# 2002 Players Championship

The 2002 Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 21–24 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the 29th Players Championship.
Unheralded Craig Perks gained his only career win on the PGA Tour, two strokes ahead of runner-up Stephen Ames. In the last three holes, Perks chipped in twice; for eagle at 16 and for par at 18. In between, he made a 25-foot (7.6 m) birdie putt on the Island Green; he had only two pars in the last fourteen holes.
Starting the year at 256 in the world rankings, Perks moved from 203 to 64 with the win.
Defending champion Tiger Woods finished seven strokes back, in a tie for fourteenth place.

## Venue

This was the 21st Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course and it remained at 7,093 yards (6,486 m).

## Field

Fulton Allem, Robert Allenby, Stephen Ames, Billy Andrade, Stuart Appleby, Woody Austin, Paul Azinger, Briny Baird, Craig Barlow, Cameron Beckman, Rich Beem, Notah Begay III, David Berganio Jr., Thomas Bjørn, Jay Don Blake, Mark Brooks, Olin Browne, Ángel Cabrera, Mark Calcavecchia, Michael Campbell, Jim Carter, Greg Chalmers, Brandel Chamblee, K. J. Choi, Stewart Cink, Michael Clark II, Darren Clarke, John Cook, Fred Couples, John Daly, Robert Damron, Glen Day, Chris DiMarco, Scott Dunlap, Joe Durant, David Duval, Joel Edwards, Steve Elkington, Ernie Els, Bob Estes, Nick Faldo, Niclas Fasth, Brad Faxon, Steve Flesch, Dan Forsman, Carlos Franco, Harrison Frazar, David Frost, Ed Fryatt, Fred Funk, Jim Furyk, Sergio García, Brian Gay, Brent Geiberger, Matt Gogel, Retief Goosen, David Gossett, Paul Gow, Jay Haas, Pádraig Harrington, Dudley Hart, J. P. Hayes, J. J. Henry, Tim Herron, Glen Hnatiuk, Scott Hoch, Charles Howell III, John Huston, Lee Janzen, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Brandt Jobe, Per-Ulrik Johansson, Steve Jones, Shingo Katayama, Jonathan Kaye, Jerry Kelly, Skip Kendall, Tom Kite, Greg Kraft, Matt Kuchar, Neal Lancaster, Bernhard Langer, Paul Lawrie, Ian Leggatt, Tom Lehman, Justin Leonard, J. L. Lewis, Frank Lickliter, Davis Love III, Steve Lowery, Jeff Maggert, Shigeki Maruyama, Len Mattiace, Bob May, Billy Mayfair, Scott McCarron, Paul McGinley, Rocco Mediate, Phil Mickelson, Larry Mize, Colin Montgomerie, Michael Muehr, Frank Nobilo, Greg Norman, Mark O'Meara, Geoff Ogilvy, José María Olazábal, Jesper Parnevik, Craig Parry, Carl Paulson, Dennis Paulson, Corey Pavin, David Peoples, Craig Perks, Tom Pernice Jr., Kenny Perry, Nick Price, Brett Quigley, Chris Riley, Loren Roberts, Rory Sabbatini, Tom Scherrer, Adam Scott, Scott Simpson, Joey Sindelar, Vijay Singh, Jeff Sluman, Chris Smith, Jerry Smith, Mike Sposa, Craig Stadler, Paul Stankowski, Steve Stricker, Kevin Sutherland, Hal Sutton, Esteban Toledo, David Toms, Kirk Triplett, Bob Tway, Scott Verplank, Grant Waite, Duffy Waldorf, Brian Watts, Mike Weir, Lee Westwood, Jay Williamson, Garrett Willis, Tiger Woods, Kaname Yokoo

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, March 21, 2002
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Phil Mickelson | 64 | −8 |
| 2 | Chris DiMarco | 66 | −6 |
| 3 | Scott Hoch | 67 | −5 |
| T4 | David Duval | 68 | −4 |
| T4 | Nick Faldo | 68 | −4 |
| T6 | Robert Allenby | 69 | −3 |
| T6 | Stuart Appleby | 69 | −3 |
| T6 | Mark Calcavecchia | 69 | −3 |
| T6 | Brian Gay | 69 | −3 |
| T6 | David Gossett | 69 | −3 |
| T6 | Jerry Kelly | 69 | −3 |
| T6 | Steve Lowery | 69 | −3 |
| T6 | Carl Paulson | 69 | −3 |
| T6 | Jeff Sluman | 69 | −3 |
| T6 | Steve Stricker | 69 | −3 |
| T6 | David Toms | 69 | −3 |

### Second round

Friday, March 22, 2002 Saturday, March 23, 2002
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Carl Paulson | 69-69=138 | −6 |
| T1 | Jeff Sluman | 69-69=138 | −6 |
| T3 | Mark Calcavecchia | 69-70=139 | −5 |
| T3 | Phil Mickelson | 64-75=139 | −5 |
| T3 | Craig Perks | 71-68=139 | −5 |
| 6 | Michael Campbell | 72-68=140 | −4 |
| T7 | Chris DiMarco | 66-75=141 | −3 |
| T7 | Nick Faldo | 68-73=141 | −3 |
| T7 | Rocco Mediate | 71-70=141 | −3 |
| T7 | David Toms | 69-72=141 | −3 |

### Third round

Saturday, March 23, 2002
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Carl Paulson | 69-69-69=207 | −9 |
| 2 | Craig Perks | 71-68-69=208 | −8 |
| T3 | Rocco Mediate | 71-70-69=210 | −6 |
| T3 | Jeff Sluman | 69-69-72=210 | −6 |
| T5 | David Toms | 69-72-70=211 | −5 |
| T5 | Mike Weir | 70-73-68=211 | −5 |
| T7 | Billy Andrade | 73-69-70=212 | −4 |
| T7 | Mark Calcavecchia | 69-70-73=212 | −4 |
| T7 | Scott Hoch | 67-77-68=212 | −4 |
| T10 | Nick Faldo | 68-73-72=213 | −3 |
| T10 | Sergio García | 70-72-71=213 | −3 |
| T10 | Steve Lowery | 69-73-71=213 | −3 |
| T10 | Shigeki Maruyama | 72-72-69=213 | −3 |
| T10 | Tiger Woods | 71-72-70=213 | −3 |
Source:

### Final round

Sunday, March 24, 2002
Craig Perks chipped in on the 16th and 18th holes to win the championship, his only PGA Tour victory. His lone putt in the last three holes was a 28-foot birdie putt on the 17th.
* Champion
* (c) = past champion
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| 1 | Craig Perks | 71-68-69-72=280 | −8 | 1,080,000 |
| 2 | Stephen Ames | 74-69-72-67=282 | −6 | 648,000 |
| 3 | Rocco Mediate | 71-70-69-73=283 | −5 | 408,000 |
| T4 | Billy Andrade | 73-69-70-72=284 | −4 | 226,200 |
| T4 | Sergio García | 70-72-71-71=284 | −4 | 226,200 |
| T4 | Scott Hoch | 67-77-68-72=284 | −4 | 226,200 |
| T4 | Carl Paulson | 69-69-69-77=284 | −4 | 226,200 |
| T4 | Jeff Sluman | 69-69-72-74=284 | −4 | 226,200 |
| T9 | John Huston | 73-69-73-70=285 | −3 | 168,000 |
| T9 | Nick Price (c) | 74-71-71-69=285 | −3 | 168,000 |
Leaderboard below the top 10 :
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| T11 | Robert Allenby | 69-73-72-72=286 | −2 | 138,000 |
| T11 | Michael Campbell | 72-68-74-72=286 | −2 | 138,000 |
| T11 | Jerry Kelly | 69-76-74-67=286 | −2 | 138,000 |
| T14 | Jim Furyk | 71-72-71-73=287 | −1 | 102,000 |
| T14 | Retief Goosen | 71-71-72-73=287 | −1 | 102,000 |
| T14 | Jeff Maggert | 72-72-71-72=287 | −1 | 102,000 |
| T14 | Shigeki Maruyama | 72-72-69-74=287 | −1 | 102,000 |
| T14 | Tiger Woods (c) | 71-72-70-74=287 | −1 | 102,000 |
| T19 | Steve Stricker | 69-74-71-74=288 | E | 78,000 |
| T19 | David Toms | 69-72-70-77=288 | E | 78,000 |
| T19 | Mike Weir | 70-73-68-77=288 | E | 78,000 |
| T22 | Thomas Bjørn | 74-72-75-68=289 | +1 | 55,700 |
| T22 | Carlos Franco | 75-69-72-73=289 | +1 | 55,700 |
| T22 | Pádraig Harrington | 70-72-77-70=289 | +1 | 55,700 |
| T22 | Bernhard Langer | 75-71-72-71=289 | +1 | 55,700 |
| T22 | Steve Lowery | 69-73-71-76=289 | +1 | 55,700 |
| T22 | Chris Riley | 71-74-74-70=289 | +1 | 55,700 |
| T28 | Stuart Appleby | 69-74-75-72=290 | +2 | 38,212 |
| T28 | K. J. Choi | 71-75-73-71=290 | +2 | 38,212 |
| T28 | David Duval (c) | 68-75-72-75=290 | +2 | 38,212 |
| T28 | Tim Herron | 71-73-74-72=290 | +2 | 38,212 |
| T28 | Tom Lehman | 73-71-74-72=290 | +2 | 38,212 |
| T28 | Phil Mickelson | 64-75-75-76=290 | +2 | 38,212 |
| T28 | Bob Tway | 74-68-77-71=290 | +2 | 38,212 |
| T28 | Scott Verplank | 71-75-73-71=290 | +2 | 38,212 |
| T36 | Ángel Cabrera | 71-72-73-75=291 | +3 | 26,437 |
| T36 | Glen Day | 71-75-73-72=291 | +3 | 26,437 |
| T36 | Chris DiMarco | 66-75-74-76=291 | +3 | 26,437 |
| T36 | Brad Faxon | 71-73-74-73=291 | +3 | 26,437 |
| T36 | Tom Kite (c) | 72-71-79-69=291 | +3 | 26,437 |
| T36 | Bob May | 73-70-73-75=291 | +3 | 26,437 |
| T36 | José María Olazábal | 73-73-71-74=291 | +3 | 26,437 |
| T36 | Craig Stadler | 71-72-72-76=291 | +3 | 26,437 |
| T44 | Rich Beem | 72-74-80-66=292 | +4 | 18,648 |
| T44 | Ernie Els | 76-69-79-68=292 | +4 | 18,648 |
| T44 | Bob Estes | 70-74-78-70=292 | +4 | 18,648 |
| T44 | Harrison Frazar | 73-71-71-77=292 | +4 | 18,648 |
| T44 | Justin Leonard (c) | 72-74-72-74=292 | +4 | 18,648 |
| T49 | Briny Baird | 71-74-74-74=293 | +5 | 14,430 |
| T49 | Jim Carter | 74-72-73-74=293 | +5 | 14,430 |
| T49 | Brandel Chamblee | 74-69-78-72=293 | +5 | 14,430 |
| T49 | Nick Faldo | 68-73-72-80=293 | +5 | 14,430 |
| T49 | Jay Haas | 71-71-74-77=293 | +5 | 14,430 |
| T49 | Dudley Hart | 71-72-72-78=293 | +5 | 14,430 |
| T49 | Frank Lickliter | 76-70-73-74=293 | +5 | 14,430 |
| T49 | Loren Roberts | 72-71-73-77=293 | +5 | 14,430 |
| T57 | Mark Brooks | 72-70-74-78=294 | +6 | 13,440 |
| T57 | Jonathan Kaye | 72-72-77-73=294 | +6 | 13,440 |
| T57 | Craig Parry | 72-73-72-77=294 | +6 | 13,440 |
| T60 | Joel Edwards | 70-72-75-78=295 | +7 | 13,080 |
| T60 | Charles Howell III | 71-74-78-72=295 | +7 | 13,080 |
| T60 | Kenny Perry | 73-71-76-75=295 | +7 | 13,080 |
| T63 | Steve Elkington (c) | 74-68-77-77=296 | +8 | 12,600 |
| T63 | Brian Gay | 69-76-80-71=296 | +8 | 12,600 |
| T63 | J. L. Lewis | 74-70-71-81=296 | +8 | 12,600 |
| T63 | Colin Montgomerie | 70-76-72-78=296 | +8 | 12,600 |
| T63 | Scott Simpson | 72-72-76-76=296 | +8 | 12,600 |
| 68 | Neal Lancaster | 73-71-75-78=297 | +9 | 12,240 |
| T69 | Mark Calcavecchia | 69-70-73-86=298 | +10 | 11,940 |
| T69 | David Gossett | 69-72-78-79=298 | +10 | 11,940 |
| T69 | Len Mattiace | 71-75-71-81=298 | +10 | 11,940 |
| T69 | Tom Pernice Jr. | 70-75-78-75=298 | +10 | 11,940 |
| 73 | Esteban Toledo | 73-72-78-76=299 | +11 | 11,640 |
| 74 | Robert Damron | 74-71-80-75=300 | +12 | 11,520 |
| 75 | David Frost | 71-75-75-82=303 | +15 | 11,400 |
| CUT | Fulton Allem | 73-74=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Woody Austin | 73-74=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Stewart Cink | 73-74=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | John Cook | 76-71=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | John Daly | 76-71=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Joe Durant | 73-74=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Dan Forsman | 73-74=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Shingo Katayama | 72-75=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Ian Leggatt | 74-73=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Davis Love III (c) | 73-74=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Paul McGinley | 75-72=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Larry Mize | 70-77=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Mark O'Meara | 74-73=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Vijay Singh | 76-71=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Paul Stankowski | 76-71=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Hal Sutton (c) | 73-74=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Brian Watts | 74-73=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Olin Browne | 73-75=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Glen Hnatiuk | 76-72=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Jesper Parnevik | 74-74=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | David Peoples | 70-78=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Jerry Smith | 70-78=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Kevin Sutherland | 79-69=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Kirk Triplett | 76-72=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Grant Waite | 71-77=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Jay Don Blake | 74-75=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Darren Clarke | 76-73=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Fred Funk | 76-73=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Lee Janzen (c) | 77-72=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Per-Ulrik Johansson | 72-77=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Steve Jones | 75-74=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Greg Kraft | 73-76=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Geoff Ogilvy | 76-73=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Duffy Waldorf | 77-72=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Jay Williamson | 71-78=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Paul Azinger | 72-78=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Scott Dunlap | 78-72=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Brent Geiberger | 72-78=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | J. J. Henry | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Billy Mayfair | 76-74=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Scott McCarron | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Joey Sindelar | 80-70=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Lee Westwood | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Brett Quigley | 73-78=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Tom Scherrer | 74-77=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Adam Scott | 77-74=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Notah Begay III | 80-72=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Fred Couples (c) | 78-74=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Niclas Fasth | 76-76=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Matt Gogel | 74-78=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | J. P. Hayes | 73-79=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Paul Lawrie | 73-79=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Greg Norman (c) | 74-78=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Craig Barlow | 76-77=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Paul Gow | 79-74=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Miguel Ángel Jiménez | 72-81=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Corey Pavin | 78-75=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Rory Sabbatini | 77-76=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Mike Sposa | 74-79=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Garrett Willis | 76-77=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Cameron Beckman | 80-74=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Michael Clark II | 73-81=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Steve Flesch | 78-76=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Skip Kendall | 81-73=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Dennis Paulson | 77-77=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Chris Smith | 76-78=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Kaname Yokoo | 79-75=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Ed Fryatt | 79-76=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Frank Nobilo | 78-77=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Brandt Jobe | 80-77=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Greg Chalmers | 76-82=158 | +14 | |
| WD | Matt Kuchar | 73 | +1 | |
| WD | David Berganio Jr. | | | |
| DQ | Michael Muehr | 81 | +9 | |
Source:

#### Scorecard

Final round
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Perks | −7 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −7 | −8 | −7 | −6 | −6 | −7 | −6 | −7 | −6 | −5 | −7 | −8 | −8 |
| Ames | −1 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −4 | −5 | −6 | −7 | −6 | −6 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −6 |
| Mediate | −6 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −3 | −2 | −3 | −4 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −5 | −5 | −5 |
| Andrade | −4 | −4 | −4 | −5 | −5 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −4 | −4 |
| García | −3 | −3 | −2 | −2 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −5 | −5 | −4 |
| Hoch | −4 | −4 | −4 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −6 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −4 |
| Paulson | −10 | −10 | −9 | −8 | −7 | −6 | −6 | −5 | −6 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −5 | −5 | −4 |
| Sluman | −6 | −7 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −6 | −4 | −4 | −5 | −5 | −4 |
| Toms | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −4 | −4 | −3 | −4 | −3 | −4 | −3 | −2 | −2 | −2 | E | E | E | E |
| Weir | −4 | −5 | −5 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −4 | −3 | −3 | −2 | E | E |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
| Eagle | Birdie | Bogey | Double Bogey |
Source: