1996 U.S. Open: Jones Goes from Injured List to Winners List

Grand Slam Jones
Jamie Squire/Allsport/Getty Images
By
Brent Kelley
Brent Kelley
Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism.
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Updated on 11/04/19

Playing in his first U.S. Open since 1991, the injury-plagued Steve Jones recorded the biggest win of his career.

The 1996 U.S. Open was played on the South Course at Oakland Hills Country Club. Jones arrived having advanced through sectional qualifying. He had four PGA Tour wins by this point, but none since 1989. Late in 1991, Jones suffered damage to various ligaments and joints in a dirt biking accident and didn't get back into a PGA Tour event until 1994.

After winning here, Jones won three more times for a total of eight career PGA Tour victories.

Tom Lehman and Davis Love III tied for second, one behind Jones. Each had his chances in the final round. Lehman, the third-round leader, had a three-stroke lead after the first nine holes of the final round. But while Jones advanced from that point, Lehman lost strokes, culminating with a bogey on the final hole.

Love, meanwhile, made a charge on the back nine of the final round, only to miss a 3-foot par putt on the final hole. Jones didn't miss, making a 2-putt par on the 72nd green to seal the victory.

In his final U.S. Open as an amateur, Tiger Woods placed in a tie for 82nd.

1996 U.S. Open Scores

Results from the 1996 U.S. Open golf tournament played at the par-70 Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Mich. (a-amateur):

Steve Jones $425,000 74-66-69-69--278
Davis Love III $204,801 71-69-70-69--279
Tom Lehman $204,801 71-72-65-71--279
John Morse $111,235 68-74-68-70--280
Ernie Els $84,965 72-67-72-70--281
Jim Furyk $84,965 72-69-70-70--281
Scott Hoch $66,295 73-71-71-67--282
Vijay Singh $66,295 71-72-70-69--282
Ken Green $66,295 73-67-72-70--282
Lee Janzen $52,591 68-75-71-69--283
Greg Norman $52,591 73-66-74-70--283
Colin Montgomerie $52,591 70-72-69-72--283
Dan Forsman $43,725 72-71-70-71--284
Tom Watson $43,725 70-71-71-72--284
Frank Nobilo $43,725 69-71-70-74--284
Nick Faldo $33,188 72-71-72-70--285
David Berganio $33,188 69-72-72-72--285
Mark O'Meara $33,188 72-73-68-72--285
Mark Brooks $33,188 76-68-69-72--285
John Cook $33,188 70-71-71-73--285
Stewart Cink $33,188 69-73-70-73--285
Sam Torrance $33,188 71-69-71-74--285
Brad Bryant $23,806 73-71-74-68--286
Peter Jacobsen $23,806 71-74-70-71--286
Billy Andrade $23,806 72-69-72-73--286
Woody Austin $23,806 67-72-72-75--286
Curtis Strange $17,809 74-73-71-69--287
Peter Jordan $17,809 71-74-72-70--287
Jack Nicklaus $17,809 72-74-69-72--287
Payne Stewart $17,809 67-71-76-73--287
John Daly $17,809 72-69-73-73--287
Mike Swartz $14,071 72-72-74-70--288
Tom Purtzer $14,071 76-71-71-70--288
Billy Mayfair $14,071 72-71-74-71--288
Brett Ogle $14,071 70-75-72-71--288
Steve Gotsche $14,071 72-70-74-72--288
Michael Campbell $14,071 70-73-73-72--288
Anders Forsbrand $14,071 74-71-71-72--288
Sean Murphy $14,071 71-75-68-74--288
Lucas Parsons $9,918 75-71-73-70--289
J.L. Lewis $9,918 76-69-73-71--289
Bob Ford $9,918 69-77-72-71--289
Scott Simpson $9,918 70-71-76-72--289
Wayne Riley $9,918 73-69-74-73--289
Steve Elkington $9,918 72-70-74-73--289
Tommy Tolles $9,918 77-68-71-73--289
Corey Pavin $9,918 73-70-72-74--289
Kirk Triplett $9,918 70-73-72-74--289
Loren Roberts $9,918 72-73-69-75--289
Wayne Westner $6,619 72-75-74-69--290
Bob Gilder $6,619 73-72-75-70--290
Kenny Perry $6,619 73-71-75-71--290
Jeff Sluman $6,619 70-74-74-72--290
Joey Gullion $6,619 73-72-73-72--290
Hale Irwin $6,619 72-71-73-74--290
Alexander Cejka $6,619 74-70-72-74--290
Michael Bradley $6,619 71-74-71-74--290
Kelly Gibson $6,619 71-73-71-75--290
Justin Leonard $6,619 71-76-67-76--290
Steve Stricker $5,825 74-71-75-71--291
Steve Lowery $5,825 73-74-73-71--291
Bill Porter $5,825 73-75-72-71--291
Bill Murchison $5,825 76-68-74-73--291
a-Randy Leen 77-71-70-73--291
David Gilford $5,825 74-69-74-74--291
Dennis Harrington $5,825 75-71-71-74--291
David Duval $5,645 75-72-75-70--292
Andrew Morse $5,645 76-72-74-70--292
Paul Azinger $5,645 69-74-78-71--292
Frank Lickliter II $5,645 75-71-73-73--292
Jumbo Ozaki $5,645 69-72-77-74--292
Costantino Rocca $5,645 71-74-73-74--292
Wayne Grady $5,645 71-75-72-74--292
David Ogrin $5,645 72-74-72-74--292
Peter O'Malley $5,645 75-73-70-74--292
Curt Byrum $5,645 70-76-71-75--292
Jim Gallagher Jr. $5,645 71-72-73-76--292
Bob Tway $5,645 72-75-68-77--292
a-Trip Kuehne 79-69-73-72--293
Michael Christie $5,505 72-75-72-74--293
Ian Woosnam $5,505 72-72-74-75--293
a-Tiger Woods 76-69-77-72--294
John Huston $5,415 73-72-76-73--294
Kent Jones $5,415 71-74-76-73--294
Skip Kendall $5,415 77-71-73-73--294
Scott McCarron $5,415 72-72-75-75--294
Tom Kite $5,415 76-71-72-75--294
Brad Faxon $5,415 70-72-76-76--294
Neal Lancaster $5,415 74-67-74-79--294
Craig Parry $5,305 70-76-75-74--295
Javier Sanchez $5,305 71-76-74-74--295
Jack O'Keefe $5,305 72-71-76-76--295
Jay Haas $5,305 73-72-74-76--295
Anthony Rodriguez $5,235 71-77-76-72--296
Tom Pernice Jr. $5,235 74-72-74-76--296
Phil Mickelson $5,235 76-71-73-76--296
Jeff Maggert $5,165 75-69-81-72--297
Jim Thorpe $5,165 75-71-78-73--297
Blaine McCallister $5,165 71-75-76-75--297
Philip Walton $5,165 69-73-78-77--297
Omar Uresti $5,105 76-72-74-76--298
Olin Browne $5,105 73-70-76-79--298
Gary Trivisonno $5,075 69-75-78-77--299
Mark Wiebe $5,055 74-74-75-77--300
a-Steve Scott 71-73-81-76--301
Rich Yokota $5,035 79-67-76-79--301
Mike Burke, Jr $5,015 78-70-77-77--302
Shawn Kelly $5,000 73-75-79-82--309