1979 Tournament Players Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 22–25, 1979 |
| Location | Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida 30°11′20″N 81°22′12″W / 30.189°N 81.370°WCoordinates: 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 | 7,083 yards (6,477 m)[1] |
| Field | 143 players, 71 after cut |
| Cut | 147 (+3) |
| Prize fund | $440,000 |
| Winner's share | $72,000 |
| Champion | |
 Lanny Wadkins | |
| 283 (−5) | |
| Location Map | |
  Sawgrass CC Location in the United States | |
The 1979 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 22–25 at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. The sixth Tournament Players Championship, it was the third at Sawgrass and Lanny Wadkins won in the wind at 283 (−5), five strokes ahead of runner-up Tom Watson.[1][2][3][4]
The first two years at Sawgrass had resulted with both winners at 289 (+1), but Wadkins jumped out to a 36-hole score of 135 (−9).[5] Gusty winds and dry greens on the weekend caused high scores, but he held on with an even-par 72 in the final round for a comfortable win.[1][2][4]
Defending champion Jack Nicklaus finished seventeen strokes back, in a tie for 33rd place.
Venue[]
This was the third of five Tournament Players Championships held at Sawgrass Country Club; it moved to the nearby TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course in 1982. The course length this year was reduced by 91 yards (83 m) to 7,083 yards (6,477 m).[1]
Eligibility requirements[]
1. All designated players
Miller Barber, Andy Bean (2), Ben Crenshaw (2), Lee Elder (2), Raymond Floyd, Rod Funseth (2), Al Geiberger, Lou Graham, Hubert Green (2), Mark Hayes, Jerry Heard (2), Dave Hill, Lon Hinkle (2), Hale Irwin, Don January, Tom Kite (2), Billy Kratzert, Bruce Lietzke, John Mahaffey (2), Jerry McGee, Mac McLendon (2), Johnny Miller, Gil Morgan (2), Jack Nicklaus (3), Andy North (2), Jerry Pate (2), Gary Player (2), Bill Rogers, Jim Simons (2), Ed Sneed, Dave Stockton, Lee Trevino (2), Lanny Wadkins, Tom Watson (2), Tom Weiskopf, Fuzzy Zoeller (2)
2. Winners of major PGA Tour co-sponsored or approved events beginning with the 1978 Tournament Players Championship and concluding with the tournament immediately preceding the 1979 TPC
Seve Ballesteros, Craig Stadler, Barry Jaeckel, , Jack Newton, Victor Regalado, Ron Streck
3. The current British Open champion
4. Leaders In PGA Tour Official Standings as necessary to complete the field, beginning with the 1978 Tournament Players Championship and concluding with the tournament scheduled to end on the Sunday immediately preceding the 1979 TPC, the Doral-Eastern Open
Source:[6]
Field[]
Tommy Aaron, Wally Armstrong, Seve Ballesteros, Miller Barber, Dave Barr, Andy Bean, Frank Beard, Don Bies, Homero Blancas, Brad Bryant, George Burns, Bob Byman, George Cadle, Rex Caldwell, , Billy Casper, Jim Colbert, Bobby Cole, Frank Conner, Charles Coody, Ben Crenshaw, Rod Curl, Jim Dent, Terry Diehl, Dale Douglass, Bob Eastwood, Danny Edwards, David Edwards, Dave Eichelberger, Lee Elder, Randy Erskine, Keith Fergus, Ed Fiori, Marty Fleckman, Bruce Fleisher, Raymond Floyd, Rod Funseth, Buddy Gardner, Al Geiberger, Gibby Gilbert, Bob Gilder, David Graham, Lou Graham, Hubert Green, Jay Haas, , Dan Halldorson, Phil Hancock, Morris Hatalsky, Mark Hayes, Jerry Heard, , Dave Hill, Mike Hill, Lon Hinkle, Joe Inman, Hale Irwin, Don Iverson, Peter Jacobsen, Barry Jaeckel, Don January, Tom Kite, Gary Koch, Billy Kratzert, Wayne Levi, Bruce Lietzke, John Lister, Bob Lunn, Mark Lye, Bob Mann, Graham Marsh, Fred Marti, Rik Massengale, Gary McCord, Mike McCullough, Mark McCumber, Pat McGowan, Mac McLendon, , Steve Melnyk, , Allen Miller, Johnny Miller, Lindy Miller, Jeff Mitchell, Florentino Molina, Orville Moody, Gil Morgan, Mike Morley, Bob Murphy, Jim Nelford, Larry Nelson, Jack Newton, Jack Nicklaus, Andy North, Peter Oosterhuis, Arnold Palmer, Alan Pate, Jerry Pate, Eddie Pearce, Calvin Peete, Mark Pfeil, Gary Player, Don Pooley, Greg Powers, Tom Purtzer, Victor Regalado, Mike Reid, Jack Renner, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Bill Rogers, , Cesar Sanudo, John Schroeder, Bob Shearer, Jim Simons, Scott Simpson, Tim Simpson, J. C. Snead, Ed Sneed, Craig Stadler, Dave Stockton, Curtis Strange, Ron Streck, Mike Sullivan, , , Leonard Thompson, Jim Thorpe, Lee Trevino, Howard Twitty, Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins, Bobby Walzel, Tom Watson, D. A. Weibring, Tom Weiskopf, , Bob Wynn, Kermit Zarley, , Larry Ziegler, Fuzzy Zoeller
Round summaries[]
First round[]
Thursday, March 22, 1979
Source:[7]
Second round[]
Friday, March 23, 1979
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lanny Wadkins | United States |
67-68=135 | −9 |
| 2 | George Burns | United States |
72-66=138 | −6 |
| T3 | Dan Halldorson |  Canada |
69-70=139 | −5 |
| Billy Kratzert | United States |
69-70=139 | ||
| Lee Trevino | United States |
70-69=139 | ||
| T6 | Ed Fiori | United States |
69-71=140 | −4 |
| Mark McCumber | United States |
70-70=140 | ||
| Jack Nicklaus | United States |
67-73=140 | ||
| T9 | Wayne Levi | United States |
69-72=141 | −3 |
| Andy North | United States |
67-74=141 | ||
| Dave Stockton | United States |
69-72=141 |
Source:[5]
Third round[]
Saturday, March 24, 1979
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lanny Wadkins | United States |
67-68-76=211 | −5 |
| T2 | George Burns | United States |
72-66-76=214 | −2 |
| Billy Kratzert | United States |
69-70-75=214 | ||
| Jack Renner | United States |
73-70-71=214 | ||
| Lee Trevino | United States |
70-69-75=214 | ||
| 6 | Gary Koch | United States |
70-72-74=216 | E |
| T5 | Phil Hancock | United States |
69-73-75=217 | +1 |
| Andy North | United States |
67-74-76=217 | ||
| Victor Regalado |  Mexico |
70-74-73=217 | ||
| Tom Watson | United States |
70-72-75=217 |
Source:[8]
Final round[]
Sunday, March 25, 1979
| Champion |
| (c) = past champion |
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lanny Wadkins | United States |
67-68-76-72=283 | −5 | 72,000 |
| 2 | Tom Watson | United States |
70-72-75-71=288 | E | 43,200 |
| 3 | Jack Renner | United States |
73-70-71-75=289 | +1 | 27,200 |
| 4 | Phil Hancock | United States |
69-73-75-74=291 | +3 | 19,200 |
| T5 | Billy Kratzert | United States |
69-70-75-79=293 | +5 | 14,600 |
| Wayne Levi | United States |
69-72-77-75=293 | |||
| Lee Trevino | United States |
70-69-75-79=293 | |||
| 8 | Andy Bean | United States |
72-73-74-75=294 | +6 | 12,400 |
| T9 | Jay Haas | United States |
71-74-74-76=295 | +7 | 10,800 |
| Tom Kite | United States |
72-73-75-75=295 | |||
| Jack Newton |  Australia |
69-74-77-75=295 |
Source:[9]
References[]
- ^ a b c d "Lanny Wadkins plays 'best ever,' wins". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 26, 1979. p. 17.
- ^ a b "Wadkins' effort leaves field in awe". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 26, 1979. p. 7D.
- ^ "Wadkins wins Players golf". Chicago Tribune. wire services. March 26, 1979. p. 4, sec. 5.
- ^ a b Jenkins, Dan (April 2, 1979). "Lanny's a two-time winner". Sports Illustrated. p. 24.
- ^ a b "Wadkins beats the wind to grab 3-stroke TPC lead". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. March 24, 1979. p. 2B.
- ^ "1979 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. p. 218. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-09-24.
- ^ "Jack says he's 'back' and a 67 proves it". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 23, 1979. p. 6D.
- ^ "Wadkins keeps star's role in a pro golf horror shoe". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 25, 1979. p. 6E.
- ^ "Past Results 1974 – present". PGA Tour. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
External links[]
- The Players Championship
- 1979 in golf
- 1979 in American sports
- 1979 in sports in Florida
- March 1979 sports events in the United States