# 1977 Tournament Players Championship

The 1977 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 17–20 at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. The fourth Tournament Players Championship,it was the first standalone version of the tournament after the first three editions were attached to previously established tournaments. It was the first of five consecutive at Sawgrass, which had agreed a multi-year with the PGA Tour in 1976.
Mark Hayes was the champion in windy conditions at 289 (+1), two strokes ahead of runner-up Mike McCullough. McCullough and Tom Watson were the co-leaders after the third round, with Hayes a stroke back. Defending champion Jack Nicklaus finished four strokes back, in a tie for fifth place.
Bob Menne set the tour's 72-hole record for fewest putts with 99, but tied for 47th at 303 (+15). The record had been 102 putts, by Bert Yancey in 1966 at his victory in the final Portland Open Invitational.

## Venue

This was the first of five Tournament Players Championships held at Sawgrass Country Club; it moved to the nearby TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course in 1982. The venues for the first three editions in Georgia, Texas, and south Florida were familiar to most of the participants as those courses had recently hosted multiple PGA Tour events; this was the first tour event at Sawgrass.

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, March 17, 1977
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Mike McCullough | 66 | −6 |
| T3 | Don Bies | 68 | −4 |
| T3 | Raymond Floyd | 68 | −4 |
| T3 | Tom Watson | 68 | −4 |
| T6 | Bruce Devlin | 69 | −3 |
| T6 | Billy Kratzert | 69 | −3 |
| T6 | Ed Sabo | 69 | −3 |
| T6 | J. C. Snead | 69 | −3 |
| T10 | Hubert Green | 71 | −1 |
| T10 | Peter Oosterhuis | 71 | −1 |
| T10 | John Schroeder | 71 | −1 |
Source:

### Second round

Friday, March 18, 1977
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Mike McCullough | 66-74=140 | −4 |
| 2 | Tom Watson | 68-74=142 | −2 |
| T3 | Raymond Floyd | 68-76=144 | E |
| T3 | Bob E. Smith | 73-71=144 | E |
| 5 | J. C. Snead | 69-76=145 | +1 |
| 6 | Mark Hayes | 72-74=146 | +2 |
| T7 | Jack Nicklaus | 73-74=147 | +3 |
| T7 | Bill Rogers | 75-72=147 | +3 |
| T7 | Tom Weiskopf | 75-72=147 | +3 |
| T7 | Larry Ziegler | 74-73=147 | +3 |
Source:

### Third round

Saturday, March 19, 1977
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Mike McCullough | 66-74-76=216 | E |
| T1 | Tom Watson | 68-74-74=216 | E |
| 3 | Mark Hayes | 72-74-71=217 | +1 |
| T4 | Raymond Floyd | 68-76-74=218 | +2 |
| T4 | Hale Irwin | 72-77-69=218 | +2 |
| 6 | Jack Nicklaus | 73-74-72=219 | +3 |
| T7 | Bruce Devlin | 69-79-72=220 | +4 |
| T7 | J. C. Snead | 69-76-75=220 | +4 |
| T9 | Danny Edwards | 75-76-70=221 | +5 |
| T9 | Tom Jenkins | 75-75-71=221 | +5 |
| T9 | Larry Nelson | 74-74-73=221 | +5 |
Source:

### Final round

Sunday, March 20, 1977
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| 1 | Mark Hayes | 72-74-71-72=289 | +1 | 60,000 |
| 2 | Mike McCullough | 66-74-76-75=291 | +3 | 34,200 |
| T3 | Bruce Devlin | 69-79-72-72=292 | +4 | 17,700 |
| T3 | Hale Irwin | 72-77-69-74=292 | +4 | 17,700 |
| T5 | Graham Marsh | 73-77-72-71=293 | +5 | 10,900 |
| T5 | Jack Nicklaus | 73-74-72-74=293 | +5 | 10,900 |
| T5 | Tom Watson | 68-74-74-77=293 | +5 | 10,900 |
| T8 | Steve Melnyk | 73-76-73-72=294 | +6 | 8,150 |
| T8 | Larry Nelson | 74-74-73-73=294 | +6 | 8,150 |
| T8 | Bill Rogers | 75-72-76-71=294 | +6 | 8,150 |
Source: