1977 Tournament Players Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 17–20, 1977 |
| Location | Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida |
| Course(s) |
Sawgrass Country Club, East-West course |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 7,174 yards (6,560 m)[1] |
| Cut | 155 (+11) |
| Prize fund | $300,000 |
| Winner's share | $60,000 |
| Champion | |
 Mark Hayes | |
| 289 (+1) | |
|
«1976 1978» | |
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 at Sawgrass.
Mark Hayes was the champion in windy conditions at 289 (+1), two strokes ahead of runner-up Mike McCullough.[1][2][3] McCullough and Tom Watson were the co-leaders after the third round, with Hayes a stroke back.[4]
Defending champion Jack Nicklaus finished four strokes back, in a tie for fifth place.
Venue
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.[3]
Past champions in the field
Made the cut
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Nicklaus | United States | 1974, 1976 | 73 | 74 | 72 | 74 | 293 | +5 | T5 |
Missed the cut
| Player | Country | Year won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Geiberger | United States | 1975 | 77 | 80 | 157 | +13 |
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, March 17, 1977
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike McCullough | United States | 66 | −6 |
| T3 | Don Bies | United States | 68 | −4 |
| Raymond Floyd | United States | |||
| Tom Watson | United States | |||
| T6 | Bruce Devlin |  Australia | 69 | −3 |
| Bill Kratzert | United States | |||
| Ed Sabo | United States | |||
| J. C. Snead | United States | |||
| T10 | Hubert Green | Australia | 71 | −1 |
| Peter Oosterhuis |  England | |||
| John Schroeder | United States |
Second round
Friday, March 18, 1977
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike McCullough | United States | 66-74=140 | −4 |
| 2 | Tom Watson | United States | 68-74=142 | −2 |
| T3 | Raymond Floyd | United States | 68-76=144 | E |
| Bob E. Smith | United States | 73-71=144 | ||
| 5 | J. C. Snead | United States | 69-76=145 | +1 |
| 6 | Mark Hayes | United States | 72-74=146 | +2 |
| T7 | Jack Nicklaus | United States | 73-74=147 | +3 |
| Bill Rogers | United States | 75-72=147 | ||
| Tom Weiskopf | United States | 75-72=147 | ||
| Larry Ziegler | United States | 74-73=147 |
Third round
Saturday, March 19, 1977
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Mike McCullough | United States | 66-74-76=216 | E |
| Tom Watson | United States | 68-74-74=216 | ||
| 3 | Mark Hayes | United States | 72-74-71=217 | +1 |
| T4 | Raymond Floyd | United States | 68-76-74=218 | +2 |
| Hale Irwin | United States | 72-77-69=218 | ||
| 6 | Jack Nicklaus | United States | 73-74-72=219 | +3 |
| T7 | Bruce Devlin | Australia | 69-79-72=220 | +4 |
| J. C. Snead | United States | 69-76-75=220 | ||
| T9 | Danny Edwards | United States | 75-76-70=221 | +5 |
| Tom Jenkins | United States | 75-75-71=221 | ||
| Larry Nelson | United States | 74-74-73=221 |
Source:[4]
Final round
Sunday, March 20, 1977
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Hayes | United States | 72-74-71-72=289 | +1 | 60,000 |
| 2 | Mike McCullough | United States | 66-74-76-75=291 | +3 | 34,200 |
| T3 | Bruce Devlin | Australia | 69-79-72-72=292 | +4 | 17,700 |
| Hale Irwin | United States | 72-77-69-74=292 | |||
| T5 | Graham Marsh | Australia | 73-77-72-71=293 | +5 | 10,900 |
| Jack Nicklaus | United States | 73-74-72-74=293 | |||
| Tom Watson | United States | 68-74-74-77=293 | |||
| T8 | Steve Melnyk | United States | 73-76-73-72=294 | +6 | 8,150 |
| Larry Nelson | United States | 74-74-73-73=294 | |||
| Bill Rogers | United States | 75-72-76-71=294 |
References
- 1 2 3 4 "While leaders stumble, Mark Hayes eases home". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 21, 1977. p. 17.
- 1 2 3 "Youth movement goes on as Hayes wins in the wind". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 21, 1977. p. 5C.
- 1 2 Jenkins, Dan (March 28, 1977). "In a class all by itself - for now". Sports Illustrated. p. 64.
- 1 2 "Erratic Tom Watson knots slumping Mike McCullough". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 20, 1977. p. D10.
- ↑ "Another unknown scrambles into lead". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 18, 1977. p. 6B.
- ↑ "McCullough fires 66 to lead TPC by two". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. March 18, 1977. p. 5, sec. 4.
- ↑ "Wind turns TPGC into joke". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 19, 1977. p. 2B.
- ↑ "Golfers agree - Sawgrass a laugh". Chicago Tribune. March 19, 1977. p. 3, sec. 2.
External links
Coordinates: 30°11′20″N 81°22′12″W / 30.189°N 81.37°W