# 1983 Tournament Players Championship

The 1983 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 24–28 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the tenth Tournament Players Championship.
Heavy rains on Thursday delayed the start until Friday, with the final two rounds planned for Sunday. Thunderstorms on Sunday morning allowed only the third round to be completed, and the final round was held on Monday.
Hal Sutton, age 24, came from four strokes back with a final round 69 to win his second tour event, one stroke ahead of runner-up Bob Eastwood. Later in the year, Sutton won his only major title, the PGA Championship in August at Riviera.
Defending champion Jerry Pate withdrew before the start, due to a lingering neck injury.
Sutton became the youngest champion of the TPC, formerly Mark Hayes, 27 in 1977. It was only for a year, as Fred Couples was five months younger at his win in 1984.

## Venue

This was the second Tournament Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course and it remained at 6,857 yards (6,270 m). Despite refinements in the past year, the Pete Dye-designed course continued to be scrutinized by many.

## Eligibility requirements

* Top 125 players on Final 1982 Official Money List
* Players who appear in Top 25 on 1983 Official Money List as of March 14, 1981
* Leading 1982 Official Money Winner on the Senior PGA Tour
* All designated players
* Any foreign player who meets the requirements of a designated Player, whether or not he is a PGA Tour member
* Past winners of the Tournament Players Championship, World Series of Golf, PGA Championship, Masters Tournament and U.S. Open since 1973
* Three "special selections," as determined by TPC Committee
Source:

## Field

John Adams, Isao Aoki, George Archer, Seve Ballesteros, Miller Barber, Andy Bean, Chip Beck, Woody Blackburn, Jim Booros, Bill Britton, Brad Bryant, George Burns, Bob Byman, Rex Caldwell, Antonio Cerda Jr., Bobby Clampett, Lennie Clements, Jim Colbert, Bobby Cole, Frank Conner, Charles Coody, John Cook, Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw, Jim Dent, Bruce Devlin, Terry Diehl, Mike Donald, Bob Eastwood, Danny Edwards, David Edwards, Dave Eichelberger, Lee Elder, Nick Faldo, Keith Fergus, Forrest Fezler, Ed Fiori, Bruce Fleisher, Raymond Floyd, John Fought, Al Geiberger, Gibby Gilbert, Bob Gilder, David Graham, Lou Graham, Thomas Gray, Hubert Green, Jay Haas, Gary Hallberg, Dan Halldorson, Phil Hancock, Morris Hatalsky, Vance Heafner, Lon Hinkle, Scott Hoch, Mike Holland, Joe Inman, Hale Irwin, Peter Jacobsen, Barry Jaeckel, Tom Jenkins, Tom Kite, Gary Koch, Wayne Levi, Bruce Lietzke, Pat Lindsey, Mark Lye, John Mahaffey, Roger Maltbie, Mike McCullough, Mark McCumber, Pat McGowan, Mark McNulty, Steve Melnyk, Allen Miller, Johnny Miller, Jeff Mitchell, Larry Mize, Gil Morgan, Jodie Mudd, Bob Murphy, Tsuneyuki Nakajima, Jim Nelford, Larry Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Mike Nicolette, Greg Norman, Tim Norris, Andy North, Mark O'Meara, Peter Oosterhuis, Arnold Palmer, Calvin Peete, Mark Pfeil, Dan Pohl, Don Pooley, Greg Powers, Tom Purtzer, Victor Regalado, Mike Reid, Jack Renner, Bill Rogers, Clarence Rose, Bob Shearer, Jim Simons, Scott Simpson, Tim Simpson, J. C. Snead, Ed Sneed, Craig Stadler, Payne Stewart, Curtis Strange, Ron Streck, Mike Sullivan, Hal Sutton, Doug Tewell, Leonard Thompson, Jim Thorpe, Lee Trevino, Howard Twitty, Tommy Valentine, Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins, Denis Watson, Tom Watson, D. A. Weibring, Tom Weiskopf, Larry Ziegler, Fuzzy Zoeller
* Defending champion Jerry Pate withdrew due to a lingering neck injury.

## Round summaries
### First round

Friday, March 25, 1983
Rain washed out play on Thursday, and the final two rounds were rescheduled for Sunday.
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Bruce Lietzke | 68 | −4 |
| T2 | Bobby Clampett | 69 | −3 |
| T2 | John Cook | 69 | −3 |
| T2 | Bob Eastwood | 69 | −3 |
| T2 | Mark McCumber | 69 | −3 |
| T2 | Leonard Thompson | 69 | −3 |
| T7 | Ben Crenshaw | 70 | −2 |
| T7 | Danny Edwards | 70 | −2 |
| T7 | Raymond Floyd | 70 | −2 |
| T7 | Peter Oosterhuis | 70 | −2 |
| T7 | Tom Weiskopf | 70 | −2 |
Source:

### Second round

Saturday, March 26, 1983
With two rounds planned for Sunday, the cut was set at 149 (+5), reducing the field to 67. The eight players on 150, who would normally have made the cut, received prize money.
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | John Cook | 69-70=139 | −5 |
| T2 | Bobby Clampett | 69-72=141 | −3 |
| T2 | Peter Jacobsen | 73-68=141 | −3 |
| T2 | Don Pooley | 71-70=141 | −3 |
| T2 | J. C. Snead | 71-70=141 | −3 |
| 6 | Bob Murphy | 72-70=142 | −2 |
| T7 | Lennie Clements | 73-70=143 | −1 |
| T7 | Vance Heafner | 72-71=143 | −1 |
| T7 | Bruce Lietzke | 68-75=143 | −1 |
| T7 | Tsuneyuki Nakajima | 71-72=143 | −1 |
Source:

### Third round

Sunday, March 27, 1983
Officials had hoped to complete the event with 36 holes on Sunday. Thunderstorms in the morning delayed play for three hours, and the final round was moved to Monday.
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | John Cook | 69-70-71=210 | −6 |
| 2 | Bobby Clampett | 69-72-70=211 | −5 |
| 3 | Vance Heafner | 72-71-69=212 | −4 |
| T4 | Ben Crenshaw | 70-74-69=213 | −3 |
| T4 | Peter Jacobsen | 73-68-72=213 | −3 |
| T4 | Don Pooley | 71-70-72=213 | −3 |
| T7 | Bruce Lietzke | 68-75-71=214 | −2 |
| T7 | Hal Sutton | 73-71-70=214 | −2 |
| 9 | Bob Eastwood | 69-75-71=215 | −1 |
| T10 | Keith Fergus | 74-71-71=216 | E |
| T10 | Ed Fiori | 72-73-71=216 | E |
| T10 | Gil Morgan | 74-72-70=216 | E |
| T10 | Tsuneyuki Nakajima | 71-72-73=216 | E |
| T10 | J. C. Snead | 71-70-75=216 | E |
Source:

### Final round

Monday, March 28, 1983
* Champion
* (c) = past champion
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| 1 | Hal Sutton | 73-71-70-69=283 | −5 | 126,000 |
| 2 | Bob Eastwood | 69-75-71-69=284 | −4 | 75,600 |
| T3 | John Cook | 69-70-71-75=285 | −3 | 36,400 |
| T3 | Bruce Lietzke | 68-75-71-71=285 | −3 | 36,400 |
| T3 | John Mahaffey | 72-74-72-67=285 | −3 | 36,400 |
| T6 | Vance Heafner | 72-71-69-74=286 | −2 | 24,325 |
| T6 | Doug Tewell | 72-74-70-70=286 | −2 | 24,325 |
| T8 | Ed Fiori | 72-73-71-71=287 | −1 | 21,000 |
| T8 | Curtis Strange | 72-75-70-70=287 | −1 | 21,000 |
| T10 | Bobby Clampett | 69-72-70-77=288 | E | 17,500 |
| T10 | Ben Crenshaw | 70-74-69-75=288 | E | 17,500 |
| T10 | Don Pooley | 71-70-72-75=288 | E | 17,500 |
Leaderboard below the top 10 :
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| T13 | Keith Fergus | 74-71-71-73=289 | +1 | 13,533 |
| T13 | Wayne Levi | 72-74-71-72=289 | +1 | 13,533 |
| T13 | Larry Mize | 72-76-72-69=289 | +1 | 13,533 |
| T16 | Peter Jacobsen | 73-68-72-77=290 | +2 | 11,200 |
| T16 | Johnny Miller | 73-73-73-71=290 | +2 | 11,200 |
| T16 | Tsuneyuki Nakajima | 71-72-73-74=290 | +2 | 11,200 |
| T19 | Lennie Clements | 73-70-74-74=291 | +3 | 8,785 |
| T19 | Jack Nicklaus (c) | 73-76-68-74=291 | +3 | 8,785 |
| T19 | Tom Purtzer | 71-73-76-71=291 | +3 | 8,785 |
| T19 | Tom Watson | 75-74-70-72=291 | +3 | 8,785 |
| T23 | Terry Diehl | 73-71-75-73=292 | +4 | 6,440 |
| T23 | Raymond Floyd (c) | 70-76-72-74=292 | +4 | 6,440 |
| T23 | Barry Jaeckel | 73-71-74-74=292 | +4 | 6,440 |
| T23 | Gil Morgan | 74-72-70-76=292 | +4 | 6,440 |
| T27 | Danny Edwards | 70-77-73-73=293 | +5 | 4,970 |
| T27 | Bruce Fleisher | 73-75-75-70=293 | +5 | 4,970 |
| T27 | Tom Kite | 72-75-73-73=293 | +5 | 4,970 |
| T27 | Mike McCullough | 74-74-73-72=293 | +5 | 4,970 |
| T27 | Leonard Thompson | 69-76-74-74=293 | +5 | 4,970 |
| T32 | Joe Inman | 72-72-74-76=294 | +6 | 4,142 |
| T32 | Bob Murphy | 72-70-77-75=294 | +6 | 4,142 |
| T32 | J. C. Snead | 71-70-75-78=294 | +6 | 4,142 |
| T35 | John Adams | 74-74-76-71=295 | +7 | 3,304 |
| T35 | Seve Ballesteros | 72-75-70-78=295 | +7 | 3,304 |
| T35 | David Edwards | 72-75-73-75=295 | +7 | 3,304 |
| T35 | Nick Faldo | 74-74-72-75=295 | +7 | 3,304 |
| T35 | Bob Gilder | 72-73-74-76=295 | +7 | 3,304 |
| T35 | David Graham | 73-72-74-76=295 | +7 | 3,304 |
| T35 | Calvin Peete | 73-73-77-72=295 | +7 | 3,304 |
| 42 | Allen Miller | 75-74-72-75=296 | +8 | 2,730 |
| T43 | Isao Aoki | 75-74-75-73=297 | +9 | 2,244 |
| T43 | Frank Conner | 73-75-75-74=297 | +9 | 2,244 |
| T43 | Dave Eichelberger | 76-73-73-75=297 | +9 | 2,244 |
| T43 | Gary Koch | 77-71-79-70=297 | +9 | 2,244 |
| T43 | Tim Norris | 74-74-76-73=297 | +9 | 2,244 |
| T43 | Peter Oosterhuis | 70-78-73-76=297 | +9 | 2,244 |
| T49 | Charles Coody | 76-72-79-71=298 | +10 | 1,727 |
| T49 | Hale Irwin | 75-72-72-79=298 | +10 | 1,727 |
| T49 | Mark McCumber | 69-77-75-77=298 | +10 | 1,727 |
| T49 | Mark O'Meara | 71-77-74-76=298 | +10 | 1,727 |
| T49 | Bobby Wadkins | 72-75-74-77=298 | +10 | 1,727 |
| T54 | Arnold Palmer | 77-72-76-74=299 | +11 | 1,617 |
| T54 | Jim Thorpe | 73-75-77-74=299 | +11 | 1,617 |
| T56 | Al Geiberger (c) | 72-74-74-80=300 | +12 | 1,568 |
| T56 | Gibby Gilbert | 72-74-75-79=300 | +12 | 1,568 |
| T56 | Lon Hinkle | 74-73-73-80=300 | +12 | 1,568 |
| T56 | Ron Streck | 71-77-76-76=300 | +12 | 1,568 |
| T56 | Tom Weiskopf | 70-77-81-72=300 | +12 | 1,568 |
| T61 | Jim Nelford | 72-77-72-80=301 | +13 | 1,519 |
| T61 | Scott Simpson | 75-74-76-76=301 | +13 | 1,519 |
| T63 | Greg Norman | 71-77-76-78=302 | +14 | 1,498 |
| T63 | Craig Stadler | 74-74-70-84=302 | +14 | 1,498 |
| 65 | Mark Pfeil | 71-75-81-77=304 | +16 | 1,470 |
| 66 | Jim Colbert | 72-77-83-73=305 | +17 | 1,456 |
| WD | Mike Nicolette | 73-71-79=223 | +7 | 1,442 |
| T68 | Jim Dent | 75-75=150 | +6 | 1,379 |
| T68 | Tom Jenkins | 79-71=150 | +6 | 1,379 |
| T68 | Roger Maltbie | 71-79=150 | +6 | 1,379 |
| T68 | Bill Rogers | 74-76=150 | +6 | 1,379 |
| T68 | Bob Shearer | 78-72=150 | +6 | 1,379 |
| T68 | Jim Simons | 73-77=150 | +6 | 1,379 |
| T68 | Lee Trevino (c) | 77-73=150 | +6 | 1,379 |
| T68 | Howard Twitty | 78-72=150 | +6 | 1,379 |
| CUT | Chip Beck | 75-76=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Thomas Gray | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Hubert Green | 74-77=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Scott Hoch | 77-74=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Pat Lindsey | 78-73=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Mark McNulty | 73-78=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Dan Pohl | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Clarence Rose | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Ed Sneed | 75-76=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Brad Bryant | 75-77=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | George Burns | 78-74=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Rex Caldwell | 71-81=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Lee Elder | 77-75=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Forrest Fezler | 78-74=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | John Fought | 76-76=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Dan Halldorson | 78-74=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Phil Hancock | 77-75=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Steve Melnyk | 79-73=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Tim Simpson | 75-77=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | George Archer | 75-78=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Antonio Cerda Jr. | 74-79=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Jack Renner | 78-75=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Miller Barber | 77-77=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Woody Blackburn | 75-79=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Bruce Devlin | 76-78=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Mike Donald | 78-76=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Gary Hallberg | 76-78=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Morris Hatalsky | 76-78=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Pat McGowan | 80-74=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | D. A. Weibring | 80-74=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Andy North | 77-78=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Tommy Valentine | 73-82=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Andy Bean | 73-83=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Bill Britton | 79-77=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Mark Lye | 74-82=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Payne Stewart | 78-78=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Lanny Wadkins (c) | 76-80=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Denis Watson | 79-78=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Mike Reid | 82-76=158 | +14 | |
| CUT | Jeff Mitchell | 81-78=159 | +15 | |
| CUT | Larry Ziegler | 75-84=159 | +15 | |
| CUT | Jodie Mudd | 78-82=160 | +16 | |
| CUT | Jim Booros | 82-79=161 | +17 | |
| CUT | Bob Byman | 80-81=161 | +17 | |
| CUT | Mike Holland | 75-86=161 | +17 | |
| CUT | Larry Nelson | 83-78=161 | +17 | |
| CUT | Greg Powers | 84-78=162 | +18 | |
| CUT | Fuzzy Zoeller | 82-80=162 | +18 | |
| CUT | Victor Regalado | 83-80=163 | +19 | |
| CUT | Bobby Cole | 86-79=165 | +21 | |
| CUT | Fred Couples | 81-84=165 | +21 | |
| WD | Lou Graham | 77 | +5 | |
| WD | Jay Haas | 80 | +8 | |
| DQ | Mike Sullivan | 76 | +4 | |
Source: