1983 Tournament Players Championship

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.

1983 Tournament Players Championship
Tournament information
DatesMarch 24–28, 1983
LocationPonte Vedra Beach, Florida
30°11′53″N 81°23′38″W / 30.198°N 81.394°W / 30.198; -81.394
Course(s)TPC Sawgrass,
Stadium Course
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par72
Length6,857 yards (6,270 m)[1]
Field129 players, 67 after cut
Cut149 (+5)
Prize fund$700,000
Winner's share$126,000
Champion
United States Hal Sutton
283 (−5)
Location map
TPC Sawgrass is located in the United States
TPC Sawgrass
TPC Sawgrass
Location in the United States
TPC Sawgrass is located in Florida
TPC Sawgrass
TPC Sawgrass
Location in Florida
← 1982
1984 →

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

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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]

Eligibility requirements

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  1. Top 125 players on Final 1982 Official Money List
  2. Players who appear in Top 25 on 1983 Official Money List as of March 14, 1981
  3. Leading 1982 Official Money Winner on the Senior PGA Tour
  4. All designated players
  5. Any foreign player who meets the requirements of a designated Player, whether or not he is a PGA Tour member
  6. Past winners of the Tournament Players Championship, World Series of Golf, PGA Championship, Masters Tournament and U.S. Open since 1973
  7. Three "special selections," as determined by TPC Committee

Source:[12]

Field

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John Adams, Isao Aoki, George Archer, Seve Ballesteros, Miller Barber, Andy Bean, Chip Beck, Woody Blackburn, Jim Booros, Bill Britton, Brad Bryant, George Burns, Bob Byman, Rex Caldwell, Antonio Cerda Jr., Bobby Clampett, Lennie Clements, Jim Colbert, Bobby Cole, Frank Conner, Charles Coody, John Cook, Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw, Jim Dent, Bruce Devlin, Terry Diehl, Mike Donald, Bob Eastwood, Danny Edwards, David Edwards, Dave Eichelberger, Lee Elder, Nick Faldo, Keith Fergus, Forrest Fezler, Ed Fiori, Bruce Fleisher, Raymond Floyd, John Fought, Al Geiberger, Gibby Gilbert, Bob Gilder, David Graham, Lou Graham, Thomas Gray, Hubert Green, Jay Haas, Gary Hallberg, Dan Halldorson, Phil Hancock, Morris Hatalsky, Vance Heafner, Lon Hinkle, Scott Hoch, Mike Holland, Joe Inman, Hale Irwin, Peter Jacobsen, Barry Jaeckel, Tom Jenkins, Tom Kite, Gary Koch, Wayne Levi, Bruce Lietzke, Pat Lindsey, Mark Lye, John Mahaffey, Roger Maltbie, Mike McCullough, Mark McCumber, Pat McGowan, Mark McNulty, Steve Melnyk, Allen Miller, Johnny Miller, Jeff Mitchell, Larry Mize, Gil Morgan, Jodie Mudd, Bob Murphy, Tsuneyuki Nakajima, Jim Nelford, Larry Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Mike Nicolette, Greg Norman, Tim Norris, Andy North, Mark O'Meara, Peter Oosterhuis, Arnold Palmer, Calvin Peete, Mark Pfeil, Dan Pohl, Don Pooley, Greg Powers, Tom Purtzer, Victor Regalado, Mike Reid, Jack Renner, Bill Rogers, Clarence Rose, Bob Shearer, Jim Simons, Scott Simpson, Tim Simpson, J. C. Snead, Ed Sneed, Craig Stadler, Payne Stewart, Curtis Strange, Ron Streck, Mike Sullivan, Hal Sutton, Doug Tewell, Leonard Thompson, Jim Thorpe, Lee Trevino, Howard Twitty, Tommy Valentine, Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins, Denis Watson, Tom Watson, D. A. Weibring, Tom Weiskopf, Larry Ziegler, Fuzzy Zoeller

Round summaries

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First round

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Friday, March 25, 1983

Rain washed out play on Thursday, and the final two rounds were rescheduled for Sunday.

Place Player Score To par
1   Bruce Lietzke 68 −4
T2   Bobby Clampett 69 −3
  John Cook
  Bob Eastwood
  Mark McCumber
  Leonard Thompson
T7   Ben Crenshaw 70 −2
  Danny Edwards
  Raymond Floyd
  Peter Oosterhuis
  Tom Weiskopf

Source:[13]

Second round

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Saturday, March 26, 1983

With two rounds planned for Sunday, the cut was set at 149 (+5), reducing the field to 67. The eight players on 150, who would normally have made the cut, received prize money.

Place Player Score To par
1   John Cook 69-70=139 −5
T2   Bobby Clampett 69-72=141 −3
  Peter Jacobsen 73-68=141
  Don Pooley 71-70=141
  J. C. Snead 71-70=141
6   Bob Murphy 72-70=142 −2
T7   Lennie Clements 73-70=143 −1
  Vance Heafner 72-71=143
  Bruce Lietzke 68-75=143
  Tsuneyuki Nakajima 71-72=143

Source:[14]

Third round

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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 Score To par
1   John Cook 69-70-71=210 −6
2   Bobby Clampett 69-72-70=211 −5
3   Vance Heafner 72-71-69=212 −4
T4   Ben Crenshaw 70-74-69=213 −3
  Peter Jacobsen 73-68-72=213
  Don Pooley 71-70-72=213
T7   Bruce Lietzke 68-75-71=214 −2
  Hal Sutton 73-71-70=214
9   Bob Eastwood 69-75-71=215 −1
T10   Keith Fergus 74-71-71=216 E
  Ed Fiori 72-73-71=216
  Gil Morgan 74-72-70=216
  Tsuneyuki Nakajima 71-72-73=216
  J. C. Snead 71-70-75=216

Source:[15]

Final round

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Monday, March 28, 1983

Champion
(c) = past champion
Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Hal Sutton 73-71-70-69=283 −5 126,000
2   Bob Eastwood 69-75-71-69=284 −4 75,600
T3   John Cook 69-70-71-75=285 −3 36,400
  Bruce Lietzke 68-75-71-71=285
  John Mahaffey 72-74-72-67=285
T6   Vance Heafner 72-71-69-74=286 −2 24,325
  Doug Tewell 72-74-70-70=286
T8   Ed Fiori 72-73-71-71=287 −1 21,000
  Curtis Strange 72-75-70-70=287
T10   Bobby Clampett 69-72-70-77=288 E 17,500
  Ben Crenshaw 70-74-69-75=288
  Don Pooley 71-70-72-75=288

Source:[16]

References

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  1. ^ "Golf: TPC". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 29, 1983. p. 19.
  2. ^ a b "Cook fights winds for TPC lead". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 27, 1983. p. D6.
  3. ^ a b "Cook clings to lead". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 28, 1983. p. 15.
  4. ^ a b Green, Bob (March 29, 1983). "Sutton survives". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. 17.
  5. ^ Johnson, Mark (March 24, 1983). "Leaders fall and Sutton takes it all". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). p. 1C.
  6. ^ a b "Pate withdraws from TPC with neck injury". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). March 24, 1983. p. 3C.
  7. ^ a b "Watson names favorites as the TPC begins play". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). March 24, 1983. p. 23.
  8. ^ Johnson, Mark (March 24, 1983). "Picking the winner is as tough as the TPC course". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). p. 1C.
  9. ^ Johnson, Mark (March 26, 1983). "TPC – one man's fun is another man's nightmare". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). p. 8C.
  10. ^ "Architect says golf not meant to be fair". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 27, 1983. p. D6.
  11. ^ "TPC course draws fire". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 29, 1983. p. 17.
  12. ^ "1983 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. p. 266. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 27, 2020.
  13. ^ "Lietzke's on the right course at TPC". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 26, 1983. p. 4B.
  14. ^ "Cook has 2-shot edge in TPC's survival test". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 27, 1983. p. 7F.
  15. ^ "Golf: TPC". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 28, 1983. p. 17.
  16. ^ "Past Results 1974 – present". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
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