# 1980 Tournament Players Championship

The 1980 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 20–23 at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. The seventh Tournament Players Championship, it was the fourth at Sawgrass and Lee Trevino won at 278 (−10), one stroke ahead of runner-up Ben Crenshaw.
Defending champion Lanny Wadkins finished thirteen strokes back, in a tie for 45th place.

## Venue

This was the fourth of five Tournament Players Championships held at Sawgrass Country Club; it moved to the nearby TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course in 1982. At the time it was scheduled to be the last at Sawgrass, but early construction delays due to weather caused the championship to return for a fifth and final year in 1981.

## Eligibility requirements

1. All designated players
Andy Bean (2), Ben Crenshaw (2), Lee Elder, Raymond Floyd (2), Al Geiberger (2), Bob Gilder, David Graham (2), Lou Graham (2), Hubert Green (2), Mark Hayes, Lon Hinkle (2), Hale Irwin (2), Tom Kite, Wayne Levi (2), Bruce Lietzke, John Mahaffey, Jerry McGee (2), Gil Morgan (2), Larry Nelson (2), Jack Nicklaus, Andy North, Jerry Pate, Calvin Peete (2), Gary Player, Tom Purtzer, Jack Renner (2), Bill Rogers, J. C. Snead, Ed Sneed, Dave Stockton, Curtis Strange (2), Lee Trevino (2), Howard Twitty (2), Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins (2), Tom Watson (2), Fuzzy Zoeller (2)
2. Winners of major PGA Tour co-sponsored or approved events beginning with the 1979 Players Championship and concluding with the tournament immediately preceding the 1980 Players Championship
Bobby Walzel, Chi-Chi Rodríguez, D. A. Weibring, John Fought, Ed Fiori, George Burns, Craig Stadler, Jeff Mitchell, Jim Colbert, Dave Eichelberger, Johnny Miller
3. The current British Open champion
Seve Ballesteros
4. Leaders in the PGA Tour Official Standings as necessary to complete the field, beginning with the 1979 Players Championship and concluding with the Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic, which concludes March 9, 1980
Source:

## Field

Tommy Aaron, Buddy Allin, George Archer, Wally Armstrong, Seve Ballesteros, Miller Barber, Andy Bean, Don Bies, Mike Brannan, Brad Bryant, George Burns, Bob Byman, George Cadle, Rex Caldwell, Bill Calfee, Jim Chancey, Jim Colbert, Frank Conner, Charles Coody, Ben Crenshaw, Rod Curl, Jim Dent, Bruce Devlin, Terry Diehl, Ed Dougherty, Bob Eastwood, Danny Edwards, David Edwards, David Eger, Dave Eichelberger, Lee Elder, Keith Fergus, Forrest Fezler, Ed Fiori, Bruce Fleisher, Raymond Floyd, John Fought, Rod Funseth, Buddy Gardner, Gibby Gilbert, Bob Gilder, David Graham, Lou Graham, Hubert Green, Jay Haas, Dan Halldorson, Phil Hancock, Morris Hatalsky, Mark Hayes, Dave Hill, Mike Hill, Lon Hinkle, Joe Inman, Hale Irwin, Peter Jacobsen, Barry Jaeckel, Don January, Grier Jones, Tom Kite, Gary Koch, Billy Kratzert, Stan Lee, Wayne Levi, Bruce Lietzke, John Lister, Gene Littler, Mark Lye, John Mahaffey, Bob Mann, Graham Marsh, Fred Marti, Rik Massengale, Terry Mauney, Gary McCord, Mike McCullough, Mark McCumber, Jerry McGee, Pat McGowan, Artie McNickle, Steve Melnyk, Allen Miller, Johnny Miller, Lindy Miller, Jeff Mitchell, Orville Moody, Gil Morgan, Mike Morley, Bob Murphy, Jim Nelford, Larry Nelson, Jack Newton, Jack Nicklaus, Lonnie Nielsen, Andy North, Peter Oosterhuis, Jerry Pate, Eddie Pearce, Calvin Peete, Mark Pfeil, Gary Player, Dan Pohl, Don Pooley, Greg Powers, Tom Purtzer, Dana Quigley, Sammy Rachels, Victor Regalado, Mike Reid, Jack Renner, Chi-Chi Rodríguez, Bill Rogers, Bill Sander, Cesar Sanudo, John Schroeder, Bob Shearer, Jim Simons, Scott Simpson, Tim Simpson, Bob E. Smith, J. C. Snead, Ed Sneed, Craig Stadler, Ken Still, Dave Stockton, Curtis Strange, Ron Streck, Mike Sullivan, Alan Tapie, Doug Tewell, Barney Thompson, Leonard Thompson, Jim Thorpe, Lee Trevino, Howard Twitty, Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins, Bobby Walzel, Tom Watson, D. A. Weibring, Tom Weiskopf, Kermit Zarley, Bob Zender, Larry Ziegler, Fuzzy Zoeller

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, March 20, 1980
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Hale Irwin | 67 | −5 |
| T1 | Steve Melnyk | 67 | −5 |
| T3 | George Burns | 68 | −4 |
| T3 | Bill Calfee | 68 | −4 |
| T3 | Danny Edwards | 68 | −4 |
| T3 | Joe Inman | 68 | −4 |
| T3 | Peter Jacobsen | 68 | −4 |
| T3 | Mike Morley | 68 | −4 |
| T3 | Ed Sneed | 68 | −4 |
| T3 | Curtis Strange | 68 | −4 |
| T3 | Ron Streck | 68 | −4 |
| T3 | Lee Trevino | 68 | −4 |
Source:

### Second round

Friday, March 21, 1980
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Hale Irwin | 67-72=139 | −5 |
| T1 | Curtis Strange | 68-71=139 | −5 |
| T3 | Steve Melnyk | 67-73=140 | −4 |
| T3 | Lee Trevino | 68-72=140 | −4 |
| T3 | Tom Watson | 69-71=140 | −4 |
| T6 | John Mahaffey | 70-71=141 | −3 |
| T6 | Gary Player | 70-71=141 | −3 |
| T6 | Greg Powers | 72-69=141 | −3 |
| T6 | J. C. Snead | 70-71=141 | −3 |
| T10 | Seve Ballesteros | 69-73=142 | −2 |
| T10 | George Burns | 68-74=142 | −2 |
| T10 | Bill Calfee | 68-74=142 | −2 |
| T10 | Danny Edwards | 68-74=142 | −2 |
| T10 | Peter Jacobsen | 68-74=142 | −2 |
| T10 | Jack Nicklaus | 69-73=142 | −2 |
| T10 | Don Pooley | 69-73=142 | −2 |
| T10 | Mike Reid | 70-72=142 | −2 |
Source:

### Third round

Saturday, March 22, 1980
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Lee Trevino | 68-72-68=208 | −8 |
| 2 | Hubert Green | 72-71-66=209 | −7 |
| T3 | Gary Player | 70-71-69=210 | −6 |
| T3 | Curtis Strange | 68-71-71=210 | −6 |
| T5 | Seve Ballesteros | 69-73-69=211 | −5 |
| T5 | Peter Jacobsen | 68-74-69=211 | −5 |
| T5 | Jack Nicklaus | 69-73-69=211 | −5 |
| T5 | Don Pooley | 69-73-69=211 | −5 |
| T9 | Brad Bryant | 72-71-69=212 | −4 |
| T9 | Jay Haas | 72-73-67=212 | −4 |
| T9 | Hale Irwin | 67-72-73=212 | −4 |
| T9 | Tom Watson | 69-71-72=212 | −4 |
Source:

### Final round

Sunday, March 23, 1980
* Champion
* (c) = past champion
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| 1 | Lee Trevino | 68-72-68-70=278 | −10 | 72,000 |
| 2 | Ben Crenshaw | 71-73-69-66=279 | −9 | 43,200 |
| T3 | Seve Ballesteros | 69-73-69-69=280 | −8 | 23,200 |
| T3 | Tom Watson | 69-71-72-68=280 | −8 | 23,200 |
| T5 | Peter Jacobsen | 68-74-69-71=282 | −6 | 14,600 |
| T5 | John Mahaffey | 70-71-72-69=282 | −6 | 14,600 |
| T5 | Mike Reid | 70-72-72-68=282 | −6 | 14,600 |
| T8 | Danny Edwards | 68-74-72-69=283 | −5 | 10,400 |
| T8 | Hubert Green | 72-71-66-74=283 | −5 | 10,400 |
| T8 | Jay Haas | 72-73-67-71=283 | −5 | 10,400 |
| T8 | Grier Jones | 74-69-72-68=283 | −5 | 10,400 |
| T8 | Gary Player | 70-71-69-73=283 | −5 | 10,400 |
| T8 | Dan Pohl | 73-72-69-69=283 | −5 | 10,400 |
Leaderboard below the top 10 :
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| T14 | Brad Bryant | 72-71-69-72=284 | −4 | 6,400 |
| T14 | Jim Colbert | 71-73-69-71=284 | −4 | 6,400 |
| T14 | Charles Coody | 69-75-69-71=284 | −4 | 6,400 |
| T14 | Keith Fergus | 70-73-70-71=284 | −4 | 6,400 |
| T14 | Hale Irwin | 67-72-73-72=284 | −4 | 6,400 |
| T14 | Jack Nicklaus (c) | 69-73-69-73=284 | −4 | 6,400 |
| T14 | Don Pooley | 69-73-69-73=284 | −4 | 6,400 |
| 21 | Curtis Strange | 68-71-71-75=285 | −3 | 4,800 |
| T22 | Bill Calfee | 68-74-73-71=286 | −2 | 4,320 |
| T22 | Dan Halldorson | 72-74-68-72=286 | −2 | 4,320 |
| T24 | George Burns | 68-74-71-74=287 | −1 | 3,165 |
| T24 | Bruce Fleisher | 71-73-71-72=287 | −1 | 3,165 |
| T24 | Bruce Lietzke | 72-74-74-67=287 | −1 | 3,165 |
| T24 | Fred Marti | 73-73-73-68=287 | −1 | 3,165 |
| T24 | Rik Massengale | 74-71-72-70=287 | −1 | 3,165 |
| T24 | Mike McCullough | 71-76-68-72=287 | −1 | 3,165 |
| T24 | Steve Melnyk | 67-73-76-71=287 | −1 | 3,165 |
| T31 | Gibby Gilbert | 70-75-75-68=288 | E | 2,220 |
| T31 | Mike Hill | 70-75-71-72=288 | E | 2,220 |
| T31 | Tom Kite | 74-72-69-73=288 | E | 2,220 |
| T31 | Johnny Miller | 76-71-71-70=288 | E | 2,220 |
| T31 | Gil Morgan | 70-78-71-69=288 | E | 2,220 |
| T31 | Bill Rogers | 69-77-71-71=288 | E | 2,220 |
| T31 | J. C. Snead | 70-71-73-74=288 | E | 2,220 |
| T31 | Howard Twitty | 75-70-71-72=288 | E | 2,220 |
| T39 | Bob Eastwood | 73-75-70-71=289 | +1 | 1,760 |
| T39 | Lon Hinkle | 70-74-71-74=289 | +1 | 1,760 |
| T41 | Mike Brannan | 71-75-75-69=290 | +2 | 1,520 |
| T41 | David Graham | 70-74-72-74=290 | +2 | 1,520 |
| T41 | Jerry McGee | 71-75-71-73=290 | +2 | 1,520 |
| T41 | Chi-Chi Rodríguez | 70-73-74-73=290 | +2 | 1,520 |
| T45 | Mark Hayes (c) | 70-75-75-71=291 | +3 | 1,144 |
| T45 | Tim Simpson | 70-74-73-74=291 | +3 | 1,144 |
| T45 | Dave Stockton | 73-70-74-74=291 | +3 | 1,144 |
| T45 | Ron Streck | 68-77-70-76=291 | +3 | 1,144 |
| T45 | Jim Thorpe | 72-73-71-75=291 | +3 | 1,144 |
| T45 | Lanny Wadkins (c) | 69-76-72-74=291 | +3 | 1,144 |
| T51 | Andy Bean | 71-73-76-72=292 | +4 | 954 |
| T51 | Scott Simpson | 71-74-77-70=292 | +4 | 954 |
| T51 | Alan Tapie | 72-75-72-73=292 | +4 | 954 |
| T51 | Barney Thompson | 70-74-77-71=292 | +4 | 954 |
| T55 | Jeff Mitchell | 71-77-74-71=293 | +5 | 904 |
| T55 | Jack Newton | 73-75-72-73=293 | +5 | 904 |
| T55 | Greg Powers | 72-69-78-74=293 | +5 | 904 |
| T55 | Leonard Thompson | 70-76-74-73=293 | +5 | 904 |
| T55 | Tom Weiskopf | 73-73-74-73=293 | +5 | 904 |
| T60 | Buddy Gardner | 70-74-77-73=294 | +6 | 868 |
| T60 | Lou Graham | 71-77-74-72=294 | +6 | 868 |
| T60 | Joe Inman | 68-75-78-73=294 | +6 | 868 |
| T60 | Jim Nelford | 74-72-75-73=294 | +6 | 868 |
| T64 | Terry Mauney | 72-75-72-76=295 | +7 | 840 |
| T64 | Bob Murphy | 73-75-77-70=295 | +7 | 840 |
| T64 | D. A. Weibring | 73-73-75-74=295 | +7 | 840 |
| T67 | Lee Elder | 73-73-76-74=296 | +8 | 816 |
| T67 | Victor Regalado | 73-75-75-73=296 | +8 | 816 |
| T67 | Craig Stadler | 73-74-70-79=296 | +8 | 816 |
| T70 | Rod Funseth | 70-76-76-75=297 | +9 | 792 |
| T70 | Calvin Peete | 73-72-77-75=297 | +9 | 792 |
| T70 | Ed Sneed | 68-78-78-73=297 | +9 | 792 |
| T73 | John Fought | 72-75-77-74=298 | +10 | 772 |
| T73 | Lonnie Nielsen | 71-73-75-79=298 | +10 | 772 |
| T75 | Wally Armstrong | 72-76-73-78=299 | +11 | 756 |
| T75 | Bob E. Smith | 72-76-78-73=299 | +11 | 756 |
| 77 | Terry Diehl | 73-75-82-71=301 | +13 | 750 |
| 78 | Mark Lye | 73-74-78-78=303 | +15 | 750 |
| 79 | David Edwards | 75-73-80-79=307 | +19 | 750 |
| CUT | Buddy Allin | 74-75=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | George Cadle | 74-75=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Rod Curl | 69-80=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | David Eger | 75-74=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Raymond Floyd | 73-76=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Pat McGowan | 70-79=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Andy North | 77-72=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Jerry Pate | 72-77=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Tom Purtzer | 74-75=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Bob Shearer | 71-78=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Bobby Wadkins | 70-79=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Tommy Aaron | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Rex Caldwell | 73-77=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Frank Conner | 74-76=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Bruce Devlin | 74-76=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Ed Dougherty | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Gene Littler | 69-81=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Bob Mann | 73-77=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Ken Still | 78-72=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Larry Ziegler | 73-77=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Don Bies | 72-79=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Graham Marsh | 73-78=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Mark Pfeil | 74-77=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Sammy Rachels | 72-79=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Jack Renner | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Cesar Sanudo | 78-73=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Jim Simons | 70-81=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Miller Barber | 75-77=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Bob Gilder | 77-75=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Phil Hancock | 74-78=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Morris Hatalsky | 78-74=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Barry Jaeckel | 75-77=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Gary Koch | 77-75=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Gary McCord | 78-74=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Mark McCumber | 74-78=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Orville Moody | 76-76=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Peter Oosterhuis | 77-75=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Eddie Pearce | 72-80=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Bob Byman | 72-81=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Jim Chancey | 74-79=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Dave Hill | 72-81=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Billy Kratzert | 73-80=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | John Lister | 79-74=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Dana Quigley | 74-79=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Doug Tewell | 77-76=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Kermit Zarley | 76-77=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | George Archer | 75-79=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Forrest Fezler | 77-77=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Stan Lee | 74-80=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | John Schroeder | 76-78=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Bob Zender | 79-75=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Fuzzy Zoeller | 79-75=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Dave Eichelberger | 81-74=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Mike Sullivan | 76-79=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Don January | 77-79=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Allen Miller | 73-83=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Lindy Miller | 77-79=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Bill Sander | 72-85=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Bobby Walzel | 75-84=159 | +15 | |
| CUT | Jim Dent | 77-83=160 | +16 | |
| WD | Artie McNickle | 73 | +1 | |
| WD | Wayne Levi | 76 | +4 | |
| WD | Ed Fiori | | | |
| DQ | Larry Nelson | 69-78=147 | +3 | |
| DQ | Mike Morley | 68 | −4 | |
Source: