# 1978 Tournament Players Championship

The 1978 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 16–19 at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. The fifth Tournament Players Championship, it was the second at Sawgrass and Jack Nicklaus won his third TPC title at 289 (+1), one stroke ahead of runner-up Lou Graham. Both shot 75 (+3) in the windy final round and Nicklaus went without a birdie.
This was the fourth consecutive start for Nicklaus in 1978 that ended with a top-two finish: two wins and two second places. Four months later in July, he won his third Open Championship to become the first to win the TPC and a major title in the same calendar year, later joined by Hal Sutton (1983, PGA), Tiger Woods (2001, Masters), and Martin Kaymer (2014, U.S. Open).
Defending champion Mark Hayes finished eleven strokes back, in a tie for 28th place.

## Venue

This was the second of five Tournament Players Championships held at Sawgrass Country Club; it moved to the nearby TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course in 1982.

## Eligibility requirements

* All designated players
* Winners of major PGA Tour co-sponsored or approved events beginning with the 1977 Tournament Players Championship and concluding with the tournament immediately preceding the 1978 TPC
* The current British Open champion
* Leaders In PGA Tour Official Standings as necessary to complete the field, beginning with the 1977 Tournament Players Championship and concluding with the tournament scheduled to end on the Sunday immediately preceding the 1978 TPC, the Florida Citrus Open
Source:

## Field

Tommy Aaron, Sam Adams, Wally Armstrong, Butch Baird, Miller Barber, Andy Bean, Frank Beard, Don Bies, Homero Blancas, George Burns, George Cadle, Rex Caldwell, Bill Calfee, Billy Casper, Antonio Cerda Jr., Jim Colbert, Bobby Cole, Frank Conner, Charles Coody, Ben Crenshaw, Rod Curl, Jim Dent, Bruce Devlin, Terry Diehl, Ed Dougherty, Bob Eastwood, Danny Edwards, Dave Eichelberger, Lee Elder, Randy Erskine, Keith Fergus, Forrest Fezler, Raymond Floyd, Rod Funseth, Gibby Gilbert, Bob Gilder, David Graham, Lou Graham, Hubert Green, Gary Groh, Jay Haas, Phil Hancock, Morris Hatalsky, Dale Hayes, Mark Hayes, Jerry Heard, Mike Hill, Lon Hinkle, Joe Inman, Hale Irwin, Don Iverson, Peter Jacobsen, Barry Jaeckel, Don January, Tom Jenkins, Grier Jones, Tom Kite, George Knudson, Gary Koch, Billy Kratzert, Stan Lee, Wayne Levi, Bruce Lietzke, John Lister, Gene Littler, Lyn Lott, Mark Lye, John Mahaffey, Bill Mallon, Roger Maltbie, Graham Marsh, Fred Marti, Rik Massengale, Gary McCord, Mike McCullough, Jerry McGee, Mac McLendon, Artie McNickle, Steve Melnyk, Allen Miller, Johnny Miller, Jeff Mitchell, Florentino Molina, Orville Moody, Gil Morgan, Mike Morley, Bob Murphy, Larry Nelson, Dwight Nevil, Bobby Nichols, Jack Nicklaus, Andy North, Peter Oosterhuis, Arnold Palmer, Jerry Pate, Bob Payne, Eddie Pearce, Calvin Peete, Mark Pfeil, Gary Player, Don Pooley, Joe Porter, Tom Purtzer, Sammy Rachels, Victor Regalado, Mike Reid, Jack Renner, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Bill Rogers, John Schlee, John Schroeder, Tom Shaw, Bob Shearer, Dan Sikes, Jim Simons, Tim Simpson, Bob E. Smith, J. C. Snead, Ed Sneed, Craig Stadler, Ken Still, Dave Stockton, Curtis Strange, Ron Streck, Alan Tapie, Steve Taylor, Doug Tewell, Barney Thompson, Leonard Thompson, Lee Trevino, Howard Twitty, Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins, Art Wall Jr., Bobby Walzel, Tom Watson, Tom Weiskopf, Bob Wynn, Kermit Zarley, Bob Zender, Larry Ziegler, Fuzzy Zoeller

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, March 16, 1978
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Ben Crenshaw | 70 | −2 |
| T1 | Gibby Gilbert | 70 | −2 |
| T1 | Gary Groh | 70 | −2 |
| T1 | Jack Nicklaus | 70 | −2 |
| T1 | Victor Regalado | 70 | −2 |
| T1 | John Schroeder | 70 | −2 |
| T1 | Bobby Wadkins | 70 | −2 |
| T8 | Lou Graham | 71 | −1 |
| T8 | Joe Inman | 71 | −1 |
| T8 | Artie McNickle | 71 | −1 |
| T8 | Larry Nelson | 71 | −1 |
Source:

### Second round

Friday, March 17, 1978
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Ben Crenshaw | 70-71=141 | −3 |
| T1 | Lou Graham | 71-70=141 | −3 |
| T1 | Jack Nicklaus | 70-71=141 | −3 |
| 4 | Larry Nelson | 71-72=143 | −1 |
| 5 | John Mahaffey | 72-72=144 | E |
| T6 | Mike Morley | 72-73=145 | +1 |
| T6 | Andy North | 74-71=145 | +1 |
| T6 | John Schroeder | 70-75=145 | +1 |
| T9 | Sam Adams | 74-72=146 | +2 |
| T9 | David Graham | 72-74=146 | +2 |
| T9 | Joe Inman | 71-75=146 | +2 |
| T9 | Artie McNickle | 71-75=146 | +2 |
| T9 | Mac McLendon | 72-74=146 | +2 |
| T9 | Florentino Molina | 72-74=146 | +2 |
| T9 | Peter Oosterhuis | 73-73=146 | +2 |
Source:

### Third round

Saturday, March 18, 1978
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | 70-71-73=214 | −2 |
| 2 | Lou Graham | 71-70-74=215 | −1 |
| T3 | Ben Crenshaw | 70-71-77=218 | +2 |
| T3 | Larry Nelson | 71-72-75=218 | +2 |
| T5 | John Mahaffey | 72-72-75=219 | +3 |
| T5 | Andy North | 74-71-74=219 | +3 |
| T7 | Lon Hinkle | 75-72-74=221 | +5 |
| T7 | Mike McCullough | 77-75-69=221 | +5 |
| T7 | Peter Oosterhuis | 73-73-75=221 | +5 |
| T7 | John Schroeder | 70-75-76=221 | +5 |
| T7 | Bob Shearer | 74-75-72=221 | +5 |
| T7 | Bob Zender | 75-73-73=221 | +5 |
Source:

### Final round

Sunday, March 19, 1978
* Champion
* (c) = past champion
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus (c) | 70-71-73-75=289 | +1 | 60,000 |
| 2 | Lou Graham | 71-70-74-75=290 | +2 | 34,200 |
| 3 | Lon Hinkle | 75-72-74-70=291 | +3 | 21,300 |
| T4 | Ben Crenshaw | 70-71-77-74=292 | +4 | 11,700 |
| T4 | Larry Nelson | 71-72-75-74=292 | +4 | 11,700 |
| T4 | Andy North | 74-71-74-73=292 | +4 | 11,700 |
| T4 | John Schroeder | 70-75-76-71=292 | +4 | 11,700 |
| 8 | Jim Colbert | 74-74-74-72=294 | +6 | 8,850 |
| T9 | Hubert Green | 76-77-71-71=295 | +7 | 7,500 |
| T9 | Peter Oosterhuis | 73-73-75-74=295 | +7 | 7,500 |
| T9 | Victor Regalado | 70-79-76-70=295 | +7 | 7,500 |
Leaderboard below the top 10 :
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| T12 | Jerry Heard | 73-78-71-74=296 | +8 | 5,460 |
| T12 | John Mahaffey | 72-72-75-77=296 | +8 | 5,460 |
| T12 | Mike McCullough | 77-75-69-75=296 | +8 | 5,460 |
| T12 | Florentino Molina | 72-74-76-74=296 | +8 | 5,460 |
| T12 | Bobby Wadkins | 70-79-73-74=296 | +8 | 5,460 |
| T17 | Lee Elder | 75-76-75-71=297 | +9 | 4,200 |
| T17 | Phil Hancock | 73-74-75-75=297 | +9 | 4,200 |
| T17 | Jerry Pate | 76-76-75-70=297 | +9 | 4,200 |
| T20 | Danny Edwards | 75-73-75-75=298 | +10 | 2,892 |
| T20 | David Graham | 72-74-78-74=298 | +10 | 2,892 |
| T20 | Graham Marsh | 73-76-73-76=298 | +10 | 2,892 |
| T20 | Mac McLendon | 72-74-76-76=298 | +10 | 2,892 |
| T20 | Gil Morgan | 73-77-76-72=298 | +10 | 2,892 |
| T20 | John Schlee | 77-73-75-73=298 | +10 | 2,892 |
| T20 | Bob Shearer | 74-75-72-77=298 | +10 | 2,892 |
| 27 | Rod Funseth | 74-73-78-74=299 | +11 | 2,310 |
| T28 | Andy Bean | 73-78-76-73=300 | +12 | 1,791 |
| T28 | Keith Fergus | 73-75-82-70=300 | +12 | 1,791 |
| T28 | Gibby Gilbert | 70-77-79-74=300 | +12 | 1,791 |
| T28 | Mark Hayes (c) | 73-77-77-73=300 | +12 | 1,791 |
| T28 | Joe Inman | 71-75-79-75=300 | +12 | 1,791 |
| T28 | Tom Kite | 74-77-78-71=300 | +12 | 1,791 |
| T28 | Lyn Lott | 75-76-78-71=300 | +12 | 1,791 |
| T28 | Gary Player | 74-73-77-76=300 | +12 | 1,791 |
| T28 | Alan Tapie | 73-75-82-70=300 | +12 | 1,791 |
| T28 | Kermit Zarley | 75-77-73-75=300 | +12 | 1,791 |
| T28 | Bob Zender | 75-73-73-79=300 | +12 | 1,791 |
| T39 | Sam Adams | 74-72-77-78=301 | +13 | 1,290 |
| T39 | Fred Marti | 72-79-77-73=301 | +13 | 1,290 |
| T39 | Leonard Thompson | 74-76-79-72=301 | +13 | 1,290 |
| T42 | Frank Conner | 75-74-75-78=302 | +14 | 1,082 |
| T42 | Morris Hatalsky | 74-79-74-75=302 | +14 | 1,082 |
| T42 | Hale Irwin | 75-75-75-77=302 | +14 | 1,082 |
| T42 | Billy Kratzert | 75-76-75-76=302 | +14 | 1,082 |
| T46 | Miller Barber | 78-74-76-75=303 | +15 | 975 |
| T46 | Bobby Cole | 72-79-81-71=303 | +15 | 975 |
| T46 | Charles Coody | 73-76-74-80=303 | +15 | 975 |
| T46 | Don January | 73-74-79-77=303 | +15 | 975 |
| T50 | Mike Morley | 72-73-79-80=304 | +16 | 945 |
| T50 | Mark Pfeil | 74-75-78-77=304 | +16 | 945 |
| T52 | Bob Eastwood | 79-72-82-72=305 | +17 | 910 |
| T52 | Peter Jacobsen | 74-76-80-75=305 | +17 | 910 |
| T52 | Artie McNickle | 71-75-82-77=305 | +17 | 910 |
| T52 | Bill Rogers | 73-75-79-78=305 | +17 | 910 |
| T52 | Jim Simons | 73-80-79-73=305 | +17 | 910 |
| T57 | Jay Haas | 76-76-76-78=306 | +18 | 860 |
| T57 | Steve Melnyk | 76-75-79-76=306 | +18 | 860 |
| T57 | Mike Reid | 76-77-75-78=306 | +18 | 860 |
| T57 | Ron Streck | 75-78-77-76=306 | +18 | 860 |
| T57 | Tom Weiskopf | 73-80-74-79=306 | +18 | 860 |
| 62 | Chi Chi Rodriguez | 73-77-80-77=307 | +19 | 830 |
| T63 | Wayne Levi | 74-75-82-77=308 | +20 | 810 |
| T63 | Allen Miller | 74-73-79-82=308 | +20 | 810 |
| T63 | Art Wall Jr. | 73-79-77-79=308 | +20 | 810 |
| T66 | Don Bies | 76-77-81-75=309 | +21 | 770 |
| T66 | Rex Caldwell | 75-76-80-78=309 | +21 | 770 |
| T66 | Gary Groh | 70-77-79-83=309 | +21 | 770 |
| T66 | Gary McCord | 77-75-77-80=309 | +21 | 770 |
| T66 | Jerry McGee | 76-76-75-82=309 | +21 | 770 |
| T71 | Tom Shaw | 76-75-83-76=310 | +22 | 750 |
| T71 | J. C. Snead | 74-77-82-77=310 | +22 | 750 |
| T73 | Rod Curl | 75-78-82-76=311 | +23 | 750 |
| T73 | John Lister | 76-76-81-78=311 | +23 | 750 |
| T75 | Homero Blancas | 74-77-84-77=312 | +24 | 750 |
| T75 | Howard Twitty | 78-75-81-78=312 | +24 | 750 |
| T77 | Forrest Fezler | 76-75-82-80=313 | +25 | 750 |
| T77 | Arnold Palmer | 74-78-76-85=313 | +25 | 750 |
| CUT | George Burns | 79-75=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Dave Eichelberger | 78-76=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Raymond Floyd | 77-77=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Mike Hill | 76-78=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Rik Massengale | 73-81=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Dwight Nevil | 78-76=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Sammy Rachels | 77-77=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Steve Taylor | 76-78=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Tom Watson | 76-78=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Bill Calfee | 79-76=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Billy Casper | 77-78=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Jim Dent | 74-81=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Terry Diehl | 78-77=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Tom Jenkins | 77-78=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Bruce Lietzke | 77-78=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Jeff Mitchell | 74-81=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Joe Porter | 76-79=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Tom Purtzer | 75-80=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Jack Renner | 75-80=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Dan Sikes | 74-81=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Ed Sneed | 76-79=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Wally Armstrong | 77-79=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Butch Baird | 78-78=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Don Iverson | 81-75=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Grier Jones | 79-77=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Orville Moody | 74-82=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Bob Payne | 75-81=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Dave Stockton | 79-77=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Curtis Strange | 83-73=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Doug Tewell | 79-77=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Bobby Walzel | 78-78=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Bruce Devlin | 76-81=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Barry Jaeckel | 76-81=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Gary Koch | 77-80=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Stan Lee | 80-77=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Mark Lye | 78-79=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Roger Maltbie | 79-78=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Eddie Pearce | 80-77=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Don Pooley | 74-83=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Bob E. Smith | 74-83=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Bobby Nichols | 77-81=158 | +14 | |
| CUT | Barney Thompson | 76-82=158 | +14 | |
| CUT | Larry Ziegler | 79-79=158 | +14 | |
| CUT | Tommy Aaron | 83-76=159 | +15 | |
| CUT | Bob Gilder | 74-85=159 | +15 | |
| CUT | George Knudson | 80-79=159 | +15 | |
| CUT | Johnny Miller | 77-82=159 | +15 | |
| CUT | Frank Beard | 80-80=160 | +16 | |
| CUT | Antonio Cerda Jr. | 82-78=160 | +16 | |
| CUT | Randy Erskine | 75-85=160 | +16 | |
| CUT | Dale Hayes | 77-83=160 | +16 | |
| CUT | Bob Murphy | 78-82=160 | +16 | |
| CUT | Ken Still | 80-80=160 | +16 | |
| CUT | Fuzzy Zoeller | 77-83=160 | +16 | |
| CUT | Lanny Wadkins | 79-82=161 | +17 | |
| CUT | Calvin Peete | 81-81=162 | +18 | |
| CUT | Tim Simpson | 81-81=162 | +18 | |
| CUT | Bob Wynn | 76-86=162 | +18 | |
| CUT | Ed Dougherty | 78-85=163 | +19 | |
| CUT | Craig Stadler | 79-85=164 | +20 | |
| CUT | Bill Mallon | 84-85=169 | +25 | |
| CUT | George Cadle | 81-89=170 | +26 | |
| WD | Lee Trevino | 75-78=153 | +9 |
| WD | Gene Littler | | |
Source: