Steven Nicholas Melnyk (born February 26, 1947) is a former American professional golfer and golf sportscaster best known for his success as an amateur golfer. Melnyk won both the

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

and

British Amateur The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

Early years

Melnyk was born in Brunswick, Georgia.Florida Sports Hall of Fame, Inductees
Steve Melnyk (2000)
Retrieved July 18, 2011. He attended the

Glynn Academy Glynn Academy (GA) is an American public high school in Brunswick, Georgia, United States, enrolling 1,900 students in grades 9– 12. Along with Brunswick High School, it is one of two high schools in the Glynn County School System. Glynn Aca ...

in Brunswick for his high school education. Melnyk won the Georgia Open as an 18-year-old amateur golfer in 1965.Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, Members
Steve Melnyk
Retrieved July 18, 2011.

Amateur career

Melnyk attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Buster Bishop's

Florida Gators men's golf The Florida Gators men's golf team represents the University of Florida in the sport of golf. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They play their home ...

team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) competition from 1967 to 1969.
Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 37, 39, 40, 41, 43 (2010). Retrieved July 11, 2011. He was a two-time All-American at Florida, and was the number one golfer on the 1968 team that won their first NCAA Division I Golf Championship. Melnyk graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in industrial management in 1969. Melnyk won the 1969

at Oakmont Country Club, shooting a 2-over-par 286 to beat

Vinny Giles Marvin M. "Vinny" Giles III (born January 4, 1943) is an American amateur golfer. He is best known for winning both the U.S. Amateur and the British Amateur. Giles was born in Lynchburg, Virginia. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1 ...

by five shots at stroke play. He claimed the

with a 3 & 2 victory over fellow American Jim Simons at

Carnoustie Golf Links Carnoustie Golf Links is in Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland. Carnoustie has four courses – the historic Championship Course, the Burnside Course, the Buddon Links Course and a free-to-play short, five-hole course called The Nestie. Carnoustie ...

in 1971. Melnyk also had wins at the

Western Amateur The Western Amateur is a leading annual golf tournament in the United States for male amateur golfers. It is organized by the Western Golf Association. The Western Amateur features an international field of top-ranked amateur golfers. It was first ...

and

Eastern Amateur The Eastern Amateur is an annual amateur golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does no ...

and played on the 1969 and 1971

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

teams. He won the 1965 Georgia Open as an amateur. He was low amateur in the 1970

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

(tie for 41st) and at the 1971 Masters Tournament (tie for 24th).

Professional career

Melnyk turned professional in 1971 after his British Amateur win and started playing on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

. He did not find the success he had as an amateur carried over to his professional career. He never won a tournament on the PGA Tour, but he did place second four times: the 1973

Phoenix Open The Phoenix Open (branded as the WM Phoenix Open for sponsorship reasons) is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held in late January/early February at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona. The tournament was originally the Arizona ...

, 1974

Houston Open The Cadence Bank Houston Open is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played in November. As a part of a restructuring of the schedule, the event moved to the fall in 2019. Because the tour year starts the previous fall, the ...

, 1979

First NBC New Orleans Open The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is a professional golf tournament in Louisiana on the PGA Tour, currently held at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, a suburb southwest of New Orleans. Beginning in 1938 and held annually since 1958, it is commonly pla ...

, and 1981

Pensacola Open The Pensacola Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour. The inaugural version of the tournament was played in 1956 and its last edition in 1988. Tournament highlights * 1960: Arnold Palmer birdies the 72nd hole to win by one shot over Doug San ...

. His best finish in a major was a tie for 12th at the 1972 Masters Tournament. He did win the 1972 Masters Par 3 Contest. At the 1982 Phoenix Open, Melnyk slipped and broke his right elbow. While recuperating from the injury, he became an on-course reporter for

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...

. He resumed playing later that year and both played and reported through the 1984 season when he retired from playing. He stayed with CBS until 1992, when joined

ABC Sports ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Televisi ...

. He retired from television in 2004, after 22 years as a reporter and analyst for CBS Sports, ABC Sports and ESPN. He has also designed or co-designed several golf courses. Melnyk was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1970,F Club, Hall of Fame
Gator Greats
Retrieved December 15, 2014. the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in 1992, and the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.

Personal life

Melnyk is retired from professional golf and broadcasting, but has regained his amateur golfer status and continues to play.Fred Seely,
Steve Melnyk: A good pro, now an amateur
," ''Jacksonville Golf'' (June 12, 2011). Retrieved July 18, 2011. He remains actively involved as a University of Florida alumnus and serving a ten-year stint on the board of directors of the Gators athletic boosters, including a term as its president. He lives in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

Tournament wins

*1965 Georgia Open (as an amateur) *1969

*1970

*1971

Results in major championships

LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

(winners), 1971

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melnyk, Steve American male golfers Florida Gators men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Golf writers and broadcasters Golf course architects Golfers from Georgia (U.S. state) Golfers from Jacksonville, Florida American people of Ukrainian descent People from Brunswick, Georgia 1947 births Living people