1981 Tournament Players Championship

1981 Tournament Players Championship
Tournament information
Dates	March 19–23, 1981
Location	Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Course(s)	Sawgrass Country Club,; East-West course
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	72
Length	7,000 yards (6,400 m)
Field	143 players, 74 after cut
Cut	151 (+7)
Prize fund	$440,000
Winner's share	$72,000
Champion
	Raymond Floyd
	285 (−3), playoff
	← 1980 1982 →

Sawgrass CC

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Location in the United States

Sawgrass CC

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Location in Florida

The 1981 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 19–23 at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. The eighth Tournament Players Championship, it was the fifth consecutive at Sawgrass and the champion was Raymond Floyd.

The final round on Sunday was washed-out by thunderstorms and played on Monday.^[2] After 72 holes, three players were tied at 285 (−3): Floyd, Barry Jaeckel, and Curtis Strange. The playoff began at the par-3 15th hole, where Floyd made par and the other two had bogeys.^[3]^[4]

In addition to the winner's share of $72,000, Floyd won a $250,000 bonus for consecutive victories during the tour's Florida swing; he won at Doral near Miami the previous week.^[3]^[4]

Defending champion Lee Trevino finished four strokes back, in a tie for twelfth place.

Venue

This was the fifth and last Tournament Players Championship held at Sawgrass Country Club; it moved to the nearby TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course in 1982. The new course was scheduled to make its debut in 1981,^[5]^[6] but heavy rains during construction pushed it back a year.^[7]

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par	Finish
Lee Trevino	United States	1980	73	73	70	73	289	+1	T12
Jack Nicklaus	United States	1974, 1976, 1978	75	68	74	76	293	+5	T29
Mark Hayes	United States	1977	74	72	75	73	294	+6	T34

Source:^[1]^[3]^[4]

Missed the cut

Player	Country	Year won	R1	R2	Total	To par
Lanny Wadkins	United States	1979	79	74	153	+9

Source:^[8]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, March 20, 1981

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
T1	Dave Eichelberger	United States	68	−4
T1	Mike Morley	United States	68	−4
T3	Jim Dent	United States	69	−3
T3	Barry Jaeckel	United States	69	−3
T5	Dan Halldorson	Canada	70	−2
T5	Mike Sullivan	United States	70	−2
T7	Gary Hallberg	United States	71	−1
	Roger Maltbie	United States
	Johnny Miller	United States
	Gil Morgan	United States
	Mark O'Meara	United States
	Tom Purtzer	United States
	Leonard Thompson	United States

Source:^[9]

Second round

Friday, March 20, 1981

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Barry Jaeckel	United States	69-70=139	−5
T2	Danny Edwards	United States	72-68=140	−4
T2	Dan Halldorson	Canada	70-70=140	−4
4	Jim Simons	United States	73-68=141	−3
5	Jim Dent	United States	69-73=142	−2
T6	John Mahaffey	United States	73-70=143	−1
T6	Jack Nicklaus	United States	75-68=143	−1
T8	Dave Eichelberger	United States	68-76=144	E
	Gary Hallberg	United States	71-73=144
	Mark O'Meara	United States	71-73=144
	Dan Pohl	United States	72-72=144
	Tom Purtzer	United States	71-73=144
	Curtis Strange	United States	72-72=144

Source:^[8]

Third round

Saturday, March 21, 1981

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Barry Jaeckel	United States	69-70-72=211	−5
T2	Dan Halldorson	Canada	70-70-74=214	−2
	John Mahaffey	United States	73-70-71=214
	Jim Simons	United States	73-68-73=214
5	Curtis Strange	United States	72-72-71=215	−1
T6	Jim Colbert	United States	78-69-69=216	E
	Frank Conner	United States	74-72-70=216
	Gary Hallberg	United States	71-73-72=216
	Bruce Lietzke	United States	73-75-68=216
	Mark O'Meara	United States	71-73-72=216
	Lee Trevino	United States	73-73-70=216

Source:^[10]

Final round

Monday, March 23, 1981

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money ($)
T1	Raymond Floyd	United States	72-74-71-68=285	−3	Playoff
	Barry Jaeckel	United States	69-70-72-74=285
	Curtis Strange	United States	72-72-71-70=285
T4	Miller Barber	United States	72-78-69-68=287	−1	15,750
	Jim Colbert	United States	78-69-69-71=287
	Bruce Lietzke	United States	73-75-68-71=287
	Jim Simons	United States	73-68-73-73=287
T8	Frank Conner	United States	74-72-70-72=288	E	11,200
	Gary Hallberg	United States	71-73-72-72=288
	Dan Halldorson	Canada	70-70-74-74=288
	Leonard Thompson	United States	71-76-72-69=288

Source:^[1]^[3]^[4]

Playoff

The sudden-death playoff began and ended at the par-3 15th hole.

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Raymond Floyd	United States	3	E	72,000
T2	Barry Jaeckel	United States	4	+1	35,200
T2	Curtis Strange	United States	4	+1	35,200

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "TPC results". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). Associated Press. March 24, 1981. p. 10.
^ "Thunderstorms postpone TPC". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. March 23, 1981. p. 3-D.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Floyd wins playoff for record payoff - $322,000". Chicago Tribune. wire services. March 24, 1981. p. 3, sec. 6.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Floyd recoups his losses, takes golf's biggest check". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 24, 1981. p. 4C.
^ "Trevino says TPC no major, but he beat the best to win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. March 24, 1980. p. 5C.
^ Jenkins, Dan (March 31, 1980). "Seems like old times". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
^ McDermott, Barry (March 15, 1982). "Target golf is the aim". Sports Illustrated. p. 38.
^ ^a ^b "Even TPC leader miffed by winds". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 21, 1981. p. 2B.
^ "Eichelberger likes calm, but thrives in wind". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 20, 1981. p. 5B.
^ "Jaeckel anxious to take gut check". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 22, 1981. p. 9B.

External links

The Players Championship website

30°11′20″N 81°22′12″W / 30.189°N 81.37°W / 30.189; -81.37

[tscnwsrs-1] "TPC results". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). Associated Press. March 24, 1981. p. 10.

[shtwashout-2] "Thunderstorms postpone TPC". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. March 23, 1981. p. 3-D.

[chitrbonus-3] "Floyd wins playoff for record payoff - $322,000". Chicago Tribune. wire services. March 24, 1981. p. 3, sec. 6.

[frclss-4] "Floyd recoups his losses, takes golf's biggest check". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 24, 1981. p. 4C.

[ergtrwns-5] "Trevino says TPC no major, but he beat the best to win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. March 24, 1980. p. 5C.

[sivlattw-6] Jenkins, Dan (March 31, 1980). "Seems like old times". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.

[sivtgita-7] McDermott, Barry (March 15, 1982). "Target golf is the aim". Sports Illustrated. p. 38.

[secrderg-8] "Even TPC leader miffed by winds". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 21, 1981. p. 2B.

[elcbtiw-9] "Eichelberger likes calm, but thrives in wind". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 20, 1981. p. 5B.

[anxgut-10] "Jaeckel anxious to take gut check". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 22, 1981. p. 9B.

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v t e The Players Championship
Tournaments	1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Venues	Atlanta Country Club (1974) Colonial Country Club (1975) Inverrary Country Club (1976) Sawgrass Country Club (1977–1981) Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass (1982–present)