Steve Spray

{{Short description|American golfer (1940–2020)}}

{{Infobox golfer

| name = Steve Spray

| image =

| imagesize =

| caption =

| fullname = John Stephen Spray

| nickname =

| birth_date = {{Birth date |1940|12|16}}

| birth_place = Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|5|15|1940|12|16}}

| death_place = Chesterfield, Missouri, U.S.

| height = {{height|ft=6|in=1}}

| weight = {{convert|170|lb|kg st|abbr=on}}

| nationality = {{USA}}

| residence =

| spouse =

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| children = 2

| college = University of Iowa
Eastern New Mexico University

| yearpro = 1964

| retired =

| extour = PGA Tour
Champions Tour

| prowins = 8

| pgawins = 1

| otherwins = 7

| majorwins =

| masters = 43rd: 1969

| usopen = T5: 1968

| open = DNP

| pga = T78: 1971

| wghofid =

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| award1 =

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}}

John Stephen Spray (December 16, 1940 – May 15, 2020) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s.

Spray was born in Des Moines, Iowa and reared in Indianola, Iowa.{{cite web |title=statistics from Yahoo Golf |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/golf/pga/players/Steve+Spray/2191 |accessdate=May 1, 2009}} His first big win as an amateur came in the 1958 Iowa Junior Amateur; the next year he gained national fame by winning the Western Junior. Spray attended the University of Iowa initially, but transferred to Eastern New Mexico University where he spent most of his college career.{{cite web |title=Iowa Golf Hall of Fame Induction |url=http://www.iowagolf.org/HTML/News/2009News/news2009HallofFamePR.htm |accessdate=May 1, 2009 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}{{cite news |title=Spray's win at Harding not list in mists of time |author=Chapin, Dwight |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2005/10/03/SPG1QF1L9F1.DTL&type=golf |accessdate=May 1, 2009 |date=October 3, 2005}} He won the NAIA Championship in 1962 and 1963 while at Eastern New Mexico.

Spray turned professional in 1964 and began play on the PGA Tour in 1965. The highlight of Spray's career came in 1969 with a win at the San Francisco Open Invitational, the last PGA Tour event held at San Francisco's storied Harding Park. His best finish in a major championship was a T-5 at the 1968 U.S. Open.{{cite web |title=Golf Major Championships |url=http://golfmajorchampionships.com/players?player=713 |accessdate=May 1, 2009}} Spray was hampered by injuries during the last years of his PGA career including tendinitis in his left thumb that forced him to change his grip and back surgery that caused him to miss almost all of 1974.

After leaving the PGA Tour, Spray began working as the head pro at St. Louis Country Club in 1976 – a position he held for more than 30 years. In 1984, he was honored as the Gateway Section PGA Player of the Year, and was inducted into the [http://www.iowagolf.org/HTML/Hall_of_Fame/HOF_index.html Iowa Golf Hall of Fame] in May 2009.

Spray died in Chesterfield, Missouri on May 15, 2020.{{cite web |url=https://www.overtonfunerals.com/obituary/john-spray?fbclid=IwAR2SVkmaAS7D8BPo4sx5T3qT-uXQePBqvqwgOAHMHKC3Q6SNiWimdCqP69E |title=John Stephen Spray obituary}}