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]

Past champions in the field

Made the cut
PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2R3R4TotalTo parFinish
Jack Nicklaus United States1974, 197673747274293+5T5

Source:[1][3]

Missed the cut
PlayerCountryYear wonR1R2TotalTo par
Al Geiberger United States19757780157+13

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, March 17, 1977

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Mike McCullough United States66−6
T3Don Bies United States68−4
Raymond Floyd United States
Tom Watson United States
T6Bruce Devlin Australia69−3
Bill Kratzert United States
Ed Sabo United States
J. C. Snead United States
T10Hubert Green Australia71−1
Peter Oosterhuis England
John Schroeder United States

Source:[8][9]

Second round

Friday, March 18, 1977

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Mike McCullough United States66-74=140−4
2Tom Watson United States68-74=142−2
T3Raymond Floyd United States68-76=144E
Bob E. Smith United States73-71=144
5J. C. Snead United States69-76=145+1
6Mark Hayes United States72-74=146+2
T7Jack Nicklaus United States73-74=147+3
Bill Rogers United States75-72=147
Tom Weiskopf United States75-72=147
Larry Ziegler United States74-73=147

Source:[10][11]

Third round

Saturday, March 19, 1977

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Mike McCullough United States66-74-76=216E
Tom Watson United States68-74-74=216
3Mark Hayes United States72-74-71=217+1
T4Raymond Floyd United States68-76-74=218+2
Hale Irwin United States72-77-69=218
6Jack Nicklaus United States73-74-72=219+3
T7Bruce Devlin Australia69-79-72=220+4
J. C. Snead United States69-76-75=220
T9Danny Edwards United States75-76-70=221+5
Tom Jenkins United States75-75-71=221
Larry Nelson United States74-74-73=221

Source:[5]

Final round

Sunday, March 20, 1977

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney ($)
1Mark Hayes United States72-74-71-72=289+160,000
2Mike McCullough United States66-74-76-75=291+334,200
T3Bruce Devlin Australia69-79-72-72=292+417,700
Hale Irwin United States72-77-69-74=292
T5Graham Marsh Australia73-77-72-71=293+510,900
Jack Nicklaus United States73-74-72-74=293
Tom Watson United States68-74-74-77=293
T8Steve Melnyk United States73-76-73-72=294+68,150
Larry Nelson United States74-74-73-73=294
Bill Rogers United States75-72-76-71=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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