1977 Tournament Players Championship

The 1977 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 17–20 at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. The fourth Tournament Players Championship, it was the first of five consecutive at Sawgrass, which had agreed a multi-year with the PGA Tour in 1976.[2]

1977 Tournament Players Championship
Tournament information
DatesMarch 17–20, 1977
LocationPonte Vedra Beach, Florida
30.189°N 81.370°W / 30.189; -81.370
Course(s)Sawgrass Country Club,
East-West course
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par72
Length7,174 yards (6,560 m)[1]
Field140 players, 79 after cut
Cut155 (+11)
Prize fund$300,000
Winner's share$60,000
Champion
Mark Hayes
289 (+1)
Location map
Sawgrass CC
Location in the United States
Sawgrass CC
Location in Florida

Mark Hayes was the champion in windy conditions at 289 (+1), two strokes ahead of runner-up Mike McCullough.[1][3][4] McCullough and Tom Watson were the co-leaders after the third round, with Hayes a stroke back.[5] Defending champion Jack Nicklaus finished four strokes back, in a tie for fifth place.[1][3]

Bob Menne set the tour's 72-hole record for fewest putts with 99,[6] but tied for 47th at 303 (+15).[1] The record had been 102 putts, by Bert Yancey in 1966 at his victory in the final Portland Open Invitational.[6][7]

Venue
Main article: Sawgrass Country Club

This was the first of five Tournament Players Championships held at Sawgrass Country Club; it moved to the nearby TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course in 1982. The venues for the first three editions in Georgia, Texas, and south Florida were familiar to most of the participants as those courses had recently hosted multiple PGA Tour events; this was the first tour event at Sawgrass.[4]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, March 17, 1977

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 Mike McCullough66−6
T3 Don Bies68−4
Raymond Floyd
Tom Watson
T6 Bruce Devlin69−3
Billy Kratzert
Ed Sabo
J. C. Snead
T10 Hubert Green71−1
Peter Oosterhuis
John Schroeder

Source:[8][9]

Second round

Friday, March 18, 1977

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 Mike McCullough66-74=140−4
2 Tom Watson68-74=142−2
T3 Raymond Floyd68-76=144E
Bob E. Smith73-71=144
5 J. C. Snead69-76=145+1
6 Mark Hayes72-74=146+2
T7 Jack Nicklaus73-74=147+3
Bill Rogers75-72=147
Tom Weiskopf75-72=147
Larry Ziegler74-73=147

Source:[10][11]

Third round

Saturday, March 19, 1977

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1 Mike McCullough66-74-76=216E
Tom Watson68-74-74=216
3 Mark Hayes72-74-71=217+1
T4 Raymond Floyd68-76-74=218+2
Hale Irwin72-77-69=218
6 Jack Nicklaus73-74-72=219+3
T7 Bruce Devlin69-79-72=220+4
J. C. Snead69-76-75=220
T9 Danny Edwards75-76-70=221+5
Tom Jenkins75-75-71=221
Larry Nelson74-74-73=221

Source:[5]

Final round

Sunday, March 20, 1977

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)
1 Mark Hayes72-74-71-72=289+160,000
2 Mike McCullough66-74-76-75=291+334,200
T3 Bruce Devlin69-79-72-72=292+417,700
Hale Irwin72-77-69-74=292
T5 Graham Marsh73-77-72-71=293+510,900
Jack Nicklaus73-74-72-74=293
Tom Watson68-74-74-77=293
T8 Steve Melnyk73-76-73-72=294+68,150
Larry Nelson74-74-73-73=294
Bill Rogers75-72-76-71=294

Source:[1][3]

References
  1. "While leaders stumble, Mark Hayes eases home". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 21, 1977. p. 17.
  2. "TPC tounrey in Florida". Rome News-Tribune. (Georgia). May 19, 1976. p. 7A.
  3. "Youth movement goes on as Hayes wins in the wind". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 21, 1977. p. 5C.
  4. Jenkins, Dan (March 28, 1977). "In a class all by itself - for now". Sports Illustrated. p. 64.
  5. "Erratic Tom Watson knots slumping Mike McCullough". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 20, 1977. p. D10.
  6. Missildine, Harry (May 22, 1977). "Putting game? you want to bet?". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D1.
  7. Wetzel, Frank (September 19, 1966). "Putts propel Bert Yancey to Open title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 3B.
  8. "Another unknown scrambles into lead". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 18, 1977. p. 6B.
  9. "McCullough fires 66 to lead TPC by two". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. March 18, 1977. p. 5, sec. 4.
  10. "Wind turns TPGC into joke". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 19, 1977. p. 2B.
  11. "Golfers agree - Sawgrass a laugh". Chicago Tribune. March 19, 1977. p. 3, sec. 2.
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