1983 Tournament Players Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 24–28, 1983 |
| Location | Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida |
| Course(s) | TPC Sawgrass, Stadium Course |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 6,857 yards (6,270 m)[1] |
| Cut | 149 (+5) |
| Prize fund | $700,000 |
| Winner's share | $126,000 |
| Champion | |
 Hal Sutton | |
| 283 (−5) | |
The 1983 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 24–28 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the tenth Tournament Players Championship.
Heavy rains on Thursday delayed the start until Friday, with the final two rounds planned for Sunday.[2] Thunderstorms on Sunday morning allowed only the third round to be completed,[3] and the final round was held on Monday.[4]
Hal Sutton, age 24, came from four strokes back with a final round 69 to win his second tour event, one stroke ahead of runner-up Bob Eastwood.[4][5] Later in the year, Sutton won his only major title, the PGA Championship in August at Riviera.
Defending champion Jerry Pate withdrew before the start, due to a lingering neck injury.[6][7]
Sutton became the youngest champion of the TPC, formerly Mark Hayes, 27 in 1977. It was only for a year, as Fred Couples was five months younger at his win in 1984.
Venue
This was the second Tournament Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course and it remained at 6,857 yards (6,270 m). Despite refinements in the past year, the Pete Dye-designed course continued to be scrutinized by many.[8][9][10][11]
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, 1978 | 73 | 76 | 68 | 74 | 291 | +3 | T19 |
| Raymond Floyd | United States |
1981 | 70 | 76 | 72 | 74 | 292 | +4 | T23 |
| Al Geiberger | United States |
1975 | 72 | 74 | 74 | 80 | 300 | +12 | T56 |
Source:[1]
Missed the cut
| Player | Country | Year won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Trevino | United States |
1980 | 77 | 73 | 150 | +6 |
| Lanny Wadkins | United States |
1979 | 76 | 80 | 156 | +12 |
Source:[12]
- Defending champion Jerry Pate withdrew due to a lingering neck injury.[6][7]
Round summaries
First round
Friday, March 25, 1983
Rain washed out play on Thursday, and the final two rounds were rescheduled for Sunday.
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bruce Lietzke | United States |
68 | −4 |
| T2 | Bobby Clampett | United States |
69 | −3 |
| John Cook | United States
| |||
| Bob Eastwood | United States
| |||
| Mark McCumber | United States
| |||
| Leonard Thompson | United States
| |||
| T7 | Ben Crenshaw | United States |
70 | −2 |
| Danny Edwards | United States
| |||
| Raymond Floyd | United States
| |||
| Peter Oosterhuis |  England
| |||
| Tom Weiskopf | United States
|
Source:[13]
Second round
Saturday, March 26, 1983
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Cook | United States |
69-70=139 | −5 |
| T2 | Bobby Clampett | United States |
69-72=141 | −3 |
| Peter Jacobsen | United States |
73-68=141 | ||
| Don Pooley | United States |
71-70=141 | ||
| J. C. Snead | United States |
71-70=141 | ||
| 6 | Bob Murphy | United States |
72-70=142 | −2 |
| T7 | Lennie Clements | United States |
73-70=143 | −1 |
| Vance Heafner | United States |
72-71=143 | ||
| Bruce Lietzke | United States |
68-75=143 | ||
| Tsuneyuki Nakajima |  Japan |
71-72=143 |
Source:[12]
Third round
Sunday, March 27, 1983
Officials had hoped to complete the event with 36 holes on Sunday.[2] Thunderstorms in the morning delayed play for three hours, and the final round was moved to Monday.[3]
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Cook | United States |
69-70-71=210 | −6 |
| 2 | Bobby Clampett | United States |
69-72-70=211 | −5 |
| 3 | Vance Heafner | United States |
72-71-69=212 | −4 |
| T4 | Ben Crenshaw | United States |
70-74-69=213 | −3 |
| Peter Jacobsen | United States |
73-68-72=213 | ||
| Don Pooley | United States |
71-70-72=213 | ||
| T7 | Bruce Lietzke | United States |
68-75-71=214 | −2 |
| Hal Sutton | United States |
73-71-70=214 | ||
| 9 | Bob Eastwood | United States |
69-75-71=215 | −1 |
| T10 | Keith Fergus | United States |
74-71-71=216 | E |
| Ed Fiori | United States |
72-73-71=216 | ||
| Gil Morgan | United States |
74-72-70=216 | ||
| Tsuneyuki Nakajima | Japan |
71-72-73=216 | ||
| J. C. Snead | United States |
71-70-75=216 |
Source:[14]
Final round
Monday, March 28, 1983
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hal Sutton | United States |
73-71-70-69=283 | −5 | 126,000 |
| 2 | Bob Eastwood | United States |
69-75-71-69=284 | −4 | 75,600 |
| T3 | John Cook | United States |
69-70-71-75=285 | −3 | 36,400 |
| Bruce Lietzke | United States |
68-75-71-71=285 | |||
| John Mahaffey | United States |
72-74-72-67=285 | |||
| T6 | Vance Heafner | United States |
72-71-69-74=286 | −2 | 24,325 |
| Doug Tewell | United States |
72-74-70-70=286 | |||
| T8 | Ed Fiori | United States |
72-73-71-71=287 | −1 | 21,000 |
| Curtis Strange | United States |
72-75-70-70=287 | |||
| T10 | Bobby Clampett | United States |
69-72-70-77=288 | E | 17,500 |
| Ben Crenshaw | United States |
70-74-69-75=288 | |||
| Don Pooley | United States |
71-70-72-75=288 |
Source:[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Golf: TPC". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 29, 1983. p. 19.
- ^ a b "Cook fights winds for TPC lead". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 27, 1983. p. D6.
- ^ a b "Cook clings to lead". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 28, 1983. p. 15.
- ^ a b Green, Bob (March 29, 1983). "Sutton survives". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. 17.
- ^ Johnson, Mark (March 24, 1983). "Leaders fall and Sutton takes it all". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). p. 1C.
- ^ a b "Pate withdraws from TPC with neck injury". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). March 24, 1983. p. 3C.
- ^ a b "Watson names favorites as the TPC begins play". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). March 24, 1983. p. 23.
- ^ Johnson, Mark (March 24, 1983). "Picking the winner is as tough as the TPC course". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). p. 1C.
- ^ Johnson, Mark (March 26, 1983). "TPC – one man's fun is another man's nightmare". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). p. 8C.
- ^ "Architect says golf not meant to be fair". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 27, 1983. p. D6.
- ^ "TPC course draws fire". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 29, 1983. p. 17.
- ^ a b "Cook has 2-shot edge in TPC's survival test". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 27, 1983. p. 7F.
- ^ "Lietzke's on the right course at TPC". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 26, 1983. p. 4B.
- ^ "Golf: TPC". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 28, 1983. p. 17.