Iain Steel

Who is Iain Steel?

Iain Steel is a Malaysian professional golfer.

Steel was born in Sabah, Malaysia. He went to Auburn University in the United States and turned professional in 1996. That year, he became the first Malaysian golfer ever to play in The Open Championship.

Steel played on the second tier Nike Tour, now the Nationwide Tour, in 1997, before moving up to the elite PGA Tour for 1998 after graduating from the Qualifying Tournament. His rookie season on the PGA tour brought little success and he returned to the Nike Tour for 1999. He made few cuts in three more seasons on that tour before he lost his playing rights for 2002. He returned in 2003 after a season on the Canadian Tour but continued to struggle, before trying to qualify for the European Tour at the end of 2004. He reached the final stage of qualifying school to earn a limited card for Europe's second tier Challenge Tour for 2005. Although he had two top ten finishes, he made little impact and was unable to retain his card.

Steel joined the Asian Tour in 2006 after finishing tied for 4th place at the tour qualifying school. He has since managed to establish himself on the tour, appearing inside the top 50 on the Order of Merit each season with a number of strong finishes, although he has yet to win a tournament. While he plays predominantly in Asia, he has retained membership of the European Tour, so is also shown on that tour's money list courtesy of his appearances in tournaments co-sanctioned by both tours.