Stephen was from
Donnybrook, Western Australia. He turned professional at the beginning of 1978. Later in the year he joined the
PGA Tour of Australia. Stephen first received media attention that October at the
West Lakes Classic. He shot a bogey-free opening round 67 (−4) to tie the lead with
Bob Shearer. In 1980, he had his first year of continuous success as a touring professional. In February, he took the outright lead at the midway point of the
Victorian Open. He finished in a tie for sixth. The veteran golfer
Alan Murray was at the event. He was impressed with Stephen's talent, stating that he was a "future world champion." In September, this good play culminated with a high result at the
New South Wales PGA Championship. He was well back for most of the tournament but played well on Sunday while the leaders fell back. He was near the lead down the stretch but missed a one-metre putt on the 72nd hole. This would be crucial as he ultimately finished one behind champion
Ted Ball. Despite the disappointing final hole his runner-up finish was his hitherto highest placing. In February 1981, Stephen recorded his first victory at the
South Australia Open. He played "stunning" golf during the second round culminating with a holed bunker shot for an eagle on the last hole. Stephen's 67 (−5) was the best round of the tournament so far and put him at 140 (−4), one ahead of a number of players. He "maintained his sparkling form" on Saturday with a 70 (−2) to continue to hold a one shot lead. On Sunday, he played poorly early but birdied the 9th hole and "tightened his game" after the turn. Stephen finished at 282 (−6) and defeated
Rodger Davis by three. Later in the year he won the Spalding Park Open, held in
Spalding, Western Australia, for the first time with a score of 218 (+2). In the early 1980s, Stephen posted several runner-ups finishes. The first of these was at the 1981
New South Wales Open. Stephen started the final round well behind leader
Bill Rogers and second place holder
Peter Senior. However, the leaders played poorly and Stephen's 71 (−2) was good enough to move into solo second place. His A$6,860 paycheck was his highest ever. In August and early September 1982, despite "restricted tournament play," he recorded three runner-up finishes in his home state of Western Australia. In late September 1982, Stephen played the
New South Wales PGA Championship. In the first round, he played one-over-par golf through the first 12 holes. Stephen then "stormed home" with birdies on the 13th, 15th, and 17th holes and closed with a final hole eagle. He was one back of
Bob Shaw's lead. In the second round, Stephen again played excellently on the back nine scoring a bogey-free 33 (−4). His 68 (−5) tied him for the lead with
Wayne Grady. On Sunday, he played well on the front nine to stay close to leaders Grady and
Frank Nobilo. On the back nine, Stephen again caught fire, birdieing four of six holes starting on the 11th, to tie Nobilo for the lead. The par-5 18th hole – a hole that Stephen eagled twice previously – would be crucial. Stephen's approach on the hole stopped near a pathway. He did not get relief and his chip shot landed in the back rough. From there he took three, finishing with a bogey six. "I tried to put it on the board and let Frank make the mistakes but it backfired on me," he said later. "With the amount of golf I play a bloke should not make those mistakes." Stephen finished with a 69 (−4) for a 280 (−12) aggregate, one behind Nobilo. However, he went several years without much media attention. One of the few tournament he received significant attention for during this era was the 1984
Rolex Masters. The event was held in Singapore early in the year. Stephen was in the lead after two rounds. However, the American golfer Bill Israelson outplayed him in the third round and Stephen fell two behind. Stephen then bogeyed the second hole to begin to fall out of the picture. Israelson ultimately defeated him by a large margin. In the middle of 1985 he began to play better. In May he seriously contended for the
Nedlands Masters. After three rounds he was at 205 (−11), one behind leader
Terry Gale. However, amidst "inclement conditions" Stephen shot a 75 (+3) to finish five behind Gale. The rest of the challengers also played poorly, however, so Stephen still finished solo second. A month later he began playing on the European Tour. It was the first time he played on the tour. He recorded a top-10 at his first event, the
Jersey Open. He showed mixed form the remainder of the season, however. At his next tournament, the
Carroll's Irish Open, he opened with an 86 and missed the cut by a wide margin. He did not qualify for the event. In May 1986, he again played well at the
Nedlands Masters. In the third round he "produced some of the best golf of his career." He nearly made a hole-in-one on the 12th hole, beginning a stretch of five consecutive birdies. His 66 (−6) put him at 206 (−10), one behind leader Peter Jones. On Sunday he eagled the first hole to take the solo lead. He again nearly made a hole-in-one, this time on the par-3 7th, to assure birdie and expand his lead. Overall, Stephen shot a 32 on the front nine to outscore playing partner Jones by eight shots. He cruised home from there, nearly holing out another approach shot − this time a 6-iron on the 72nd hole − for a final birdie. His second consecutive 66 gave him a nine-stoke win over
Ian Stanley. Shortly after his win, he returned to Europe. Stephen opened the tour poorly, missing the cut in three of his first four events. He shot a third round 76 to fall out of contention though. For the remainder of the year in Europe, he did not have much success. He was disqualified, withdrew, or missed the cut in six of his final eight events with no high finishes. Against strong winds most his challengers, including leader
Greg Norman, struggled but Stephen himself had a "frustrating" final round punctuated by an eagle-three at the 71st hole and a bogey at the 72nd hole. His 72 (+1), however, was good enough to move into solo second place, five behind champion Norman. It was his second straight runner-up at the event. It was also his eighth runner-up finish in recent years. The following week he seriously contended at the
South Australian Open. He shot a third round 68 to tie
David Graham for the lead. However, he was the "big loser" on Sunday with a 79 (+7) to finish well back. Roughly two weeks later, he played at the
Victorian PGA Championship pro-am, tying
Ossie Moore for the victory after a 63 (−9). Later in the month he shot a third round 69 (−3) at the
Western Australian Open to move into the top ten. He shot another 69 in the final round to finish in a tie for fourth with
Mark O'Meara. In January 1987, he opened with 137 (−9) at the
U-Bix Classic to place himself in the top-10, one back of second place. He ultimately finished in a tie fifth place at 278 (−14). In May 1987, he returned to Europe for his third season on the European Tour. However, he played poorly thereafter and finished in a tie for 25th. The following week, he played the
National Panasonic WA Open. During the first round, he broke the course record at the Joondalup Golf Course with a 69 (−3) to take the lead. In the second round, he shot several over-par to fall behind. In the third round, he got back in contention with a 33 (−3) on the front nine. However, his comeback ended when his approach on the par-4 14th sailed into a limestone quarry leading to triple bogey. Despite this, he still managed a top-10 finish. In February 1988, Stephen recorded a solo fourth place finish at the
Victorian Open. Later in 1988, Stephen returned to Europe. He had mixed results for the first two months, making the cut in four of seven events with one top-25 and no top-10s. He then shot consecutive rounds of 73 (+2) to fall several shots back. He ultimately finished in a tie for fourth. In November he seriously contended at the
Australian PGA Championship and was in the top ten after the first round. He remained in the top ten after three rounds. In November he shot a second round 68 (−2) to move into contention at the
South Australian Open. He finished in a tie for eighth. In January 1989 he seriously contended at the
Coca-Cola Classic, holding down joint fourth place after three rounds. He played poorly in the final round, however, and finished in a tie for 13th. In May 1989, he returned to Europe. He made the cut in four of his first seven tournaments but did not record any top-25s. However, he missed qualifying by two shots. The following week he opened well at the
Dutch Open, opening with a 67. He followed with a 70 to stay in the top ten. For the remainder of the year, Stephen showed mixed form, making the cut in five of his final nine European Tour events with two top-25s and no top-10s. In 1990, Stephen did not return to Europe. In 1992, he re-joined the
PGA Tour of Australasia. In February, he contented at the
Australian Masters. He opened with a 75 (+2), but moved himself into a tie for third with a second round 68 (−5). He finished in a tie for fourth. In 1993, he recorded several highlights. In January, at the
Heineken Classic, he shot consecutive rounds of 68 (−4) to tie
Peter Senior for the lead. He finished the tournament in tie for eighth. In November, he played well at the
Australian Open finishing in a tie for ninth with, among others,
Curtis Strange and
Robert Allenby. At the 1994
Reebok Australian PGA Championship, he shot the round of the day on Saturday, a 67 (−5), to jump ahead of 36 players and move into a tie for fourth. He finished the event in a tie for ninth. The following week, he also recorded a top-10 at the Australian Open. Stephen's final seasons during his regular career was during the mid-late 1990s. In November 1995, he played well during the beginning of the
Victorian Open, opening one off the lead at the midway point. After a third round 72, he remained in contention, three back of the lead. He finished in a tie for fifth. The following February he recorded a top ten at the
South Australian Ford Open. In May 1996, he played the
South Australian PGA Championship at McCracken Golf Club. Stephen started the final round at even-par 216, eight back of the lead. However, he shot a final round 62 (−10) to take the clubhouse lead. At the par-5 final hole joint leader
Craig Spence missed a three-metre birdie putt to win the tournament outright. Stephen and Spence returned to the 18th for a sudden-death playoff. Stephen hit his three-wood approach to 10 centimeters to assure an eagle and the win. The following season, at the beginning of 1997, he recorded a tie for eleventh at the
Australian Masters, one behind
Tiger Woods. Stephen did not record many more highlights after the 1996–97 season. He largely retired as a touring professional after the 1997–98 season.
Senior career In the 2010s Stephen began to play on the senior tours. In 2010, Stephen started playing on the
European Senior Tour. In November he played the
Fiducian Legends Australian PGA Championship. He opened with a 69 (−3) to position himself two off the lead, in a tie for third. He shot a second round 73 (+1) that, in difficult conditions, moved him to within one of the lead held by
Delroy Cambridge. During the third and final round, Stephen fell three shots behind playing partner Cambridge. However, on the 16th hole Cambridge hit "an uncustomary wayward drive" that led to triple bogey. He and Stephen were now tied. On the next hole Stephen hit his birdie putt three-feet past but managed a "tense par." They remained tied. At the 18th Cambridge hit a perfect drive while Stephen's landed in the right rough. Cambridge hit his approach on the green. Stephen "appeared to be stymied by a group of tall trees" but managed to get his approach on the green. Cambridge left his birdie putt short. Stephen had an uphill 18-foot putt which he hit with "perfect pace" and "never looked like missing.” His birdie won the championship. Stephen won A$18,000. However he made the cut in only three events and did not record any high finishes. ==Professional wins (8)==