# 1997 Players Championship

The 1997 Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 27–30 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the 24th Players Championship.

## Tournament summary

Steve Elkington led wire-to-wire, with all four rounds in the sixties, to win his second Players at 272 (−16), a record seven strokes ahead of runner-up Scott Hoch. Elkington's previous win was six years earlier in 1991.
In his first Players, 21-year-old Tiger Woods tied for 31st at 289 (+1); two weeks later, he won the Masters by a record margin.
Defending champion Fred Couples finished thirteen strokes back, in a tie for tenth place.

## Venue

This was the sixteenth Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course, and it remained at 6,896 yards (6,306 m).

## Eligibility requirements

All winners of PGA Tour events awarding official money and official victory status in the preceding 12 months, concluding with the Bay Hill Invitational and dating from the 1996 Players Championship.
Fred Couples, Paul Stankowski, Nick Faldo, Loren Roberts, Mark O'Meara, Mark Brooks, Phil Mickelson, Corey Pavin, Steve Stricker, Tom Watson, Ernie Els, Steve Jones, John Cook, D. A. Weibring, Scott Hoch, Tom Lehman, Willie Wood, Justin Leonard, Clarence Rose, Guy Boros, Dudley Hart, Ed Fiori???, Fred Funk, Michael Bradley, Tiger Woods, David Ogrin, Jeff Sluman, Steve Elkington, Stuart Appleby
The top 125 PGA Tour members from the final 1996 Official Money List.
Davis Love III, Brad Faxon, David Duval, Kenny Perry, Greg Norman, Tommy Tolles, Vijay Singh, Jeff Maggert, Jim Furyk, Mark Calcavecchia, Duffy Waldorf, Lee Janzen, Woody Austin, Payne Stewart, Bob Tway, Jay Haas, John Huston, Mark McCumber, Tim Herron, Rocco Mediate, Craig Parry, Paul Goydos, Billy Andrade, Colin Montgomerie, Scott McCarron, Nick Price, Tom Purtzer, Jesper Parnevik, David Frost, Billy Mayfair, Fuzzy Zoeller, Jay Don Blake, Craig Stadler, Jerry Kelly, Andrew Magee, Greg Kraft, Russ Cochran, Lennie Clements, John Morse, Kirk Triplett, Tom Kite, Larry Mize, Scott Simpson, Kelly Gibson, Larry Nelson, Nolan Henke, Grant Waite, Glen Day, Emlyn Aubrey, Jim Gallagher Jr., Joey Sindelar, Rick Fehr, Patrick Burke, Steve Lowery, Frank Nobilo, Marco Dawson, Mike Brisky, Gil Morgan, John Adams, Brad Bryant, Robert Gamez, Joel Edwards, Ronnie Black, Len Mattiace, Mike Hulbert, Brandel Chamblee, Paul Azinger, Phil Blackmar, Brad Fabel, Chip Beck, Joe Ozaki, Olin Browne, Jim Carter, Taylor Smith, Doug Martin, Neal Lancaster, David Toms, David Edwards, Mark Wiebe, Wayne Levi, Hal Sutton, Pete Jordan, Lee Rinker, Chris Perry, John Maginnes, Hugh Royer III, John Wilson, Curtis Strange, Blaine McCallister, Scott Gump, Ben Crenshaw, Dave Stockton Jr., John Daly, Omar Uresti, Dan Forsman, Scott Dunlap, Dicky Pride
Winners in the last 10 calendar years of The Players Championship, Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, PGA Championship, and NEC World Series of Golf.
Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam, Bernhard Langer, Wayne Grady, Mike Reid, Fulton Allem
British Open winners since 1990.
Eight players, not otherwise eligible, designated by The Players Championship Committee as "special selections."
Costantino Rocca, Sam Torrance, Robert Allenby, Mark McNulty, Masashi Ozaki, Brian Watts
Any players, not otherwise eligible, who are among the top 10 money winners from the 1997 Official Money List through the Bay Hill Invitational
To complete a field of 144 players, those players in order, not otherwise eligible, from the 1997 Official Money List through the Bay Hill Invitational.
Source:

## Field

Robert Damron, Joe Durant, Donnie Hammond, Brian Henninger, Peter Jacobsen, Don Pooley, Ted Tryba

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, March 27, 1997
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Steve Elkington | 66 | −6 |
| T2 | Mark Calcavecchia | 67 | −5 |
| T2 | Russ Cochran | 67 | −5 |
| T2 | David Edwards | 67 | −5 |
| T2 | Tom Lehman | 67 | −5 |
| T2 | Fuzzy Zoeller | 67 | −5 |
| T7 | Billy Andrade | 68 | −4 |
| T7 | Michael Bradley | 68 | −4 |
| T7 | Ernie Els | 68 | −4 |
| T7 | Jay Haas | 68 | −4 |
| T7 | Sandy Lyle | 68 | −4 |
| T7 | Larry Mize | 68 | −4 |
| T7 | Naomichi Ozaki | 68 | −4 |
| T7 | Tom Purtzer | 68 | −4 |
| T7 | Taylor Smith | 68 | −4 |
| T7 | Dave Stockton | 68 | −4 |
Source:

### Second round

Friday, March 28, 1997
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Steve Elkington | 66-69=135 | −9 |
| 2 | Larry Mize | 68-68=136 | −8 |
| T3 | David Edwards | 67-70=137 | −7 |
| T3 | Tommy Tolles | 70-67=137 | −7 |
| T3 | Tom Lehman | 67-71=138 | −6 |
| T3 | Davis Love III | 72-66=138 | −6 |
| T3 | Craig Parry | 71-67=138 | −6 |
| T3 | Brian Watts | 70-68=138 | −6 |
| T7 | Ernie Els | 68-71=139 | −5 |
| T7 | Brad Faxon | 70-69=139 | −5 |
| T7 | Tom Purtzer | 68-71=139 | −5 |
| T7 | Dave Stockton | 68-71=139 | −5 |
| T7 | Kirk Triplett | 71-68=139 | −5 |
| T7 | Fuzzy Zoeller | 67-72=139 | −5 |
Source:

### Third round

Saturday, March 29, 1997
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Steve Elkington | 66-69-68=203 | −13 |
| 2 | Scott Hoch | 69-71-65=205 | −11 |
| T3 | Billy Andrade | 68-72-68=208 | −8 |
| T3 | Tom Purtzer | 68-71-69=208 | −8 |
| 5 | Kirk Triplett | 71-68-70=209 | −7 |
| T6 | Mark Brooks | 72-68-70=210 | −6 |
| T6 | Larry Mize | 68-68-74=210 | −6 |
| T6 | Tommy Tolles | 70-67-73=210 | −6 |
| T9 | Ernie Els | 68-71-72=211 | −5 |
| T9 | Brad Faxon | 70-69-72=211 | −5 |
| T9 | Robert Gamez | 70-73-68=211 | −5 |
| T9 | Tom Lehman | 67-71-73=211 | −5 |
| T9 | Davis Love III | 72-66-73=211 | −5 |
| T9 | Colin Montgomerie | 70-70-71=211 | −5 |
| T9 | Loren Roberts | 70-74-67=211 | −5 |
Source:

### Final round

Sunday, March 30, 1997
* Champion
* (c) = past champion
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| 1 | Steve Elkington (c) | 66-69-68-69=272 | −16 | 630,000 |
| 2 | Scott Hoch | 69-71-65-74=279 | −9 | 378,000 |
| 3 | Loren Roberts | 70-74-67-69=280 | −8 | 238,000 |
| 4 | Brad Faxon | 70-69-72-70=281 | −7 | 168,000 |
| 5 | Billy Andrade | 68-72-68-74=282 | −6 | 140,000 |
| 6 | Tom Lehman | 67-71-73-72=283 | −5 | 126,000 |
| T7 | Mark Brooks | 72-68-70-74=284 | −4 | 109,083 |
| T7 | Colin Montgomerie | 70-70-71-73=284 | −4 | 109,083 |
| T7 | Tommy Tolles | 70-67-73-74=284 | −4 | 109,083 |
| T10 | Russ Cochran | 67-74-72-72=285 | −3 | 84,000 |
| T10 | Fred Couples (c) | 71-74-71-69=285 | −3 | 84,000 |
| T10 | Ernie Els | 68-71-72-74=285 | −3 | 84,000 |
| T10 | Kirk Triplett | 71-68-70-76=285 | −3 | 84,000 |
Leaderboard below the top 10 :
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| T14 | Stuart Appleby | 71-71-70-74=286 | −2 | 54,250 |
| T14 | Paul Azinger | 72-72-71-71=286 | −2 | 54,250 |
| T14 | Michael Bradley | 68-74-72-72=286 | −2 | 54,250 |
| T14 | David Edwards | 67-70-76-73=286 | −2 | 54,250 |
| T14 | Fred Funk | 71-75-68-72=286 | −2 | 54,250 |
| T14 | Larry Mize | 68-68-74-76=286 | −2 | 54,250 |
| T14 | Paul Stankowski | 73-70-71-72=286 | −2 | 54,250 |
| T14 | Fuzzy Zoeller | 67-72-73-74=286 | −2 | 54,250 |
| T22 | John Cook | 73-69-72-73=287 | −1 | 37,800 |
| T22 | Craig Parry | 71-67-80-69=287 | −1 | 37,800 |
| T24 | Mark Calcavecchia | 67-75-71-75=288 | E | 27,700 |
| T24 | Nick Faldo | 71-72-73-72=288 | E | 27,700 |
| T24 | Robert Gamez | 70-73-68-77=288 | E | 27,700 |
| T24 | Doug Martin | 72-71-75-70=288 | E | 27,700 |
| T24 | Len Mattiace | 71-72-71-74=288 | E | 27,700 |
| T24 | Nick Price (c) | 75-68-74-71=288 | E | 27,700 |
| T24 | Tom Purtzer | 68-71-69-80=288 | E | 27,700 |
| T31 | Rick Fehr | 74-67-75-73=289 | +1 | 20,300 |
| T31 | Bernhard Langer | 71-73-75-70=289 | +1 | 20,300 |
| T31 | Chris Perry | 74-71-70-74=289 | +1 | 20,300 |
| T31 | Joey Sindelar | 71-73-73-72=289 | +1 | 20,300 |
| T31 | Vijay Singh | 71-69-74-75=289 | +1 | 20,300 |
| T31 | Tiger Woods | 71-73-72-73=289 | +1 | 20,300 |
| T37 | Nolan Henke | 72-73-73-72=290 | +2 | 15,400 |
| T37 | Lee Janzen (c) | 73-73-74-70=290 | +2 | 15,400 |
| T37 | Pete Jordan | 72-74-73-71=290 | +2 | 15,400 |
| T37 | Justin Leonard | 71-71-70-78=290 | +2 | 15,400 |
| T37 | Brian Watts | 70-68-74-78=290 | +2 | 15,400 |
| T37 | Willie Wood | 74-71-70-75=290 | +2 | 15,400 |
| T43 | David Duval | 74-69-74-74=291 | +3 | 11,550 |
| T43 | Jay Haas | 68-76-74-73=291 | +3 | 11,550 |
| T43 | Mark McNulty | 71-73-69-78=291 | +3 | 11,550 |
| T43 | Costantino Rocca | 74-69-73-75=291 | +3 | 11,550 |
| T43 | Duffy Waldorf | 71-70-75-75=291 | +3 | 11,550 |
| T48 | Peter Jacobsen | 75-71-73-73=292 | +4 | 9,345 |
| T48 | Omar Uresti | 73-69-72-78=292 | +4 | 9,345 |
| T50 | Masashi Ozaki | 70-76-71-76=293 | +5 | 8,610 |
| T50 | Dave Stockton Jr. | 68-71-77-77=293 | +5 | 8,610 |
| T50 | Hal Sutton (c) | 70-71-74-78=293 | +5 | 8,610 |
| T53 | Phil Blackmar | 71-74-74-75=294 | +6 | 7,953 |
| T53 | Robert Damron | 69-72-78-75=294 | +6 | 7,953 |
| T53 | Jim Furyk | 71-74-70-79=294 | +6 | 7,953 |
| T53 | Andrew Magee | 71-71-76-76=294 | +6 | 7,953 |
| T53 | Gil Morgan | 71-72-73-78=294 | +6 | 7,953 |
| T53 | Greg Norman (c) | 71-72-72-79=294 | +6 | 7,953 |
| T53 | Taylor Smith | 68-73-76-77=294 | +6 | 7,953 |
| T53 | Tom Watson | 70-71-79-74=294 | +6 | 7,953 |
| 61 | Glen Day | 70-72-76-77=295 | +7 | 7,630 |
| T62 | Jay Don Blake | 73-72-72-79=296 | +8 | 7,490 |
| T62 | Mike Hulbert | 70-71-77-78=296 | +8 | 7,490 |
| T62 | Mike Reid | 71-74-74-77=296 | +8 | 7,490 |
| T65 | Scott Gump | 71-75-72-79=297 | +9 | 7,280 |
| T65 | Steve Lowery | 73-72-74-78=297 | +9 | 7,280 |
| T65 | Naomichi Ozaki | 68-74-74-81=297 | +9 | 7,280 |
| T68 | John Huston | 72-70-77-79=298 | +10 | 7,105 |
| T68 | Don Pooley | 71-74-71-82=298 | +10 | 7,105 |
| T70 | Jim Gallagher Jr. | 72-74-75-78=299 | +11 | 6,930 |
| T70 | Sandy Lyle (c) | 68-74-77-80=299 | +11 | 6,930 |
| T70 | Mark O'Meara | 73-72-76-78=299 | +11 | 6,930 |
| 73 | Mike Brisky | 71-71-80-79=301 | +13 | 6,790 |
| 74 | John Wilson | 70-74-79-79=302 | +14 | 6,720 |
| 75 | Lee Rinker | 74-72-77-81=304 | +16 | 6,650 |
| CUT | Emlyn Aubrey | 74-73=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Jim Carter | 72-75=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Kelly Gibson | 71-76=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Brian Henninger | 75-72=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Neal Lancaster | 74-73=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Billy Mayfair | 74-73=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Rocco Mediate | 72-75=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Corey Pavin | 75-72=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Payne Stewart | 69-78=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Bob Tway | 74-73=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | John Adams | 74-74=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Olin Browne | 73-75=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Marco Dawson | 74-74=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Joel Edwards | 71-77=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Tom Kite (c) | 75-73=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Greg Kraft | 73-75=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | John Maginnes | 74-74=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Scott Simpson | 71-77=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Jeff Sluman | 78-70=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Ted Tryba | 72-76=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Mark Wiebe | 74-74=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Brandel Chamblee | 73-76=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Lennie Clements | 74-75=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Dudley Hart | 76-73=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Scott McCarron | 73-76=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | John Morse | 74-75=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Kenny Perry | 73-76=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Craig Stadler | 73-76=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Steve Stricker | 74-75=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Sam Torrance | 78-71=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Grant Waite | 78-71=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Paul Goydos | 77-73=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Donnie Hammond | 74-76=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Steve Jones | 73-77=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | David Ogrin | 77-73=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Jesper Parnevik | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Dicky Pride | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Woody Austin | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Scott Dunlap | 75-76=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Joe Durant | 73-78=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Dan Forsman | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Tim Herron | 75-76=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Mark McCumber (c) | 77-74=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Ronnie Black | 78-74=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Larry Nelson | 73-79=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Frank Nobilo | 74-78=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Hugh Royer III | 77-75=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Brad Bryant | 75-78=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Wayne Levi | 76-77=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Phil Mickelson | 77-76=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | David Toms | 77-76=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | D. A. Weibring | 77-76=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Jerry Kelly | 79-75=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Jeff Maggert | 76-78=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Blaine McCallister | 74-80=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Clarence Rose | 74-80=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Wayne Grady | 80-75=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Curtis Strange | 81-74=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Brad Fabel | 78-78=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Fulton Allem | 80-77=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Chip Beck | 77-80=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Robert Allenby | 83-77=160 | +16 | |
| CUT | Ben Crenshaw | 81-79=160 | +16 | |
| WD | Guy Boros | 74 | +2 | |
| WD | John Daly | 76 | +4 | |
| WD | Ian Woosnam | 76 | +4 | |
| WD | Patrick Burke | 80 | +8 | |
| WD | David Frost | 81 | +9 | |
| DQ | Davis Love III (c) | 72-66-73=211 | −5 | |
Source: