1997 Players Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 27–30, 1997 |
| Location | Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida |
| Course(s) | TPC Sawgrass, Stadium Course |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 6,896 yards (6,306 m)[1] |
| Field | 144 players, 76 after cut |
| Cut | 146 (+2) |
| Prize fund | $3.5 million |
| Winner's share | $630,000 |
| Champion | |
 Steve Elkington | |
| 272 (−16) | |
TPC Sawgrass
Location in the United States
TPC Sawgrass
Location in Florida
The 1997 Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 27–30 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the 24th Players Championship.
Steve Elkington led wire-to-wire, with all four rounds in the sixties, to win his second Players at 272 (−16), a record seven strokes ahead of runner-up Scott Hoch.[2][3] Elkington's previous win was six years earlier in 1991.[4][5]
In his first Players, 21-year-old Tiger Woods tied for 31st at 289 (+1);[2] two weeks later, he won the Masters by a record margin.
Defending champion Fred Couples finished thirteen strokes back, in a tie for tenth place.
Venue
This was the sixteenth Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course, and it remained at 6,896 yards (6,306 m).[1]
Past champions in the field
Made the cut
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Elkington | Australia |
1991 | 66 | 69 | 68 | 69 | 272 | −16 | 1 |
| Fred Couples |  United States |
1984, 1996 | 71 | 74 | 71 | 69 | 285 | −3 | T10 |
| Nick Price |  Zimbabwe |
1993 | 75 | 68 | 74 | 71 | 288 | E | T24 |
| Lee Janzen | United States |
1995 | 73 | 73 | 74 | 70 | 290 | +2 | T37 |
| Hal Sutton | United States |
1983 | 70 | 71 | 74 | 78 | 293 | +5 | T50 |
| Greg Norman | Australia |
1994 | 71 | 72 | 72 | 79 | 294 | +6 | T53 |
| Sandy Lyle |  Scotland |
1987 | 68 | 74 | 77 | 80 | 299 | +11 | T70 |
| Davis Love III | United States |
1992 | 72 | 66 | 73 | DQ | |||
Missed the cut
| Player | Country | Year won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Kite | United States |
1989 | 75 | 73 | 148 | +4 |
| Mark McCumber | United States |
1988 | 77 | 74 | 151 | +7 |
Source:[6]
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, March 27, 1997
Source:[7]
Second round
Friday, March 28, 1997
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Elkington | Australia |
66-69=135 | −9 |
| 2 | Larry Mize | United States |
68-68=136 | −8 |
| T3 | David Edwards | United States |
67-70=137 | −7 |
| Tommy Tolles | United States |
70-67=137 | ||
| T3 | Tom Lehman | United States |
67-71=138 | −6 |
| Davis Love III | United States |
72-66=138 | ||
| Craig Parry | Australia |
71-67=138 | ||
| Brian Watts | United States |
70-68=138 | ||
| T7 | Ernie Els |  South Africa |
68-71=139 | −5 |
| Brad Faxon | United States |
70-69=139 | ||
| Tom Purtzer | United States |
68-71=139 | ||
| Dave Stockton | United States |
68-71=139 | ||
| Kirk Triplett | United States |
71-68=139 | ||
| Fuzzy Zoeller | United States |
67-72=139 |
Source:[6]
Third round
Saturday, March 29, 1997
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Elkington | Australia |
66-69-68=203 | −13 |
| 2 | Scott Hoch | United States |
69-71-65=205 | −11 |
| T3 | Billy Andrade | United States |
68-72-68=208 | −8 |
| Tom Purtzer | United States |
68-71-69=208 | ||
| 5 | Kirk Triplett | United States |
71-68-70=209 | −7 |
| T6 | Mark Brooks | United States |
72-68-70=210 | −6 |
| Larry Mize | United States |
68-68-74=210 | ||
| Tommy Tolles | United States |
70-67-73=210 | ||
| T9 | Ernie Els | South Africa |
68-71-72=211 | −5 |
| Brad Faxon | United States |
70-69-72=211 | ||
| Robert Gamez | United States |
70-73-68=211 | ||
| Tom Lehman | United States |
67-71-73=211 | ||
| Davis Love III | United States |
72-66-73=211 | ||
| Colin Montgomerie | Scotland |
70-70-71=211 | ||
| Loren Roberts | United States |
70-74-67=211 |
Source:[8]
Final round
Sunday, March 30, 1997
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Elkington | Australia |
66-69-68-69=272 | −16 | 630,000 |
| 2 | Scott Hoch | United States |
69-71-65-74=279 | −9 | 378,000 |
| 3 | Loren Roberts | United States |
70-74-67-69=280 | −8 | 238,000 |
| 4 | Brad Faxon | United States |
70-69-72-70=281 | −7 | 168,000 |
| 5 | Billy Andrade | United States |
68-72-68-74=282 | −6 | 140,000 |
| 6 | Tom Lehman | United States |
67-71-73-72=283 | −5 | 126,000 |
| T7 | Mark Brooks | United States |
72-68-70-74=284 | −4 | 109,083 |
| Colin Montgomerie | Scotland |
70-70-71-73=284 | |||
| Tommy Tolles | United States |
70-67-73-74=284 | |||
| T10 | Russ Cochran | United States |
67-74-72-72=285 | −3 | 84,000 |
| Fred Couples | United States |
71-74-71-69=285 | |||
| Ernie Els | South Africa |
68-71-72-74=285 | |||
| Kirk Triplett | United States |
71-68-70-76=285 |
References
- ^ a b c d "PGA Players Championship". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). March 31, 1997. p. 8B.
- ^ a b c d "Elkington rules tour's best field". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 31, 1997. p. 2B.
- ^ Reilly, Rick (April 7, 1997). "Show of shows". Sports Illustrated. p. 70.
- ^ "Last putt puts Aussie in money". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. April 1, 1991. p. 2B.
- ^ Garrity, John (April 8, 1991). "From shadows to glory". Sports Illustrated. p. 28.
- ^ a b "Elkington escapes wind, still leads". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 29, 1997. p. 3D.
- ^ "Elkington emerges with lead in TPC". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 28, 1997. p. 2C.
- ^ "Elkington maintains lead with 68". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 30, 1997. p. 3G.