1980 Tournament Players Championship

Golf tournament

Sawgrass CC

Location in the United States

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Sawgrass CC

Location in Florida

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The 1980 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 20–23 at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. The seventh Tournament Players Championship, it was the fourth at Sawgrass and Lee Trevino won at 278 (−10), one stroke ahead of runner-up Ben Crenshaw.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Defending champion Lanny Wadkins finished thirteen strokes back, in a tie for 45th place.

Venue

This was the fourth of five Tournament Players Championships held at Sawgrass Country Club; it moved to the nearby TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course in 1982. At the time it was scheduled to be the last at Sawgrass,^[3]^[5] but early construction delays due to weather caused the championship to return for a fifth and final year in 1981.^[6]

Eligibility requirements

1. All designated players

Andy Bean (2), Ben Crenshaw (2), Lee Elder, Raymond Floyd (2), Al Geiberger (2), Bob Gilder, David Graham (2), Lou Graham (2), Hubert Green (2), Mark Hayes, Lon Hinkle (2), Hale Irwin (2), Tom Kite, Wayne Levi (2), Bruce Lietzke, John Mahaffey, Jerry McGee (2), Gil Morgan (2), Larry Nelson (2), Jack Nicklaus, Andy North, Jerry Pate, Calvin Peete (2), Gary Player, Tom Purtzer, Jack Renner (2), Bill Rogers, J. C. Snead, Ed Sneed, Dave Stockton, Curtis Strange (2), Lee Trevino (2), Howard Twitty (2), Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins (2), Tom Watson (2), Fuzzy Zoeller (2)

2. Winners of major PGA Tour co-sponsored or approved events beginning with the 1979 Players Championship and concluding with the tournament immediately preceding the 1980 Players Championship

Bobby Walzel, Chi-Chi Rodríguez, D. A. Weibring, John Fought, Ed Fiori, George Burns, Craig Stadler, Jeff Mitchell, Jim Colbert, Dave Eichelberger, Johnny Miller

3. The current British Open champion

Seve Ballesteros

4. Leaders in the PGA Tour Official Standings as necessary to complete the field, beginning with the 1979 Players Championship and concluding with the Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic, which concludes March 9, 1980

Source:^[7]

Field

Tommy Aaron, Buddy Allin, George Archer, Wally Armstrong, Seve Ballesteros, Miller Barber, Andy Bean, Don Bies, Mike Brannan, Brad Bryant, George Burns, Bob Byman, George Cadle, Rex Caldwell, Bill Calfee, Jim Chancey, Jim Colbert, Frank Conner, Charles Coody, Ben Crenshaw, Rod Curl, Jim Dent, Bruce Devlin, Terry Diehl, Ed Dougherty, Bob Eastwood, Danny Edwards, David Edwards, David Eger, Dave Eichelberger, Lee Elder, Keith Fergus, Forrest Fezler, Ed Fiori, Bruce Fleisher, Raymond Floyd, John Fought, Rod Funseth, Buddy Gardner, Gibby Gilbert, Bob Gilder, David Graham, Lou Graham, Hubert Green, Jay Haas, Dan Halldorson, Phil Hancock, Morris Hatalsky, Mark Hayes, Dave Hill, Mike Hill, Lon Hinkle, Joe Inman, Hale Irwin, Peter Jacobsen, Barry Jaeckel, Don January, Grier Jones, Tom Kite, Gary Koch, Billy Kratzert, Stan Lee, Wayne Levi, Bruce Lietzke, John Lister, Gene Littler, Mark Lye, John Mahaffey, Bob Mann, Graham Marsh, Fred Marti, Rik Massengale, Terry Mauney, Gary McCord, Mike McCullough, Mark McCumber, Jerry McGee, Pat McGowan, Artie McNickle, Steve Melnyk, Allen Miller, Johnny Miller, Lindy Miller, Jeff Mitchell, Orville Moody, Gil Morgan, Mike Morley, Bob Murphy, Jim Nelford, Larry Nelson, Jack Newton, Jack Nicklaus, Lonnie Nielsen, Andy North, Peter Oosterhuis, Jerry Pate, Eddie Pearce, Calvin Peete, Mark Pfeil, Gary Player, Dan Pohl, Don Pooley, Greg Powers, Tom Purtzer, Dana Quigley, Sammy Rachels, Victor Regalado, Mike Reid, Jack Renner, Chi-Chi Rodríguez, Bill Rogers, Bill Sander, Cesar Sanudo, John Schroeder, Bob Shearer, Jim Simons, Scott Simpson, Tim Simpson, Bob E. Smith, J. C. Snead, Ed Sneed, Craig Stadler, Ken Still, Dave Stockton, Curtis Strange, Ron Streck, Mike Sullivan, Alan Tapie, Doug Tewell, Barney Thompson, Leonard Thompson, Jim Thorpe, Lee Trevino, Howard Twitty, Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins, Bobby Walzel, Tom Watson, D. A. Weibring, Tom Weiskopf, Kermit Zarley, Bob Zender, Larry Ziegler, Fuzzy Zoeller

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, March 20, 1980

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Hale Irwin	67	−5
T1	Steve Melnyk	67	−5
T3	George Burns	68	−4
	Bill Calfee
	Danny Edwards
	Joe Inman
	Peter Jacobsen
	Mike Morley
	Ed Sneed
	Curtis Strange
	Ron Streck
	Lee Trevino

Source:^[8]

Second round

Friday, March 21, 1980

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Hale Irwin	67-72=139	−5
T1	Curtis Strange	68-71=139	−5
T3	Steve Melnyk	67-73=140	−4
	Lee Trevino	68-72=140
	Tom Watson	69-71=140
T6	John Mahaffey	70-71=141	−3
	Gary Player	70-71=141
	Greg Powers	72-69=141
	J. C. Snead	70-71=141
T10	Seve Ballesteros	69-73=142	−2
	George Burns	68-74=142
	Bill Calfee	68-74=142
	Danny Edwards	68-74=142
	Peter Jacobsen	68-74=142
	Jack Nicklaus	69-73=142
	Don Pooley	69-73=142
	Mike Reid	70-72=142

Source:^[9]

Third round

Saturday, March 22, 1980

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Lee Trevino	68-72-68=208	−8
2	Hubert Green	72-71-66=209	−7
T3	Gary Player	70-71-69=210	−6
T3	Curtis Strange	68-71-71=210	−6
T5	Seve Ballesteros	69-73-69=211	−5
	Peter Jacobsen	68-74-69=211
	Jack Nicklaus	69-73-69=211
	Don Pooley	69-73-69=211
T9	Brad Bryant	72-71-69=212	−4
	Jay Haas	72-73-67=212
	Hale Irwin	67-72-73=212
	Tom Watson	69-71-72=212

Source:^[10]^[11]

Final round

Sunday, March 23, 1980

Champion

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Lee Trevino	68-72-68-70=278	−10	72,000
2	Ben Crenshaw	71-73-69-66=279	−9	43,200
T3	Seve Ballesteros	69-73-69-69=280	−8	23,200
T3	Tom Watson	69-71-72-68=280	−8	23,200
T5	Peter Jacobsen	68-74-69-71=282	−6	14,600
	John Mahaffey	70-71-72-69=282
	Mike Reid	70-72-72-68=282
T8	Danny Edwards	68-74-72-69=283	−5	10,400
	Hubert Green	72-71-66-74=283
	Jay Haas	72-73-67-71=283
	Grier Jones	74-69-72-68=283
	Gary Player	70-71-69-73=283
	Dan Pohl	73-72-69-69=283

Leaderboard below the top 10
Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
T14	Brad Bryant	72-71-69-72=284	−4	6,400
	Jim Colbert	71-73-69-71=284
	Charles Coody	69-75-69-71=284
	Keith Fergus	70-73-70-71=284
	Hale Irwin	67-72-73-72=284
	Jack Nicklaus (c)	69-73-69-73=284
	Don Pooley	69-73-69-73=284
21	Curtis Strange	68-71-71-75=285	−3	4,800
T22	Bill Calfee	68-74-73-71=286	−2	4,320
T22	Dan Halldorson	72-74-68-72=286	−2	4,320
T24	George Burns	68-74-71-74=287	−1	3,165
	Bruce Fleisher	71-73-71-72=287
	Bruce Lietzke	72-74-74-67=287
	Fred Marti	73-73-73-68=287
	Rik Massengale	74-71-72-70=287
	Mike McCullough	71-76-68-72=287
	Steve Melnyk	67-73-76-71=287
T31	Gibby Gilbert	70-75-75-68=288	E	2,220
	Mike Hill	70-75-71-72=288
	Tom Kite	74-72-69-73=288
	Johnny Miller	76-71-71-70=288
	Gil Morgan	70-78-71-69=288
	Bill Rogers	69-77-71-71=288
	J. C. Snead	70-71-73-74=288
	Howard Twitty	75-70-71-72=288
T39	Bob Eastwood	73-75-70-71=289	+1	1,760
T39	Lon Hinkle	70-74-71-74=289	+1	1,760
T41	Mike Brannan	71-75-75-69=290	+2	1,520
	David Graham	70-74-72-74=290
	Jerry McGee	71-75-71-73=290
	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	70-73-74-73=290
T45	Mark Hayes (c)	70-75-75-71=291	+3	1,144
	Tim Simpson	70-74-73-74=291
	Dave Stockton	73-70-74-74=291
	Ron Streck	68-77-70-76=291
	Jim Thorpe	72-73-71-75=291
	Lanny Wadkins (c)	69-76-72-74=291
T51	Andy Bean	71-73-76-72=292	+4	954
	Scott Simpson	71-74-77-70=292
	Alan Tapie	72-75-72-73=292
	Barney Thompson	70-74-77-71=292
T55	Jeff Mitchell	71-77-74-71=293	+5	904
	Jack Newton	73-75-72-73=293
	Greg Powers	72-69-78-74=293
	Leonard Thompson	70-76-74-73=293
	Tom Weiskopf	73-73-74-73=293
T60	Buddy Gardner	70-74-77-73=294	+6	868
	Lou Graham	71-77-74-72=294
	Joe Inman	68-75-78-73=294
	Jim Nelford	74-72-75-73=294
T64	Terry Mauney	72-75-72-76=295	+7	840
	Bob Murphy	73-75-77-70=295
	D. A. Weibring	73-73-75-74=295
T67	Lee Elder	73-73-76-74=296	+8	816
	Victor Regalado	73-75-75-73=296
	Craig Stadler	73-74-70-79=296
T70	Rod Funseth	70-76-76-75=297	+9	792
	Calvin Peete	73-72-77-75=297
	Ed Sneed	68-78-78-73=297
T73	John Fought	72-75-77-74=298	+10	772
T73	Lonnie Nielsen	71-73-75-79=298	+10	772
T75	Wally Armstrong	72-76-73-78=299	+11	756
T75	Bob E. Smith	72-76-78-73=299	+11	756
77	Terry Diehl	73-75-82-71=301	+13	750
78	Mark Lye	73-74-78-78=303	+15	750
79	David Edwards	75-73-80-79=307	+19	750
CUT	Buddy Allin	74-75=149	+5
	George Cadle	74-75=149
	Rod Curl	69-80=149
	David Eger	75-74=149
	Raymond Floyd	73-76=149
	Pat McGowan	70-79=149
	Andy North	77-72=149
	Jerry Pate	72-77=149
	Tom Purtzer	74-75=149
	Bob Shearer	71-78=149
	Bobby Wadkins	70-79=149
	Tommy Aaron	75-75=150	+6
	Rex Caldwell	73-77=150
	Frank Conner	74-76=150
	Bruce Devlin	74-76=150
	Ed Dougherty	75-75=150
	Gene Littler	69-81=150
	Bob Mann	73-77=150
	Ken Still	78-72=150
	Larry Ziegler	73-77=150
	Don Bies	72-79=151	+7
	Graham Marsh	73-78=151
	Mark Pfeil	74-77=151
	Sammy Rachels	72-79=151
	Jack Renner	76-75=151
	Cesar Sanudo	78-73=151
	Jim Simons	70-81=151
	Miller Barber	75-77=152	+8
	Bob Gilder	77-75=152
	Phil Hancock	74-78=152
	Morris Hatalsky	78-74=152
	Barry Jaeckel	75-77=152
	Gary Koch	77-75=152
	Gary McCord	78-74=152
	Mark McCumber	74-78=152
	Orville Moody	76-76=152
	Peter Oosterhuis	77-75=152
	Eddie Pearce	72-80=152
	Bob Byman	72-81=153	+9
	Jim Chancey	74-79=153
	Dave Hill	72-81=153
	Billy Kratzert	73-80=153
	John Lister	79-74=153
	Dana Quigley	74-79=153
	Doug Tewell	77-76=153
	Kermit Zarley	76-77=153
	George Archer	75-79=154	+10
	Forrest Fezler	77-77=154
	Stan Lee	74-80=154
	John Schroeder	76-78=154
	Bob Zender	79-75=154
	Fuzzy Zoeller	79-75=154
	Dave Eichelberger	81-74=155	+11
	Mike Sullivan	76-79=155	+11
	Don January	77-79=156	+12
	Allen Miller	73-83=156
	Lindy Miller	77-79=156
	Bill Sander	72-85=157	+13
	Bobby Walzel	75-84=159	+15
	Jim Dent	77-83=160	+16
WD	Artie McNickle	73	+1
	Wayne Levi	76	+4
	Ed Fiori
DQ	Larry Nelson	69-78=147	+3
DQ	Mike Morley	68	−4

Source:^[12]

References

^ "Golf: TPC results". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 24, 1980. p. 22.
^ "Trevino proves he's a big boy, too". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 24, 1980. p. 19.
^ ^a ^b "Trevino says TPC no major, but he beat the best to win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. March 24, 1980. p. 5C.
^ "Trevino beats the best in TPC". Chicago Tribune. wire services. March 24, 1980. p. 5, sec. 3.
^ ^a ^b Jenkins, Dan (March 31, 1980). "Seems like old times". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
^ McDermott, Barry (March 15, 1982). "Target golf is the aim". Sports Illustrated. p. 38.
^ "1980 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. p. 216. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 24, 2020.
^ "Irwin says his slump is all over and his 67 helps him prove it". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 21, 1980. p. 7D.
^ "Strange pulls even with Hale after two rounds at windy TPC". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. March 22, 1980. p. 11B.
^ "Trevino leads Nicklaus, Player, Watson in TPC". Sunday Star-News. (Wilmington, North Carolina). Associated Press. March 23, 1980. p. 4C.
^ "Trevino's birdie takes PGA lead". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 23, 1980. p. 11B.
^ "Past Results 1974 – present". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.