Wikipedia

1978 Tournament Players Championship

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]

1978 Tournament Players Championship
Tournament information
DatesMarch 16–19, 1978
LocationPonte Vedra Beach, Florida
30°11′20″N 81°22′12″W / 30.189°N 81.370°W / 30.189; -81.370
Course(s)Sawgrass Country Club,
East-West course
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par72
Length7,174 yards (6,560 m)[1][2]
Field142 players, 79 after cut
Cut153 (+9)
Prize fund$344,270
Winner's share$60,000
Champion
United States Jack Nicklaus
289 (+1)
Location map
Sawgrass CC is located in the United States
Sawgrass CC
Sawgrass CC
Location in the United States
Sawgrass CC is located in Florida
Sawgrass CC
Sawgrass CC
Location in Florida
← 1977
1979 →

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

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Main article: Sawgrass Country Club

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.

Eligibility requirements

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  1. All designated players
  2. Winners of major PGA Tour co-sponsored or approved events beginning with the 1977 Tournament Players Championship and concluding with the tournament immediately preceding the 1978 TPC
  3. The current British Open champion
  4. Leaders In PGA Tour Official Standings as necessary to complete the field, beginning with the 1977 Tournament Players Championship and concluding with the tournament scheduled to end on the Sunday immediately preceding the 1978 TPC, the Florida Citrus Open

Source:[5]

Field

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Tommy Aaron, Sam Adams, Wally Armstrong, Butch Baird, Miller Barber, Andy Bean, Frank Beard, Don Bies, Homero Blancas, George Burns, George Cadle, Rex Caldwell, Bill Calfee, Billy Casper, Antonio Cerda Jr., Jim Colbert, Bobby Cole, Frank Conner, Charles Coody, Ben Crenshaw, Rod Curl, Jim Dent, Bruce Devlin, Terry Diehl, Ed Dougherty, Bob Eastwood, Danny Edwards, Dave Eichelberger, Lee Elder, Randy Erskine, Keith Fergus, Forrest Fezler, Raymond Floyd, Rod Funseth, Gibby Gilbert, Bob Gilder, David Graham, Lou Graham, Hubert Green, Gary Groh, Jay Haas, Phil Hancock, Morris Hatalsky, Dale Hayes, Mark Hayes, Jerry Heard, Mike Hill, Lon Hinkle, Joe Inman, Hale Irwin, Don Iverson, Peter Jacobsen, Barry Jaeckel, Don January, Tom Jenkins, Grier Jones, Tom Kite, George Knudson, Gary Koch, Billy Kratzert, Stan Lee, Wayne Levi, Bruce Lietzke, John Lister, Gene Littler, Lyn Lott, Mark Lye, John Mahaffey, Bill Mallon, Roger Maltbie, Graham Marsh, Fred Marti, Rik Massengale, Gary McCord, Mike McCullough, Jerry McGee, Mac McLendon, Artie McNickle, Steve Melnyk, Allen Miller, Johnny Miller, Jeff Mitchell, Florentino Molina, Orville Moody, Gil Morgan, Mike Morley, Bob Murphy, Larry Nelson, Dwight Nevil, Bobby Nichols, Jack Nicklaus, Andy North, Peter Oosterhuis, Arnold Palmer, Jerry Pate, Bob Payne, Eddie Pearce, Calvin Peete, Mark Pfeil, Gary Player, Don Pooley, Joe Porter, Tom Purtzer, Sammy Rachels, Victor Regalado, Mike Reid, Jack Renner, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Bill Rogers, John Schlee, John Schroeder, Tom Shaw, Bob Shearer, Dan Sikes, Jim Simons, Tim Simpson, Bob E. Smith, J. C. Snead, Ed Sneed, Craig Stadler, Ken Still, Dave Stockton, Curtis Strange, Ron Streck, Alan Tapie, Steve Taylor, Doug Tewell, Barney Thompson, Leonard Thompson, Lee Trevino, Howard Twitty, Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins, Art Wall Jr., Bobby Walzel, Tom Watson, Tom Weiskopf, Bob Wynn, Kermit Zarley, Bob Zender, Larry Ziegler, Fuzzy Zoeller

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, March 16, 1978

Place Player Score To par
T1   Ben Crenshaw 70 −2
  Gibby Gilbert
  Gary Groh
  Jack Nicklaus
  Victor Regalado
  John Schroeder
  Bobby Wadkins
T8   Lou Graham 71 −1
  Joe Inman
  Artie McNickle
  Larry Nelson

Source:[6]

Second round

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Friday, March 17, 1978

Place Player Score To par
T1   Ben Crenshaw 70-71=141 −3
  Lou Graham 71-70=141
  Jack Nicklaus 70-71=141
4   Larry Nelson 71-72=143 −1
5   John Mahaffey 72-72=144 E
T6   Mike Morley 72-73=145 +1
  Andy North 74-71=145
  John Schroeder 70-75=145
T9   Sam Adams 74-72=146 +2
  David Graham 72-74=146
  Joe Inman 71-75=146
  Artie McNickle 71-75=146
  Mac McLendon 72-74=146
  Florentino Molina 72-74=146
  Peter Oosterhuis 73-73=146

Source:[7]

Third round

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Saturday, March 18, 1978

Place Player Score To par
1   Jack Nicklaus 70-71-73=214 −2
2   Lou Graham 71-70-74=215 −1
T3   Ben Crenshaw 70-71-77=218 +2
  Larry Nelson 71-72-75=218
T5   John Mahaffey 72-72-75=219 +3
  Andy North 74-71-74=219
T7   Lon Hinkle 75-72-74=221 +5
  Mike McCullough 77-75-69=221
  Peter Oosterhuis 73-73-75=221
  John Schroeder 70-75-76=221
  Bob Shearer 74-75-72=221
  Bob Zender 75-73-73=221

Source:[8]

Final round

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Sunday, March 19, 1978

Champion
(c) = past champion
Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Jack Nicklaus (c) 70-71-73-75=289 +1 60,000
2   Lou Graham 71-70-74-75=290 +2 34,200
3   Lon Hinkle 75-72-74-70=291 +3 21,300
T4   Ben Crenshaw 70-71-77-74=292 +4 11,700
  Larry Nelson 71-72-75-74=292
  Andy North 74-71-74-73=292
  John Schroeder 70-75-76-71=292
8   Jim Colbert 74-74-74-72=294 +6 8,850
T9   Hubert Green 76-77-71-71=295 +7 7,500
  Peter Oosterhuis 73-73-75-74=295
  Victor Regalado 70-79-76-70=295

Source:[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "TPC scores high and so is Nicklaus". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 20, 1978. p. 1D.
  2. ^ a b "Nicklaus tops TPC with 75". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 20, 1978. p. 16.
  3. ^ a b "Nicklaus holds on for 2d win of year". Chicago Tribune. wire services. March 20, 1978. p. 6, sec. 6.
  4. ^ a b Jenkins, Dan (March 27, 1978). "Off in a world of his own". Sports Illustrated. p. 20.
  5. ^ "1978 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. p. 207. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 27, 2020.
  6. ^ "Nicklaus making his big bid". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. March 17, 1978. p. 7C.
  7. ^ "Birdies bring back Nicklaus into a TPC tie". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 18, 1978. p. 6B.
  8. ^ "Nicklaus slips then fights back". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. March 19, 1978. p. 6B.
  9. ^ "Past Results 1974 – present". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
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