1978 Tournament Players Championship
The 1978 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 16–19 at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. The fifth Tournament Players Championship, it was the second at Sawgrass and Jack Nicklaus won his third TPC title at 289 (+1), one stroke ahead of runner-up Lou Graham.[1][2][3][4] Both shot 75 (+3) in the windy final round and Nicklaus went without a birdie.[1][3]
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Dates | March 16–19, 1978 |
Location | Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida 30.189°N 81.370°W |
Course(s) | Sawgrass Country Club, East-West course |
Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Statistics | |
Par | 72 |
Length | 7,174 yards (6,560 m)[1][2] |
Field | 142 players, 79 after cut |
Cut | 153 (+9) |
Prize fund | $344,270 |
Winner's share | $60,000 |
Champion | |
289 (+1) | |
Location Map | |
Sawgrass CC Location in the United States Sawgrass CC Location in Florida | |
This was the fourth consecutive start for Nicklaus in 1978 that ended with a top-two finish: two wins and two second places.[1][4] Four months later in July, he won his third Open Championship to become the first to win the TPC and a major title in the same calendar year, later joined by Hal Sutton (1983, PGA), Tiger Woods (2001, Masters), and Martin Kaymer (2014, U.S. Open).
Defending champion Mark Hayes finished eleven strokes back, in a tie for 28th place.
Venue
This was the second of five Tournament Players Championships held at Sawgrass Country Club; it moved to the nearby TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course in 1982.
Past champions in the field
Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jack Nicklaus | 1974, 1976 | 70 | 71 | 73 | 75 | 289 | +1 | 1 | |
Mark Hayes | 1977 | 73 | 77 | 77 | 73 | 300 | +12 | T28 |
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, March 16, 1978
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
T1 | Ben Crenshaw | 70 | −2 | |
Gibby Gilbert | ||||
Gary Groh | ||||
Jack Nicklaus | ||||
Victor Regalado | ||||
John Schroeder | ||||
Bobby Wadkins | ||||
T8 | Lou Graham | 71 | −1 | |
Joe Inman | ||||
Artie McNickle | ||||
Larry Nelson |
Source:[5]
Second round
Friday, March 17, 1978
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
T1 | Ben Crenshaw | 70-71=141 | −3 | |
Lou Graham | 71-70=141 | |||
Jack Nicklaus | 70-71=141 | |||
4 | Larry Nelson | 71-72=143 | −1 | |
5 | John Mahaffey | 72-72=144 | E | |
T6 | Mike Morley | 72-73=145 | +1 | |
Andy North | 74-71=145 | |||
John Schroeder | 70-75=145 | |||
T9 | Sam Adams | 74-72=146 | +2 | |
David Graham | 72-74=146 | |||
Joe Inman | 71-75=146 | |||
Artie McNickle | 71-75=146 | |||
Mac McLendon | 72-74=146 | |||
Florentino Molina | 72-74=146 | |||
Peter Oosterhuis | 73-73=146 |
Source:[6]
Third round
Saturday, March 18, 1978
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jack Nicklaus | 70-71-73=214 | −2 | |
2 | Lou Graham | 71-70-74=215 | −1 | |
T3 | Ben Crenshaw | 70-71-77=218 | +2 | |
Larry Nelson | 71-72-75=218 | |||
T5 | John Mahaffey | 72-72-75=219 | +3 | |
Andy North | 74-71-74=219 | |||
T7 | Lon Hinkle | 75-72-74=221 | +5 | |
Mike McCullough | 77-75-69=221 | |||
Peter Oosterhuis | 73-73-75=221 | |||
John Schroeder | 70-75-76=221 | |||
Bob Shearer | 74-75-72=221 | |||
Bob Zender | 75-73-73=221 |
Source:[7]
Final round
Sunday, March 19, 1978
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jack Nicklaus | 70-71-73-75=289 | +1 | 60,000 | |
2 | Lou Graham | 71-70-74-75=290 | +2 | 34,200 | |
3 | Lon Hinkle | 75-72-74-70=291 | +3 | 21,300 | |
T4 | Ben Crenshaw | 70-71-77-74=292 | +4 | 11,700 | |
Larry Nelson | 71-72-75-74=292 | ||||
Andy North | 74-71-74-73=292 | ||||
John Schroeder | 70-75-76-71=292 | ||||
8 | Jim Colbert | 74-74-74-72=294 | +6 | 8,850 | |
T9 | Hubert Green | 76-77-71-71=295 | +7 | 7,500 | |
Peter Oosterhuis | 73-73-75-74=295 | ||||
Victor Regalado | 70-79-76-70=295 |
References
- "TPC scores high and so is Nicklaus". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 20, 1978. p. 1D.
- "Nicklaus tops TPC with 75". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 20, 1978. p. 16.
- "Nicklaus holds on for 2d win of year". Chicago Tribune. wire services. March 20, 1978. p. 6, sec. 6.
- Jenkins, Dan (March 27, 1978). "Off in a world of his own". Sports Illustrated. p. 20.
- "Nicklaus making his big bid". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. March 17, 1978. p. 7C.
- "Birdies bring back Nicklaus into a TPC tie". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 18, 1978. p. 6B.
- "Nicklaus slips then fights back". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. March 19, 1978. p. 6B.