1978 Tournament Players Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 16–19, 1978 |
| Location | Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida 30°11′20″N 81°22′12″W / 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 | |
 Jack Nicklaus | |
| 289 (+1) | |
| Location map | |
  Sawgrass CC Location in the United States  Sawgrass CC Location in Florida | |
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]
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 |  United States |
1974, 1976 | 70 | 71 | 73 | 75 | 289 | +1 | 1 |
| Mark Hayes | United States |
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 | United States |
70 | −2 |
| Gibby Gilbert | United States
| |||
| Gary Groh | United States
| |||
| Jack Nicklaus | United States
| |||
| Victor Regalado |  Mexico
| |||
| John Schroeder | United States
| |||
| Bobby Wadkins | United States
| |||
| T8 | Lou Graham | United States |
71 | −1 |
| Joe Inman | United States
| |||
| Artie McNickle | United States
| |||
| Larry Nelson | United States
|
Source:[5]
Second round
Friday, March 17, 1978
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Ben Crenshaw | United States |
70-71=141 | −3 |
| Lou Graham | United States |
71-70=141 | ||
| Jack Nicklaus | United States |
70-71=141 | ||
| 4 | Larry Nelson | United States |
71-72=143 | −1 |
| 5 | John Mahaffey | United States |
72-72=144 | E |
| T6 | Mike Morley | United States |
72-73=145 | +1 |
| Andy North | United States |
74-71=145 | ||
| John Schroeder | United States |
70-75=145 | ||
| T9 | Sam Adams | United States |
74-72=146 | +2 |
| David Graham |  Australia |
72-74=146 | ||
| Joe Inman | United States |
71-75=146 | ||
| Artie McNickle | United States |
71-75=146 | ||
| Mac McLendon | United States |
72-74=146 | ||
| Florentino Molina |  Argentina |
72-74=146 | ||
| Peter Oosterhuis |  England |
73-73=146 |
Source:[6]
Third round
Saturday, March 18, 1978
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | United States |
70-71-73=214 | −2 |
| 2 | Lou Graham | United States |
71-70-74=215 | −1 |
| T3 | Ben Crenshaw | United States |
70-71-77=218 | +2 |
| Larry Nelson | United States |
71-72-75=218 | ||
| T5 | John Mahaffey | United States |
72-72-75=219 | +3 |
| Andy North | United States |
74-71-74=219 | ||
| T7 | Lon Hinkle | United States |
75-72-74=221 | +5 |
| Mike McCullough | United States |
77-75-69=221 | ||
| Peter Oosterhuis | England |
73-73-75=221 | ||
| John Schroeder | United States |
70-75-76=221 | ||
| Bob Shearer | United States |
74-75-72=221 | ||
| Bob Zender | United States |
75-73-73=221 |
Source:[7]
Final round
Sunday, March 19, 1978
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | United States |
70-71-73-75=289 | +1 | 60,000 |
| 2 | Lou Graham | United States |
71-70-74-75=290 | +2 | 34,200 |
| 3 | Lon Hinkle | United States |
75-72-74-70=291 | +3 | 21,300 |
| T4 | Ben Crenshaw | United States |
70-71-77-74=292 | +4 | 11,700 |
| Larry Nelson | United States |
71-72-75-74=292 | |||
| Andy North | United States |
74-71-74-73=292 | |||
| John Schroeder | United States |
70-75-76-71=292 | |||
| 8 | Jim Colbert | United States |
74-74-74-72=294 | +6 | 8,850 |
| T9 | Hubert Green | United States |
76-77-71-71=295 | +7 | 7,500 |
| Peter Oosterhuis | England |
73-73-75-74=295 | |||
| Victor Regalado | Mexico |
70-79-76-70=295 |
References
- ^ a b c d e f "TPC scores high and so is Nicklaus". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 20, 1978. p. 1D.
- ^ a b c d "Nicklaus tops TPC with 75". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 20, 1978. p. 16.
- ^ a b "Nicklaus holds on for 2d win of year". Chicago Tribune. wire services. March 20, 1978. p. 6, sec. 6.
- ^ a b 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.