Wikipedia

1997 Players Championship

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.

1997 Players Championship
Tournament information
DatesMarch 27–30, 1997
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
Length6,896 yards (6,306 m)[1]
Field144 players, 76 after cut
Cut146 (+2)
Prize fund$3.5 million
Winner's share$630,000
Champion
Australia Steve Elkington
272 (−16)
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
← 1996
1998 →

Tournament summary

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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

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Main article: TPC at Sawgrass

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]

Eligibility requirements

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All winners of PGA Tour events awarding official money and official victory status in the preceding 12 months, concluding with the Bay Hill Invitational and dating from the 1996 Players Championship.

Fred Couples, Paul Stankowski, Nick Faldo, Loren Roberts, Mark O'Meara, Mark Brooks, Phil Mickelson, Corey Pavin, Steve Stricker, Tom Watson, Ernie Els, Steve Jones, John Cook, D. A. Weibring, Scott Hoch, Tom Lehman, Willie Wood, Justin Leonard, Clarence Rose, Guy Boros, Dudley Hart, Ed Fiori???, Fred Funk, Michael Bradley, Tiger Woods, David Ogrin, Jeff Sluman, Steve Elkington, Stuart Appleby

The top 125 PGA Tour members from the final 1996 Official Money List.[6]

Davis Love III, Brad Faxon, David Duval, Kenny Perry, Greg Norman, Tommy Tolles, Vijay Singh, Jeff Maggert, Jim Furyk, Mark Calcavecchia, Duffy Waldorf, Lee Janzen, Woody Austin, Payne Stewart, Bob Tway, Jay Haas, John Huston, Mark McCumber, Tim Herron, Rocco Mediate, Craig Parry, Paul Goydos, Billy Andrade, Colin Montgomerie, Scott McCarron, Nick Price, Tom Purtzer, Jesper Parnevik, David Frost, Billy Mayfair, Fuzzy Zoeller, Jay Don Blake, Craig Stadler, Jerry Kelly, Andrew Magee, Greg Kraft, Russ Cochran, Lennie Clements, John Morse, Kirk Triplett, Tom Kite, Larry Mize, Scott Simpson, Kelly Gibson, Larry Nelson, Nolan Henke, Grant Waite, Glen Day, Emlyn Aubrey, Jim Gallagher Jr., Joey Sindelar, Rick Fehr, Patrick Burke, Steve Lowery, Frank Nobilo, Marco Dawson, Mike Brisky, Gil Morgan, John Adams, Brad Bryant, Robert Gamez, Joel Edwards, Ronnie Black, Len Mattiace, Mike Hulbert, Brandel Chamblee, Paul Azinger, Phil Blackmar, Brad Fabel, Chip Beck, Joe Ozaki, Olin Browne, Jim Carter, Taylor Smith, Doug Martin, Neal Lancaster, David Toms, David Edwards, Mark Wiebe, Wayne Levi, Hal Sutton, Pete Jordan, Lee Rinker, Chris Perry, John Maginnes, Hugh Royer III, John Wilson, Curtis Strange, Blaine McCallister, Scott Gump, Ben Crenshaw, Dave Stockton Jr., John Daly, Omar Uresti, Dan Forsman, Scott Dunlap, Dicky Pride

Winners in the last 10 calendar years of The Players Championship, Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, PGA Championship, and NEC World Series of Golf.

Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam, Bernhard Langer, Wayne Grady, Mike Reid, Fulton Allem

British Open winners since 1990.

Eight players, not otherwise eligible, designated by The Players Championship Committee as "special selections."

Costantino Rocca, Sam Torrance, Robert Allenby, Mark McNulty, Masashi Ozaki, Brian Watts

Any players, not otherwise eligible, who are among the top 10 money winners from the 1997 Official Money List through the Bay Hill Invitational

To complete a field of 144 players, those players in order, not otherwise eligible, from the 1997 Official Money List through the Bay Hill Invitational.

Source:[7]

Field

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Robert Damron, Joe Durant, Donnie Hammond, Brian Henninger, Peter Jacobsen, Don Pooley, Ted Tryba

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, March 27, 1997

Place Player Score To par
1   Steve Elkington 66 −6
T2   Mark Calcavecchia 67 −5
  Russ Cochran
  David Edwards
  Tom Lehman
  Fuzzy Zoeller
T7   Billy Andrade 68 −4
  Michael Bradley
  Ernie Els
  Jay Haas
  Sandy Lyle
  Larry Mize
  Naomichi Ozaki
  Tom Purtzer
  Taylor Smith
  Dave Stockton

Source:[8]

Second round

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Friday, March 28, 1997

Place Player Score To par
1   Steve Elkington 66-69=135 −9
2   Larry Mize 68-68=136 −8
T3   David Edwards 67-70=137 −7
  Tommy Tolles 70-67=137
T3   Tom Lehman 67-71=138 −6
  Davis Love III 72-66=138
  Craig Parry 71-67=138
  Brian Watts 70-68=138
T7   Ernie Els 68-71=139 −5
  Brad Faxon 70-69=139
  Tom Purtzer 68-71=139
  Dave Stockton 68-71=139
  Kirk Triplett 71-68=139
  Fuzzy Zoeller 67-72=139

Source:[9]

Third round

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Saturday, March 29, 1997

Place Player Score To par
1   Steve Elkington 66-69-68=203 −13
2   Scott Hoch 69-71-65=205 −11
T3   Billy Andrade 68-72-68=208 −8
  Tom Purtzer 68-71-69=208
5   Kirk Triplett 71-68-70=209 −7
T6   Mark Brooks 72-68-70=210 −6
  Larry Mize 68-68-74=210
  Tommy Tolles 70-67-73=210
T9   Ernie Els 68-71-72=211 −5
  Brad Faxon 70-69-72=211
  Robert Gamez 70-73-68=211
  Tom Lehman 67-71-73=211
  Davis Love III 72-66-73=211
  Colin Montgomerie 70-70-71=211
  Loren Roberts 70-74-67=211

Source:[10]

Final round

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Sunday, March 30, 1997

Champion
(c) = past champion
Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Steve Elkington (c) 66-69-68-69=272 −16 630,000
2   Scott Hoch 69-71-65-74=279 −9 378,000
3   Loren Roberts 70-74-67-69=280 −8 238,000
4   Brad Faxon 70-69-72-70=281 −7 168,000
5   Billy Andrade 68-72-68-74=282 −6 140,000
6   Tom Lehman 67-71-73-72=283 −5 126,000
T7   Mark Brooks 72-68-70-74=284 −4 109,083
  Colin Montgomerie 70-70-71-73=284
  Tommy Tolles 70-67-73-74=284
T10   Russ Cochran 67-74-72-72=285 −3 84,000
  Fred Couples (c) 71-74-71-69=285
  Ernie Els 68-71-72-74=285
  Kirk Triplett 71-68-70-76=285

Source:[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b "PGA Players Championship". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). March 31, 1997. p. 8B.
  2. ^ a b "Elkington rules tour's best field". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 31, 1997. p. 2B.
  3. ^ Reilly, Rick (April 7, 1997). "Show of shows". Sports Illustrated. p. 70.
  4. ^ "Last putt puts Aussie in money". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. April 1, 1991. p. 2B.
  5. ^ Garrity, John (April 8, 1991). "From shadows to glory". Sports Illustrated. p. 28.
  6. ^ "Official Money – 1996". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  7. ^ "1997 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. p. 3-37. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 24, 2020.
  8. ^ "Elkington emerges with lead in TPC". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 28, 1997. p. 2C.
  9. ^ "Elkington escapes wind, still leads". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 29, 1997. p. 3D.
  10. ^ "Elkington maintains lead with 68". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 30, 1997. p. 3G.
  11. ^ "Past Results 1974 – present". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
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