Steve
Jensen
Steve was born in Kenosha , WI on April
29, 1953. He and his family moved to Eau Claire
when Steve was just
an infant.
He and his family settled in on the North
Side of Eau Claire, eventually becoming North High
Huskies. He
was a standout basketball and baseball player and
still
ranks high among the all-time North High scoring
leaders in
basketball .
Steve started playing golf after high school when he
discovered his Dad’s set of golf clubs and starting
hitting shots by creating golf holes in vacant lots
near the Eau Claire Airport.
He started playing the real game of golf at
Hallie Golf Course with friends Dan Ammerman and the
legendary lefty, Kim Boelke. He
soon become skilled enough to start playing CVGA
tournaments in 1971. His first tournament win
occurred only three years later on a cold and
blistery day at Lowes Creek Golf Course in 1974. He
finished second at Spring Valley the very next
day and this competitive nature soon led to one of
the most stellar CVGA careers on record.
He won Player of the Year Honors 3 times, twice
during the 70’s where
CVGA giants such as Joe Springer, Rick Norman, Greg
Dick, and Roy Abrameit were all in their primes and
vying for the same crown. He also won
Player of the Year in both the Open Division and the
Senior Division in the same year, 2005….a feat accomplished
only by him. Some
of his most memorable golf experiences were of him qualifying
for two US Mid-Amateur Championships in ‘83 and ’84
and winning the Chetek Open with a score of -13
under par in the 27 hole tournament. Steve
credits Diz
Kronenberg and Bob Yule, Jr. for teaching him many
of the aspects of golf.
In his CVGA career, he would win more than 25 times.
A deadly putter
with a creative short game, “Jens” was NEVER out of
a hole. On many
occasions opponents were left scratching their
heads, feeling either “heartbroken” or “hustled”,
and asking themselves, “How did he
do that?”.
Steve has two children, David and Sarah, and has
been married to his wife Mary, since 2002. Steve has
spent his entire career in the home remodeling
business and spends his winters in Winter
Haven, FL.
Steve still competes in the CVGA as both a
Championship and Senior player and is regularly
among the leaders.
A big hitter with an even bigger
personality, Steve Jensen is one of the more
colorful characters that still play in the CVGA. If younger
golfers ever want to know what the CVGA was like
“in the day”….look no further than Jens because if
(when) he
wins again, he will have won a CVGA tournament in
5 decades.