1982 Tournament Players Championship

Golf tournament

TPC Sawgrass

Location in the United States

Show map of the United States

TPC Sawgrass

Location in Florida

Show map of Florida

← 1981

1983 →

The 1982 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held March 18–21 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the ninth Tournament Players Championship and the first at the new course.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Playing an orange ball,^[6] Jerry Pate shot a final round 67 (−5) to win by two strokes over runners-up Scott Simpson and Brad Bryant.^[7] Pate started the final round three strokes behind the leaders, in a tie for sixth place.^[2]^[8] Following his win, Pate pushed tour commissioner Deane Beman and course designer Pete Dye into the lake along the 18th green, and then joined them.^[7]^[9]^[10]^[11]

Notables to miss the cut included hall of famers Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and, Lee Trevino.^[12]

Defending champion Raymond Floyd finished eleven strokes back, in a tie for 22nd place.

Venue

This was the first Tournament Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course;^[3]^[4]^[5] its 1982 setup measured 6,857 yards (6,270 m).^[13] The debut was delayed a year due to heavy rains during construction.^[4]

Eligibility requirements

All designated players
Winners of major TPA Tour co-sponsored or approved events beginning with the 1981 Tournament Players Championship and concluding with the tournament immediately preceding the 1982 TPC
The current British Open champion
Leaders in the TPA Tour Official Standings as necessary to complete the field, beginning with the 1981 TPC and concluding with the Bay Hill Classic, which concludes March 7, 1982

Source:^[14]

Field

John Adams, Buddy Allin, Isao Aoki, George Archer, Seve Ballesteros, Jim Barber, Miller Barber, Dave Barr, Beau Baugh, Andy Bean, Chip Beck, Woody Blackburn, Jim Booros, Bill Britton, Brad Bryant, George Burns, Bob Byman, George Cadle, Rex Caldwell, Bill Calfee, Bobby Clampett, Lennie Clements, Jim Colbert, Bobby Cole, Frank Conner, Charles Coody, John Cook, Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw, Rod Curl, Jim Dent, Bruce Devlin, Terry Diehl, Mike Donald, Ed Dougherty, Bruce Douglass, Bob Eastwood, Danny Edwards, David Edwards, Dave Eichelberger, Lee Elder, Nick Faldo, Keith Fergus, Forrest Fezler, Ed Fiori, Bruce Fleisher, Raymond Floyd, Gibby Gilbert, Bob Gilder, David Graham, Lou Graham, Thomas Gray, Hubert Green, Jay Haas, Joe Hager, Gary Hallberg, Dan Halldorson, Phil Hancock, Morris Hatalsky, Mark Hayes, Vance Heafner, Jerry Heard, Skeeter Heath, Scott Hoch, Mike Holland, Joe Inman, Hale Irwin, Peter Jacobsen, Barry Jaeckel, Don January, Tom Jenkins, Grier Jones, Tom Kite, Billy Kratzert, Wayne Levi, Don Levin, Bruce Lietzke, Pat Lindsey, Lyn Lott, Mark Lye, John Mahaffey, Roger Maltbie, Rik Massengale, Terry Mauney, John Mazza, Gary McCord, Mike McCullough, Mark McCumber, Pat McGowan, Allen Miller, Johnny Miller, Jeff Mitchell, Gil Morgan, Mike Morley, Bob Murphy, Jim Nelford, Larry Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Mike Nicolette, Lonnie Nielsen, Andy North, Mark O'Meara, Peter Oosterhuis, Arnold Palmer, Jerry Pate, Calvin Peete, Mark Pfeil, Gary Player, Dan Pohl, Don Pooley, Greg Powers, Tom Purtzer, Sammy Rachels, Victor Regalado, Mike Reid, Jack Renner, Chi-Chi Rodríguez, Bill Rogers, John Schroeder, Bob Shearer, Jim Simons, Scott Simpson, Tim Simpson, J. C. Snead, Sam Snead, Ed Sneed, Craig Stadler, Dave Stockton, Curtis Strange, Ron Streck, Mike Sullivan, Doug Tewell, Barney Thompson, Leonard Thompson, David Thore, Jim Thorpe, Lee Trevino, Gary Trivisonno, Howard Twitty, Tommy Valentine, Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins, Denis Watson, Tom Watson, D. A. Weibring, Tom Weiskopf, Fuzzy Zoeller

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, March 18, 1982

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	George Burns	67	−5
	Lyn Lott
	Larry Nelson
T4	Vance Heafner	68	−4
	Skeeter Heath
	Pat Lindsey
	Scott Simpson
	Ed Sneed
T9	George Archer	69	−3
	Bob Eastwood
	Bruce Fleisher
	Gibby Gilbert
	Don January
	Bruce Lietzke
	Roger Maltbie
	Jim Simons
	Jim Thorpe

Source:^[13]

Second round

Friday, March 19, 1982
Saturday, March 20, 1982

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Vance Heafner	68-70=138	−6
	Hale Irwin	70-68=138
	Lyn Lott	67-71=138
	Scott Simpson	68-70=138
	Tim Simpson	72-66=138
T6	Brad Bryant	70-69=139	−5
	Larry Nelson	67-72=139
	Ed Sneed	68-71=139
	Craig Stadler	71-68=139
T10	George Burns	67-73=140	−4
T10	Gibby Gilbert	69-71=140	−4

Source:^[15]^[16]

Third round

Saturday, March 20, 1982

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Brad Bryant	70-69-71=210	−6
T1	Bruce Lietzke	69-72-69=210	−6
T3	Vance Heafner	68-70-73=210	−5
T3	Scott Simpson	68-70-73=211	−5
5	George Archer	69-73-70=212	−4
T6	Hale Irwin	70-68-75=213	−3
	Jerry Pate	70-73-70=213
	Tim Simpson	72-66-75=213
	Ed Sneed	68-71-74=213
T10	Seve Ballesteros	73-72-69=214	−2
	Gibby Gilbert	69-71-74=214
	Scott Hoch	72-70-72=214
	Don January	69-73-72=214
	Roger Maltbie	69-72-73=214
	Craig Stadler	71-68-75=214
	Tom Watson	70-76-68=214

Source:^[16]

Final round

Sunday, March 21, 1982

Champion

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Jerry Pate	70-73-70-67=280	−8	90,000
T2	Brad Bryant	70-69-71-72=282	−6	44,000
T2	Scott Simpson	68-70-73-71=282	−6	44,000
4	Bruce Lietzke	69-72-69-73=283	−5	24,000
5	Roger Maltbie	69-72-73-70=284	−4	20,000
T6	Seve Ballesteros	73-72-69-72=286	−2	16,187
	Hubert Green	73-75-70-68=286
	Craig Stadler	71-68-75-72=286
	Tom Watson	70-76-68-72=286
T10	Jim Booros	73-72-71-71=287	−1	12,500
	Larry Nelson	67-72-77-71=287
	Ed Sneed	68-71-74-74=287

Leaderboard below the top 10
Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
T13	George Burns	67-73-75-73=288	E	9,100
	Vance Heafner	68-70-73-77=288
	Scott Hoch	72-70-72-74=288
	Tim Simpson	72-66-75-75=288
	J. C. Snead	72-76-70-70=288
18	Bill Rogers	73-70-75-71=289	+1	7,500
T19	Bob Eastwood	69-72-74-75=290	+2	6,500
	Hale Irwin	70-68-75-77=290
	Don January	69-73-72-76=290
T22	George Archer	69-73-70-79=291	+3	4,800
	Bob Byman	71-75-73-72=291
	Raymond Floyd (c)	78-70-71-72=291
	Gibby Gilbert	69-71-74-77=291
	Tom Weiskopf	73-68-74-76=291
T27	Jay Haas	72-66-77-77=292	+4	3,550
	Peter Jacobsen	72-72-77-71=292
	Tom Kite	71-71-75-75=292
	Mike Reid	71-74-77-70=292
	D. A. Weibring	74-73-70-75=292
T32	Bill Britton	71-76-70-76=293	+5	2,958
	Andy North	76-70-76-71=293
	Jim Thorpe	69-76-71-77=293
T35	Andy Bean	77-69-73-75=294	+6	2,412
	Bobby Cole	72-75-72-75=294
	Nick Faldo	75-70-75-74=294
	Bruce Fleisher	69-73-77-75=294
	John Mahaffey	73-72-74-75=294
	Jim Simons	69-77-72-76=294
T41	John Cook	72-75-73-75=295	+7	1,800
	Jim Dent	73-73-78-71=295
	Bruce Douglass	77-69-73-76=295
	Lee Elder	71-76-74-74=295
	Calvin Peete	73-73-79-70=295
	Denis Watson	72-74-73-76=295
T47	George Cadle	74-74-74-74=296	+8	1,345
	Mike McCullough	76-71-74-75=296
	Allen Miller	73-75-74-74=296
	Gil Morgan	70-76-78-72=296
T51	Ed Fiori	70-74-80-73=297	+9	1,184
	Phil Hancock	74-70-79-74=297
	Lyn Lott	67-71-80-79=297
	Jeff Mitchell	75-71-76-75=297
	Curtis Strange	73-74-74-76=297
T56	Jim Barber	72-75-74-77=298	+10	1,115
	Bobby Clampett	73-72-78-75=298
	Don Pooley	75-71-77-75=298
	Doug Tewell	70-75-77-76=298
	Bobby Wadkins	72-72-79-75=298
	Fuzzy Zoeller	73-73-75-77=298
T62	Skeeter Heath	68-79-76-76=299	+11	1,070
	Barry Jaeckel	72-75-76-76=299
	Tommy Valentine	73-72-72-82=299
T65	Dave Barr	75-73-79-73=300	+12	1,030
	Woody Blackburn	72-76-78-74=300
	Ed Dougherty	77-71-79-73=300
	Bob Gilder	72-74-78-76=300
	Pat Lindsey	68-78-78-76=300
T70	Lou Graham	73-74-77-77=301	+13	1,000
T70	Dan Halldorson	74-74-78-75=301	+13	1,000
T72	Gary Hallberg	70-78-77-77=302	+14	1,000
	John Mazza	75-70-76-81=302
	Bob Shearer	77-69-76-80=302
T75	Dave Eichelberger	78-69-75-81=303	+15	1,000
T75	Keith Fergus	73-73-81-76=303	+15	1,000
T77	Mark O'Meara	72-76-78-79=305	+17	1,000
T77	Dave Stockton	73-75-78-79=305	+17	1,000
79	Victor Regalado	74-72-80-81=307	+19	1,000
80	Mark Hayes (c)	71-76-81-80=308	+20	1,000
81	Billy Kratzert	74-74-81-82=311	+23	1,000
CUT	Beau Baugh	72-77=149	+5
	Chip Beck	74-75=149
	Ben Crenshaw	75-74=149
	Joe Inman	72-77=149
	Gary McCord	80-69=149
	Pat McGowan	74-75=149
	Johnny Miller	74-75=149
	Arnold Palmer	72-77=149
	Greg Powers	74-75=149
	Howard Twitty	72-77=149
	Bruce Devlin	72-78=150	+6
	Mike Donald	70-80=150
	Tom Jenkins	74-76=150
	Terry Mauney	73-77=150
	Peter Oosterhuis	73-77=150
	Lanny Wadkins (c)	74-76=150
	Joe Hager	77-74=151	+7
	Jim Nelford	72-79=151
	Jack Nicklaus (c)	73-78=151
	Gary Player	73-78=151
	Jack Renner	82-69=151
	Isao Aoki	73-79=152	+8
	Jim Colbert	74-78=152
	Danny Edwards	76-76=152
	Forrest Fezler	76-76=152
	Lonnie Nielsen	81-71=152
	Tom Purtzer	73-79=152
	Barney Thompson	71-81=152
	Miller Barber	79-74=153	+9
	Bill Calfee	75-78=153
	David Graham	77-76=153
	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	74-79=153
	Jerry Heard	76-78=154	+10
	Mark Lye	78-76=154
	Rik Massengale	79-75=154
	Mark Pfeil	74-80=154
	John Schroeder	73-81=154
	Gary Trivisonno	76-78=154
	Rex Caldwell	77-78=155	+11
	Lennie Clements	76-79=155
	Frank Conner	73-82=155
	Charles Coody	81-74=155
	Terry Diehl	73-82=155
	David Edwards	74-81=155
	Don Levin	78-77=155
	John Adams	74-82=156	+12
	Buddy Allin	75-81=156
	David Thore	77-79=156
	Thomas Gray	75-82=157	+13
	Mike Nicolette	77-80=157	+13
	Bob Murphy	79-79=158	+14
	Sam Snead	77-81=158	+14
	Fred Couples	79-80=159	+15
	Mark McCumber	81-78=159	+15
	Mike Morley	82-78=160	+16
	Ron Streck	79-84=163	+19
WD	Rod Curl	72	E
	Mike Holland	75	+3
	Wayne Levi	75
	Sammy Rachels	75
	Grier Jones	76	+4
	Dan Pohl	77	+5
	Mike Sullivan	77	+5
	Leonard Thompson	78	+6
DQ	Morris Hatalsky	70-77-79=226	+10
DQ	Lee Trevino (c)	82	+10

Source:^[17]

Video

You Tube – Memorable Moments: The Players – PGA Tour

References

^ "3 share TPC lead with 67s". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. March 19, 1982. p. 12B.
^ ^a ^b "Lietzke, Bryant battle back to share TPC lead". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). UPI. March 21, 1982. p. 12B.
^ ^a ^b "Golf's richest tournament starts today". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). UPI. March 18, 1982. p. 14-B.
^ ^a ^b ^c McDermott, Barry (March 15, 1982). "Target golf is the aim". Sports Illustrated. p. 38.
^ ^a ^b "Golf's greatest take back seat to TPC course". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 17, 1982. p. 44.
^ Kupelian, Vartan (March 21, 2012). "Seeing orange: The story behind Pate's Players-winning ball". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Pate takes dive after TPC win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 22, 1982. p. 3B.
^ "TPC lead surprises Lietzke, Bryant". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 21, 1982. p. 7C.
^ Johnson, Mark (March 22, 1982). "For Pate, a big win and another splash". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). p. 1C.
^ Jenkins, Dan (March 29, 1982). "Last one in is a winner". Sports Illustrated. p. 24.
^ Van Sickle, Gary (March 23, 2004). "Present at the plunge". Sports Illustrated. p. 32.
^ "New course sends top pros packing". Chicago Tribune. March 21, 1982. p. 12, sec. 4.
^ ^a ^b "Three share TPC lead with 67s". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. March 19, 1982. p. 11B.
^ "1982 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. p. 233. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 27, 2020.
^ "TPA scores". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. March 20, 1982. p. 11B.
^ ^a ^b "TPA scores". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. March 21, 1982. p. 6B.
^ "Past Results 1974 – present". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.