# 1988 Players Championship

The 1988 Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 24–27 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the fifteenth Players Championship and the first without "Tournament" in the title.
Local resident Mark McCumber opened with 65 and won with 273 (−15), four strokes ahead of runner-up Mike Reid. McCumber's 72-hole score at the Stadium Course set a record; it was equaled in 1992 and broken in 1993.
Jay Haas was disqualified on Thursday after playing with a bent putter. Davis Love III had a similar occurrence on Friday, while Curtis Strange reported that he signed an incorrect scorecard. (Strange won the next two U.S. Opens.)
Weather delays on Saturday caused the leaders to complete only a few holes of the third round; play was resumed early on Sunday morning.
Defending champion Sandy Lyle missed the 36-hole cut by six strokes, and the purse was increased 25% this year to $1.25 million.

## Venue

This was the seventh Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course and it remained at 6,857 yards (6,270 m).

## Field

Fulton Allem, Isao Aoki, Paul Azinger, Seve Ballesteros, Dave Barr, Andy Bean, Chip Beck, Ronnie Black, Phil Blackmar, Jay Don Blake, Ken Brown, George Burns, Curt Byrum, Tom Byrum, Mark Calcavecchia, Jim Carter, Chen Tze-chung, Bobby Clampett, Keith Clearwater, Lennie Clements, Russ Cochran, John Cook, Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw, Rodger Davis, Mike Donald, Ed Dougherty, Bob Eastwood, Danny Edwards, David Edwards, Dave Eichelberger, Steve Elkington, Brad Fabel, Nick Faldo, Brad Faxon, Rick Fehr, Ed Fiori, Raymond Floyd, Dan Forsman, David Frost, Buddy Gardner, Bob Gilder, Bill Glasson, Wayne Grady, David Graham, Hubert Green, Ken Green, Jay Haas, Gary Hallberg, Dan Halldorson, Donnie Hammond, Morris Hatalsky, Mark Hayes, Vance Heafner, Lon Hinkle, Scott Hoch, Mike Hulbert, John Huston, John Inman, Hale Irwin, David Ishii, Peter Jacobsen, Steve Jones, Tom Kite, Kenny Knox, Gary Koch, Billy Kratzert, Bernhard Langer, Wayne Levi, Bruce Lietzke, Bob Lohr, Davis Love III, Mark Lye, Sandy Lyle, Andrew Magee, John Mahaffey, Roger Maltbie, Dick Mast, Blaine McCallister, Mike McCullough, Mark McCumber, Pat McGowan, Rocco Mediate, Johnny Miller, Larry Mize, Gil Morgan, Jodie Mudd, Tsuneyuki Nakajima, Larry Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Andy North, Mac O'Grady, Mark O'Meara, David Ogrin, Akiyoshi Ohmachi, Steve Pate, Corey Pavin, Calvin Peete, Chris Perry, Kenny Perry, Dan Pohl, Don Pooley, Nick Price, Tom Purtzer, Sam Randolph, Mike Reid, Jack Renner, Larry Rinker, Loren Roberts, Bill Rogers, Clarence Rose, Dave Rummells, Bill Sander, Gene Sauers, Tom Sieckmann, Tony Sills, Scott Simpson, Tim Simpson, Joey Sindelar, Jeff Sluman, J. C. Snead, Craig Stadler, Payne Stewart, Ray Stewart, Curtis Strange, Mike Sullivan, Hal Sutton, Doug Tewell, Leonard Thompson, Bob Tway, Howard Twitty, Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins, Fred Wadsworth, Denis Watson, Tom Watson, D. A. Weibring, Mark Wiebe, Willie Wood, Ian Woosnam, Robert Wrenn, Fuzzy Zoeller, Richard Zokol

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, March 24, 1988
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Mark McCumber | 65 | −7 |
| T2 | Curt Byrum | 66 | −6 |
| T2 | Greg Norman | 66 | −6 |
| T4 | Ed Fiori | 67 | −5 |
| T4 | David Frost | 67 | −5 |
| T4 | Tom Kite | 67 | −5 |
| T4 | John Mahaffey | 67 | −5 |
| T4 | David Ogrin | 67 | −5 |
| T4 | Fuzzy Zoeller | 67 | −5 |
| T10 | Donnie Hammond | 68 | −4 |
| T10 | Mike Reid | 68 | −4 |
Source:

### Second round

Friday, March 25, 1988
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Payne Stewart | 71-65=136 | −8 |
| T2 | Mark McCumber | 65-72=137 | −7 |
| T2 | Mike Reid | 68-69=137 | −7 |
| T4 | David Frost | 67-71=138 | −6 |
| T4 | Morris Hatalsky | 70-68=138 | −6 |
| T4 | Dan Pohl | 69-69=138 | −6 |
| T7 | Curt Byrum | 66-73=139 | −5 |
| T7 | Gil Morgan | 69-70=139 | −5 |
| T7 | Calvin Peete | 70-69=139 | −5 |
| T7 | Chip Beck | 73-67=140 | −4 |
| T7 | Ben Crenshaw | 69-71=140 | −4 |
| T7 | Ed Fiori | 67-73=140 | −4 |
| T7 | Tom Kite | 67-73=140 | −4 |
| T7 | Dick Mast | 70-70=140 | −4 |
| T7 | Greg Norman | 66-74=140 | −4 |
Source:

### Third round

Saturday, March 26, 1988 Sunday, March 27, 1988
Due to weather delays, McCumber completed the last fourteen holes of his third round on Sunday morning and went to his nearby home between rounds.
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Mark McCumber | 65-72-67=204 | −12 |
| 2 | David Frost | 67-71-68=206 | −10 |
| 3 | Payne Stewart | 71-65-71=207 | −9 |
| T4 | Curt Byrum | 66-73-69=208 | −8 |
| T4 | Greg Norman | 66-74-68=208 | −8 |
| T4 | Dan Pohl | 69-69-70=208 | −8 |
| T7 | Chip Beck | 73-67-69=209 | −7 |
| T7 | Ben Crenshaw | 69-71-69=209 | −7 |
| T7 | Tom Kite | 67-73-69=209 | −7 |
| T7 | Lanny Wadkins | 70-72-67=209 | −7 |
Source:

### Final round

Sunday, March 27, 1988
* Champion
* (c) = past champion
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| 1 | Mark McCumber | 65-72-67-69=273 | −15 | 225,000 |
| 2 | Mike Reid | 68-69-73-67=277 | −11 | 135,000 |
| T3 | Fulton Allem | 73-72-65-68=278 | −10 | 65,000 |
| T3 | Curt Byrum | 66-73-69-70=278 | −10 | 65,000 |
| T3 | David Frost | 67-71-68-72=278 | −10 | 65,000 |
| T6 | Gil Morgan | 69-70-71-69=279 | −9 | 43,437 |
| T6 | Lanny Wadkins (c) | 70-72-67-70=279 | −9 | 43,437 |
| T8 | Wayne Levi | 70-71-71-68=280 | −8 | 36,250 |
| T8 | Dan Pohl | 69-69-70-72=280 | −8 | 36,250 |
| T8 | Payne Stewart | 71-65-71-73=280 | −8 | 36,250 |
Leaderboard below the top 10 :
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| T11 | Chip Beck | 73-67-69-72=281 | −7 | 26,500 |
| T11 | Ben Crenshaw | 69-71-69-72=281 | −7 | 26,500 |
| T11 | Tom Kite | 67-73-69-72=281 | −7 | 26,500 |
| T11 | Greg Norman | 66-74-68-73=281 | −7 | 26,500 |
| T11 | Mark Wiebe | 71-70-71-69=281 | −7 | 26,500 |
| T16 | Mike Hulbert | 74-69-69-70=282 | −6 | 17,535 |
| T16 | Peter Jacobsen | 69-75-69-69=282 | −6 | 17,535 |
| T16 | Gary Koch | 70-72-69-71=282 | −6 | 17,535 |
| T16 | Bernhard Langer | 71-72-67-72=282 | −6 | 17,535 |
| T16 | Calvin Peete (c) | 70-69-71-72=282 | −6 | 17,535 |
| T16 | Gene Sauers | 70-71-70-71=282 | −6 | 17,535 |
| T16 | Joey Sindelar | 69-72-67-74=282 | −6 | 17,535 |
| T23 | Fred Couples (c) | 72-72-71-68=283 | −5 | 11,500 |
| T23 | Ed Fiori | 67-73-72-71=283 | −5 | 11,500 |
| T23 | Larry Rinker | 75-70-68-70=283 | −5 | 11,500 |
| T23 | Fuzzy Zoeller | 67-74-71-71=283 | −5 | 11,500 |
| T27 | Dan Halldorson | 70-71-71-72=284 | −4 | 9,250 |
| T27 | John Mahaffey (c) | 67-75-69-73=284 | −4 | 9,250 |
| T27 | Tsuneyuki Nakajima | 73-72-67-72=284 | −4 | 9,250 |
| T30 | Paul Azinger | 70-71-72-72=285 | −3 | 8,125 |
| T30 | Morris Hatalsky | 70-68-71-76=285 | −3 | 8,125 |
| T30 | Dick Mast | 70-70-72-73=285 | −3 | 8,125 |
| 33 | Kenny Perry | 71-71-72-72=286 | −2 | 7,375 |
| T34 | Jay Don Blake | 70-73-72-72=287 | −1 | 6,907 |
| T34 | Bob Eastwood | 70-72-72-73=287 | −1 | 6,907 |
| T36 | Dave Barr | 70-75-73-70=288 | E | 5,760 |
| T36 | Andy Bean | 72-74-70-72=288 | E | 5,760 |
| T36 | Buddy Gardner | 72-74-70-72=288 | E | 5,760 |
| T36 | Donnie Hammond | 68-75-73-72=288 | E | 5,760 |
| T36 | Jodie Mudd | 72-74-68-74=288 | E | 5,760 |
| T36 | Doug Tewell | 72-72-73-71=288 | E | 5,760 |
| T42 | Lennie Clements | 74-71-71-73=289 | +1 | 4,625 |
| T42 | Brad Fabel | 72-70-74-73=289 | +1 | 4,625 |
| T42 | Corey Pavin | 70-76-69-74=289 | +1 | 4,625 |
| T45 | Tom Purtzer | 74-72-70-74=290 | +2 | 3,875 |
| T45 | Jeff Sluman | 71-73-71-75=290 | +2 | 3,875 |
| T45 | Craig Stadler | 74-71-73-72=290 | +2 | 3,875 |
| T48 | David Edwards | 73-71-71-76=291 | +3 | 3,275 |
| T48 | Steve Jones | 73-72-72-74=291 | +3 | 3,275 |
| T48 | Jack Renner | 71-72-76-72=291 | +3 | 3,275 |
| T51 | Bob Lohr | 73-73-74-72=292 | +4 | 3,008 |
| T51 | Roger Maltbie | 72-72-71-77=292 | +4 | 3,008 |
| T51 | Bobby Wadkins | 72-71-76-73=292 | +4 | 3,008 |
| T54 | Mike Donald | 70-74-75-74=293 | +5 | 2,875 |
| T54 | Steve Elkington | 70-74-75-74=293 | +5 | 2,875 |
| T54 | Don Pooley | 71-75-76-71=293 | +5 | 2,875 |
| 57 | Steve Pate | 70-71-74-79=294 | +6 | 2,825 |
| T58 | Jim Carter | 73-73-76-73=295 | +7 | 2,787 |
| T58 | Pat McGowan | 74-70-72-79=295 | +7 | 2,787 |
| T60 | Isao Aoki | 71-75-75-75=296 | +8 | 2,725 |
| T60 | Bobby Clampett | 73-72-73-78=296 | +8 | 2,725 |
| T60 | David Ishii | 72-74-69-81=296 | +8 | 2,725 |
| T64 | Mark Calcavecchia | 70-75-76-76=297 | +9 | 2,637 |
| T64 | Dave Eichelberger | 73-73-72-79=297 | +9 | 2,637 |
| T64 | Chris Perry | 75-69-77-76=297 | +9 | 2,637 |
| T64 | Willie Wood | 73-73-75-76=297 | +9 | 2,637 |
| 68 | John Huston | 73-73-78-74=298 | +10 | 2,575 |
| T69 | Mark Lye | 71-74-73-81=299 | +11 | 2,537 |
| T69 | Mike McCullough | 74-72-77-76=299 | +11 | 2,537 |
| 71 | Andy North | 73-72-73-83=301 | +13 | 2,500 |
| 72 | David Ogrin | 67-77-76-82=302 | +14 | 2,475 |
| CUT | Chen Tze-chung | 75-72=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Wayne Grady | 71-76=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | David Graham | 71-76=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Ken Green | 70-77=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Hale Irwin | 75-72=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Larry Mize | 73-74=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Jack Nicklaus (c) | 73-74=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Mike Sullivan | 76-71=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Ken Brown | 77-71=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Ed Dougherty | 73-75=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Andrew Magee | 74-74=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Blaine McCallister | 76-72=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Mark O'Meara | 76-72=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Leonard Thompson | 72-76=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Tom Watson | 75-73=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Keith Clearwater | 72-77=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Russ Cochran | 74-75=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Bob Gilder | 76-73=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Bruce Lietzke | 74-75=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Johnny Miller | 73-76=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Tim Simpson | 70-79=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Ray Stewart | 75-74=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | D. A. Weibring | 73-76=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Brad Faxon | 72-78=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Gary Hallberg | 76-74=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Mark Hayes (c) | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Lon Hinkle | 80-70=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Scott Hoch | 78-72=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Kenny Knox | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Loren Roberts | 73-77=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Clarence Rose | 71-79=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Scott Simpson | 73-77=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Howard Twitty | 73-77=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Denis Watson | 74-76=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Tom Byrum | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Rodger Davis | 74-77=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Vance Heafner | 77-74=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Rocco Mediate | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Larry Nelson | 73-78=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Dave Rummells | 78-73=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Tom Sieckmann | 73-78=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Phil Blackmar | 75-77=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Danny Edwards | 78-74=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Hubert Green | 75-77=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Billy Kratzert | 74-78=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Sandy Lyle (c) | 79-73=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Hal Sutton (c) | 76-76=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | John Cook | 74-79=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Rick Fehr | 75-78=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Bill Glasson | 77-76=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | John Inman | 76-77=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Bill Sander | 76-77=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Tony Sills | 77-76=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Ian Woosnam | 74-79=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Seve Ballesteros | 76-78=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Nick Faldo | 75-79=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Dan Forsman | 77-77=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Akiyoshi Ohmachi | 77-77=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Bill Rogers | 79-75=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | J. C. Snead | 78-76=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Bob Tway | 77-77=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Robert Wrenn | 75-79=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Richard Zokol | 77-77=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Ronnie Black | 77-78=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Sam Randolph | 79-76=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Fred Wadsworth | 75-82=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Mac O'Grady | 79-83=162 | +18 | |
| WD | George Burns | 76 | +4 | |
| DQ | Raymond Floyd (c) | 73-73-70-80=296 | +8 | |
| DQ | Davis Love III | 73-71=144 | E | |
| DQ | Nick Price | 74-75=149 | +5 | |
| DQ | Curtis Strange | 73 | +1 | |
| DQ | Jay Haas | 77 | +5 | |
Source: