Researching 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 Nationwide Tour. His first and only victory in this venue came at the 1996 Nike 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 a Nationwide Tour event and a PGA Tour event back-to-back. 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 a host of injury-related ailments. He injured his right shoulder at the Bay Hill Invitational that year and also 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 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 sponsored the annual Paul Stankowski FCA Golf Scramble in El Paso for a time. He lives in Flower Mound, Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Stankowski has made over 400 starts on the PGA Tour. With his PGA Tour career winding down and a desire to be closer to his family, he changed 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 says he is done with competitive golf until 2020, when he becomes eligible for PGA Tour Champions. In 2018 and 2019, he took advantage of an exemption reserved for those 48 and 49 years old on the Korn Ferry Tour, playing in a total of six events but not making the cut in any of them.