Paul Stankowski

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 Korn Ferry Tour. His first and only victory in this venue came at the 1996 Louisiana Open. The following week, he played in the BellSouth Classic on the PGA Tour and won, becoming the only golfer in history to win back-to-back Korn Ferry and PGA Tour events. Stankowski started the week as the sixth alternate. He had another big year in 1997, winning the United Airlines Hawaiian Open. His best finish in a major was T5 at the 1997 Masters Tournament.
In 1998, however, his fortunes began to change due to various injury-related ailments. He injured his right shoulder at the Bay Hill Invitational that year and had LASIK surgery. As a Callaway-sponsored player in 1999, he tried to help his game by sneaking Ping clubs into his bag at the Colonial. In 2004, he suffered a significant injury to his left wrist and played under a Major Medical Extension for the following two years.
Stankowski has made 404 starts on the PGA Tour, making 217 cuts with 30 top-ten finishes. He has earned $7,357,259. On the Korn Ferry Tour, he played in 63 events, making 28 cuts with one top-ten finish, his 1996 Louisiana Open victory.
With his PGA Tour career winding down and his desire to be closer to his family, he shifted his focus to entrepreneurship and radio broadcasting. He is the co-owner of Francis Edward, a leather goods company whose name is derived from the middle names of Stankowski and co-founder Mike Vicary. Stankowski is married and has two children.
He didn't play much competitive golf until 2020, when he became eligible for the PGA Tour Champions. In December 2019, he went to the PGA Tour Champions Qualifying Tour and finished T-7th.
2020 & 2021 Notes: Played in 14 PGA Tour Champions events with one top-ten and finished 66th in the Charles Schwab Cup rankings. He was T-45th in his first start at the 2020 Pure Insurance Championship and T-36th at the 2020 SAS Championship. His best finish was T-5th at the 2021 Pure Insurance Championship, four shots back of winner K.J. Choi. At the end of 2021, He returned to the Champions Qualifying Tournament and finished T-14th.
2022 Notes: Played in 16 PGA Tour Champions events with two top-ten finishes. He was 44th in the Schwab rankings and 45th on the money list with $482,552 in earnings. Tuesday qualified and finished T-4th at the Sanford International, three shots back of the Steve Stricker/Robert Karlsson playoff. The following week, with just two bogeys all week, he finished T-2nd at the Pure Insurance Championship, a shot back of winner Steve Flesch. It was the best PGA Tour Champions finish in his 26th start. He was 25th in his last season start at the TimberTech Championship.
2023 Notes: Played in 24 PGA Tour Champions events with four top-ten finishes. He was 22nd in the Schwab rankings and 22nd on the money list with $963,902 in earnings. He bowed three of his last five holes in the Trophy Hassan II final round to finish T-3rd, with six shots back from winner Stephen Ames. Finished T-3rd at The Galleri Classic after starting the week as first alternate. Shot a final round 66 to finish five shots back of the winner, David Toms. Carded rounds of 67-66-66 en route to a T-5th finish at the Sanford International, five shots back of winner Steve Stricker. Finished 4th at the Pure Insurance Championship at 10-under 206 and tied the PGA Tour Champions all-time record for most consecutive birdies (8) in round two. He was four shots back of the Thongchai Jaidee/Justin Leonard playoff.
2024 Notes: Played in 25 PGA Tour Champions events with three top-ten finishes. He was 42nd in the Schwab rankings and 42nd on the money list with $601,492 in earnings. His best finish was T-6th at the Invited Celebrity Classic.
2025 Notes: Best finish T-4th at the Chubb Classic.