1984 Tournament Players Championship

1984 Tournament Players Championship
Tournament information
DatesMarch 29 – April 1, 1984
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]
Field144 players, 71 after cut
Cut149 (+5)
Prize fund$800,000
Winner's share$144,000
Champion
United States Fred Couples
277 (−11)
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
← 1983
1985 →

The 1984 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 29 to April 1 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the eleventh Tournament Players Championship.

Fred Couples, age 24, shot a course record 64 in the second round,[2][3] and finished at 277, one stroke ahead of runner-up Lee Trevino.[4][5] It was his second win on tour, and he won this championship twelve years later in 1996.[6][7][8] Trevino, the champion in 1980 at adjacent Sawgrass Country Club,[9][10] had missed the cut at the previous two editions, the first two held at the new venue.

Defending champion Hal Sutton finished sixteen strokes back, in a tie for 41st place.

Couples was the youngest champion for twenty years, until Adam Scott won at age 23 in 2004. Sutton had been the youngest, but only for a year; Couples was five months younger at the time of his win.

Eight years later, Couples lowered the course record to 63 in the third round,[11] but finished eight strokes back.

Venue

Main article: TPC at Sawgrass

This was the third Tournament Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course and it remained at 6,857 yards (6,270 m). In response to player concerns, the course had undergone further refinements: greens were flattened and slowed and most of the waste areas were removed.[5]

Eligibility requirements

  1. Top 125 players, if PGA Tour members, from Final 1983 Official Money List
  2. Designated players
  3. Any foreign player meeting the requirements of a designated player, whether or not he is a PGA Tour member
  4. Winners in the last 10 calendar years of the Tournament Players Championship, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, Masters Tournament and World Series of Golf (beginning in 1976)
  5. The leader in Senior PGA Tour official earnings of 1983
  6. The three players, not otherwise eligible, designated by the TPC Committee as "special selections"
  7. To complete a field of 144 players, those players in order, not otherwise eligible, from the 1984 Official Money List, as of the completion of the Bay Hill Classic, March 19, 1984

Source:[12]

Field

John Adams, Isao Aoki, George Archer, Wally Armstrong, Seve Ballesteros, Dave Barr, Andy Bean, Chip Beck, Ronnie Black, Jim Booros, Bob Boyd, Bill Britton, Mark Brooks, Brad Bryant, George Burns, George Cadle, Rex Caldwell, Chen Tze-chung, Bobby Clampett, Lennie Clements, Russ Cochran, Jim Colbert, Frank Conner, John Cook, Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw, Jim Dent, Mike Donald, Bob Eastwood, Danny Edwards, David Edwards, Dave Eichelberger, Lee Elder, Nick Faldo, Brad Faxon, Keith Fergus, Ed Fiori, Bruce Fleisher, Raymond Floyd, Dan Forsman, John Fought, Buddy Gardner, Al Geiberger, Gibby Gilbert, Bob Gilder, David Graham, Lou Graham, Thomas Gray, Hubert Green, Ken Green, Jay Haas, Gary Hallberg, Dan Halldorson, Donnie Hammond, Phil Hancock, Morris Hatalsky, Mark Hayes, Vance Heafner, Lon Hinkle, Scott Hoch, Joe Inman, Hale Irwin, Peter Jacobsen, Barry Jaeckel, Tom Jenkins, Tom Kite, Gary Koch, Ralph Landrum, Bernhard Langer, Wayne Levi, Steven Liebler, Bruce Lietzke, Pat Lindsey, Mark Lye, John Mahaffey, Roger Maltbie, Gary McCord, Mike McCullough, Mark McCumber, Pat McGowan, Allen Miller, Johnny Miller, Jeff Mitchell, Larry Mize, Griff Moody, Gil Morgan, Bob Murphy, Tsuneyuki Nakajima, Jim Nelford, Larry Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Mike Nicolette, Greg Norman, Tim Norris, Andy North, Mac O'Grady, Mark O'Meara, David Ogrin, Peter Oosterhuis, Arnold Palmer, Jerry Pate, Corey Pavin, Mark Pfeil, Gary Player, Dan Pohl, Don Pooley, Greg Powers, Nick Price, Tom Purtzer, Sammy Rachels, Joey Rassett, Victor Regalado, Mike Reid, Jack Renner, Larry Rinker, Bill Rogers, Clarence Rose, Bill Sander, Bob Shearer, Tony Sills, Scott Simpson, Tim Simpson, Joey Sindelar, J. C. Snead, Ed Sneed, Craig Stadler, Payne Stewart, Dave Stockton, Curtis Strange, Ron Streck, Mike Sullivan, Hal Sutton, Doug Tewell, Leonard Thompson, Jim Thorpe, Lee Trevino, Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins, Denis Watson, Tom Watson, D. A. Weibring, Tom Weiskopf, Willie Wood, Richard Zokol

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, March 29, 1984

Place Player Score To par
1 United States Jim Thorpe 68 −4
2 United States John Mahaffey 69 −3
T3 Spain Seve Ballesteros 70 −2
United States Johnny Miller
T6 United States John Cook 71 −1
United States Fred Couples
United States Hubert Green
United States Jay Haas
United States Wayne Levi
United States Bruce Lietzke
United States Tim Simpson
United States Hal Sutton

Source:[13]

Second round

Friday, March 30, 1984

Place Player Score To par
1 United States Fred Couples 71-64=135 −9
2 United States Jim Thorpe 68-69=137 −7
T3 Spain Seve Ballesteros 70-68=138 −6
United States Lanny Wadkins 72-66=138
5 United States Johnny Miller 70-69=139 −5
T6 United States Jay Haas 71-69=140 −4
United States Larry Rinker 75-67=140
T8 Japan Isao Aoki 72-69=141 −3
United States Mark O'Meara 72-69=141
United States Hal Sutton 71-70=141

Source:[14]

Third round

Saturday, March 31, 1984

Place Player Score To par
1 United States Fred Couples 71-64-71=206 −10
2 Spain Seve Ballesteros 70-68-70=208 −8
3 United States Tom Watson 75-67-67=209 −7
T4 United States Mark O'Meara 72-69-69=210 −6
United States Craig Stadler 74-70-66=210
United States Lee Trevino 76-66-68=210
7 United States John Mahaffey 69-74-69=212 −4
T8 United States Dan Pohl 71-69-74=214 −2
United States Larry Mize 75-72-67=214
United States Dan Pohl 74-69-71=214

Source:[15]

Final round

Sunday, April 1, 1984

Champion
(c) = past champion
Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1 United States Fred Couples 71-64-71-71=277 −11 144,000
2 United States Lee Trevino (c) 76-66-68-68=278 −10 86,400
T3 Spain Seve Ballesteros 70-68-70-74=282 −6 46,400
United States Craig Stadler 74-70-66-72=282
T5 United States Mark O'Meara 72-69-69-73=283 −5 30,400
United States Lanny Wadkins (c) 72-66-78-67=283
7 Zimbabwe Nick Price 70-72-74-68=284 −4 26,800
T8 United States Dan Pohl 74-69-71-71=285 −3 24,000
United States Tom Watson 75-67-67-76=285
T10 United States John Mahaffey 69-74-69-74=286 −2 20,800
United States Jim Thorpe 68-69-78-71=286

Source:[16]

References

  1. ^ "Golf: Tournament Players". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 2, 1984. p. 15.
  2. ^ "Couples grabs TPC lead". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). March 31, 1984. p. 20.
  3. ^ "Couples takes advantage of a dying wind with a 64". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 31, 1984. p. 7C.
  4. ^ "Two birdies aid Couples' biggest win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. April 2, 1984. p. 3C.
  5. ^ a b Jenkins, Dan (April 9, 1984). "Gone, even with the wind". Sports Illustrated. p. 53.
  6. ^ Reilly, Rick (April 8, 1996). "As easy as T-P-C". Sports Illustrated. p. 50.
  7. ^ "Wet green helps Couples win 'long green' in TPC". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). Associated Press. April 1, 1996. p. 1C.
  8. ^ "Couples takes charge for TPC title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. April 1, 1996. p. 3B.
  9. ^ "Trevino beats the best in TPC". Chicago Tribune. wire services. March 24, 1980. p. 5, sec. 3.
  10. ^ Jenkins, Dan (March 31, 1980). "Seems like old times". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
  11. ^ "Couples rallies, Faldo leads". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 29, 1992. p. 3E.
  12. ^ "1984 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. p. 281. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 27, 2020.
  13. ^ "Thorpe blows into lead of the wind-swept TPC". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 30, 1984. p. 2C.
  14. ^ "Couples takes advantage of dying wind with a 64". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 31, 1984. p. 7C.
  15. ^ "Couples leading TPC by a couple". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. April 1, 1984. p. 7B.
  16. ^ "Past Results 1974 – present". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.