso and turned pro in 1991.

Stankowski initially played on the Nationwide Tour. His first and only victory in this venue came at the 1996 NIKE Louisiana Open for which he received an immediate promotion to the PGA Tour. Stankowski then proceeded to win the 1996 BellSouth Classic, and became the only golfer in history to win a Nationwide Tour event and a PGA Tour event back-to-back. He had another big year in 1997, winning the United Airlines Hawaiian Open. His best finish in a major was a T-5 at the 1997 Masters.

In 1998, however, his fortunes began to change due to a host of injury-related ailments. He injured his right shoulder at the Bay Hill Invitational that year and also had LASIK surgery. In 2004, he suffered a major injury to his left wrist and played the two following years under a Major Medical Extension.

Stankowski is active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and sponsors the annual Paul Stankowski FCA Golf Scramble in El Paso. He lives in Flower Mound, Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.