Stephen Ames

With an English father and Portuguese mother, Ames is the first professional to play on the European and PGA Tour from Trinidad and Tobago. His Canadian wife is a former flight attendant whom he met on a flight. He was a torchbearer for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and is part-owner of several restaurants in Calgary, including the Vintage Chophouse & Tavern.
He has four PGA Tour wins, including the 2006 Players Championship and 2004 Cialis Western Open. Has amassed more than $19.7 million in career earnings. He surpassed the $2-million mark in season earnings four years in succession (2006 to 2009) but enjoyed his best year in 2004 when he earned $3,303,205 and was eighth on the money list, his highest finish. His best-known win was in 2006 when he closed with Sunday's low round, a 5-under par 67, and cruised to a six-stroke win at The Players Championship for his second career victory. Broke through for his first win two years earlier at the 2004 Cialis Western Open at age 40. He won his 166th start on the PGA Tour, becoming the first player over 40 to capture an initial Tour win since Brad Bryant at the 1995 Walt Disney World.
Won twice in Europe and once on the Korn Ferry Tour. Member of the PGA Tour since 1997, he played on the European Tour from 1993 through 1997 and had three consecutive stints on the Korn Ferry Tour starting in 1990.
1990 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 24; in money - 20; top-10 finishes - five; scoring average 71.09 (ranked 11th); money $32,226 (ranked eighth); Best finish, T-4th Dakota Dunes Open.
1991 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 23; in money - 14; top-10 finishes - five; scoring average 71.25 (ranked 18th); money $58,415 (ranked 8th); won the Pensacola Open.
2009 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 20; in money - 10; top-10 finishes - three; scoring average 71.53 (ranked 32nd); money $25,906 (ranked 58th); Best finish, fourth at the Greater Greenville Open.
After attending Qualifying School several times without success, he got his card by finishing T-3rd at the 1997 PGA Tour Qualifying School final stage. His best years on the PGA Tour were between 2002 and 2009, when he earned over a million dollars a year (except for 2005, winning $959,665). He won four times in that period and was in the top ten 42 times. His best year was 2004 when in 27 events was in the top ten 11 times and won $3,303,205, eighth on the money list. That year was his only trip to the Tour Championship; he finished T-4th.
2011 Notes: He finished outside the top 125 (No. 139) on the official money list for the first time since joining the PGA Tour in 1998 and failed to finish inside the top 70 on the FedExCup points list for the first time in five years (No. 138). He only had two top-10 finishes, T-3rd at the Puerto Rico Open and T-8th at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, which, to this date, was his 58th and last PGA Tour career top-10.
2012 Notes: Made the cut in seven of 20 events, with a T-16th at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, his best finish. They only had one other top-25 finish, T-22nd at the Humana Challenge. This was his first season on the PGA Tour without a top-10 showing and the first year of his career without double-digit made cuts.
2013 Notes: Made seven of 19 cuts on the PGA Tour, finishing 173rd in the FedExCup standings and 185th in the money race. It was his second consecutive season without a top-10 finish after recording at least one for 15 straight seasons (1997 to 2011). His best finish was a T-20th in his first start at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
2014 Notes: He played primarily on the PGA Tour for the first eight months of the year before turning his attention to the PGA Tour Champions. He made his PGA Tour Champions debut with a T-15th at the Senior PGA Championship in late May but did not play again until late August when he teed it up in his hometown of Calgary at the Shaw Charity Classic. He posted his only top-10 finish of the PGA Tour Champions season in October when he was T-6th at the Greater Hickory Kia Classic, thanks, in part, to a final-round, 6-under-par 65. His best finish in 18 PGA Tour starts was a T-16th at the Valero Texas Open.
2015 Notes: He had his best career finish on PGA Tour Champions, T-4th at the rain-shortened Greater Gwinnett Championship. In his last nine events, he finished out of the top 10 just once. At the last full-field event at the Toshiba Classic, he finished T-9th and earned the 30th and final spot into the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, where he finished T-6th. He had seven top-10 finishes, 27th on the money list, and 28th in the Schwab rankings.
2016 Notes: He had his best PGA Tour Champions finish with a T-4th at the Tucson Conquistadores. He had two other top-10s, T-6th at the Boeing Classic and T-10th at the Nature Valley First Tee Pebble Beach. He was 38th on the money list and 42nd in the Schwab rankings.
2017 Notes: Enjoyed his most productive season on Tour since joining full-time in 2015, jumping from 38th to 13th on the final Charles Schwab Cup money list. He won for the first time on the PGA Tour Champions at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, beating Bernhard Langer by 4 shots, joining Dave Barr and Rod Spittle as the third Canadian to win on PGA Tour Champions. His win also made him the 11th to win on the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, and Champions Tour. Other top-10s recorded - T-6th Allianz Championship, T-7th U.S. Senior Open, T-8th Principal Charity, and T-9th Tucson Conquistadores, the American Family Insurance Championship & Constellation Senior Players.
2018 Notes: Played in 25 PGA Tour Champions events with four top-tens and finished 21st in the Charles Schwab Cup. Played in Sunday's final group at all three Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs events, ending the year with finishes of T-15th-T-3rd-T5th. Best finish, T-3rd Senior Open Championship, T-3rd Invesco QQQ, T-5th Charles Schwab Cup Championship, and T-10th at the American Family Insurance Championship.
2019 Notes: He played in 24 PGA Tour Champions events, with four top-ten finishes, and finished 26th in the Charles Schwab Cup. He was also T-6th at the Chubb Classic, Mitsubishi Electric Classic, and U.S. Senior Open, and T-8th at the SAS Championship. He ended his year finishing 12th at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
2020 & 2021 Notes: Played in 33 PGA Tour Champions events with nine top-tens and finished 25th in the Charles Schwab Cup. Started the season with a 2nd place finish at the 2020 Morocco Champions. Led after the first and second rounds, the final round 70 dropped him a shot back of the winner, Brett Quigley. He had back-to-back top tens with a T-9th at the 2020 Chubb Classic. A final round 72 dropped him into a T-10th at the 2021 Regions Tradition. He was T-2nd at the 2021 Mitsubishi Electric Classic, three shots back of winner Dicky Pride. He had his second win in the PGA Tour Champions (2017 Mitsubishi Electric Classic) at the 2021 Principal Charity Classic. This was the second time in the season Ames carded three rounds in the 60s (68-69-67=204). Trailing by seven shots entering the final round, Ames came back to win by a shot over Mike Weir. Was co-leader after shooting 5-under 65 in the first round of the 2021 U.S. Senior Open. Posted scores of 73-68-75 over the final three rounds to finish T-8th, six shots back of winner Jim Furyk. Was T-6th at the Shaw Charity Classic and T-7th at the Boeing Classic. Finished the season with a T-7th finish at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
2022 Notes: Played in 25 PGA Tour Champions events with ten top-ten finishes. He was 8th on the Schwab Rankings and 8th on the money list, winning $1,587,725. He opened the season finishing T-3rd at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, a shot back of the Miguel Angel Jimenez/Steven Alker playoff. He was T-3rd again at the Hoag Classic, six shots back of winner Retief Goosen. Was T-8th at both the Rapiscan Systems and Insperity Invitational. Led entering the final round of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship before finishing 2nd, three shots back of winner Steven Alker. It marked his best finish in a senior major. Shot 68-65 over the weekend to finish T-5th in the Senior Players Championship, five shots back of winner Jerry Kelly. He was T-3rd at the Boeing Classic, four shots back of winner Miguel Angel Jimenez. He finished T-6th at the Ally Challenge and T-7th at the SAS Championship. He finished the year T-4th at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, 11 shots back of winner Padraig Harrington.
2023 Notes: Played in 23 PGA Tour Champions events with eight top-ten finishes. He was 6th on the Schwab Rankings and 5th on the money list, winning $2,130,194. He picked up his third PGA Tour Champions win at the Trophy Hassan II by going wire-to-wire and closing with a bogey-free 73 to win by five shots over Mark Hensby. Finished T-9th at the Insperity Invitational after scores of 69-72-71. With rounds of 65-64-68, he won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic by four shots over Miguel Angel Jimenez. Picked up his third win of the season with a one-shot triumph over Steve Stricker and Jerry Kely at the Principal Charity Classic. Became the third multi-time winner of the event after also winning in 2021. Opened with back-to-back 66s to co-lead after 36 holes before closing with 5-under 67. After opening 69-65, he closed with an even-par 72 at University Ridge Golf Course to finish T-7th at 11-under 205. Captured his fourth victory of the 2023 season at the Boeing Classic. Played the final five holes in 6-under to shoot 63 in the final round after opening 67-67. His 19-under total led to a seven-shot margin of victory over Miguel Angel Jimenez. It was his sixth win overall on the PGA Tour Champions. He collected his fifth top-3 finish of the season with a T-3rd at The Ally Challenge, with two shots back from winner Vijay Singh. He was T-2nd in the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, one shot back of winner Steven Alker.
2024 Notes: Played in 24 PGA Tour Champions events with 13 top-ten finishes. Was 4th on the Schwab money list with earnings of $2,113,895. Closed with back-to-back 67s to finish T-8th at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. Won the Chubb Classic for his seventh victory on PGA Tour Champions, marking his fifth win in his previous 24 starts. Carded 13-under 131 with rounds of 67-64 in the weather-shortened 36-hole event. Overcame a four-shot deficit after the first round, defeating runner-up Rocco Mediate by three shots. Finished T7 at the Cologuard Classic. Successfully defended his title at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, winning the 2024 crown on his 60th birthday. It was his eighth win overall on PGA Tour Champions, and sixth in his previous 29 starts. Carded rounds of 71-64-67, making two eagles in the final round (Nos. 6 and 13), for a four-shot win over Doug Barron and Paul Broadhurst. Became the first multi-time winner of the 2024 season on PGA Tour Champions after capturing the Chubb Classic in February. Became the first three-time winner of the Mitsubishi Electric Classic. At the Principal Charity Classic finished 2nd, two shots behind champion Ernie Els. It was his third top-2 finish in his first 11 starts of the season. This started a streak of seven top ten finishes in 8 events, including winning the Boeing Classic. After opening with 71, shot a pair of 67s on the weekend and overcame a seven-shot final-round deficit, matching the largest comeback since 2021 on PGA Tour Champions. It was his third win of the 2024 season and ninth overall on PGA Tour Champions. After a T-10th at the Rogers Charity Classic went into a slump. In his last six starts, his best finish was T-15th at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
2025 Notes: Best finish T-5th at the Regions Tradition, five shots back of the winner Angel Cabrera.