In the Bible, after Moses had died, God spoke to Joshua, ordering him to lead the people of Israel to the Promised Land.

Be strong and courageous, he told Joshua, because I will always be with you.

Tom Lehman reminded Steve Jones of those words as the two battled in the 1996 U.S. Open.

Heading to the 16th tee in that tournament, Mr. Jones was nervous. He was coming back from a dirt-bike injury that had forced him out of the game for three years. He hadn't won a tournament since 1989. This was his first chance to win a major tournament, and he was in a close battle with Mr. Lehman and Davis Love III.

Mr. Lehman and Mr. Jones, good friends and active Christians, were paired together. Mr. Lehman could tell his playing partner was nervous, Mr. Jones recalled.

``We're walking up to our second shots, and he just said, `I've got this verse for you that a friend shared with me in Joshua 1:9,' and he shared it with me,'' Mr. Jones said. ```Be strong and courageous.' And he was right, you know. We have to be strong and courageous.''

Mr. Jones won the U.S. Open, beating out Mr. Lehman and Mr. Love by a stroke. Mr. Jones' family ran out on the green with him for what he describes as one of the great moments of his life.

Much was written about how Mr. Lehman shared the verse, but the story didn't end there.

In November, Mr. Jones was paired with Paul Stankowski, an active Christian, in the final round at the Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua International tournament in Hawaii. At the 17th tee, Mr. Jones quoted to Mr. Stankowski the same verse: ``Be strong and courageous; do not be discouraged or afraid; for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.''

Like Mr. Jones at the U.S. Open, Mr. Stankowski went on to win. He beat Mr. Jones by two strokes and Fred Couples by one stroke.

``I looked back and said, `Wow, that's neat,''' Mr. Stankowski recalled recently. ``That's a neat deal that someone under the gun, trying to win a golf tournament, trying to beat my brains in, is trying to offer me courage.

``That's the neat thing about Christianity, is that the guys out here that are Christian are very encouraging to each other, even if they're trying to beat everybody else and beat you,'' Mr. Stankowski said.

The verse has long been a favorite to quote because it offers encouragement and the promise of God's continued presence.

So Joshua 1:9 played a part in victories at two tournaments. But in the example of Mr. Jones, it wouldn't follow to start using the phrase as a good-luck charm.

Winning is more a result of being prepared, he said.

``I've never prayed to win,'' Mr. Jones said. ``Tom Lehman hasn't either. I think that's the totally wrong attitude. What Christians should be praying for is to glorify God, no matter what happens.''

Mr. Jones, 38, experienced being born again in 1984. Since then he has wanted to win as badly as ever, but now he understands that he's going to lose many more tournaments than he wins, and the most important thing is to let people know there is more to life than golf.

During the years he couldn't play because of injury, he felt a lot of frustration. But he came to understand that not being in the limelight didn't make him any more or less of a person in God's eyes.

``Now I'm back in the limelight again, and I want to glorify him,'' Mr. Jones said. ``Whenever I win I like to tell people, if it wasn't for Jesus Christ in my life, we wouldn't be standing here right now. People think that's a cliche, but it's not.''