1998 Players Championship

1998 Players Championship
Tournament information
DatesMarch 26–29, 1998
LocationPonte Vedra Beach, Florida
30°11′53″N 81°23′38″W / 30.198°N 81.394°W / 30.198; -81.394
Course(s)TPC Sawgrass,
Stadium Course
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par72
Length6,950 yards (6,355 m)[1]
Field144 players, 72 after cut
Cut146 (+2)
Prize fund$4.0 million
Winner's share$720,000
Champion
Justin Leonard
278 (−10)
Location map
TPC Sawgrass
Location in the United States
TPC Sawgrass
Location in Florida

The 1998 Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 26–29 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the 25th Players Championship.

Tournament summary

Defending champion Steve Elkington withdrew on Monday night, citing complications after sinus surgery.[2][3] He was the first defending champion that did not compete since Jerry Pate in 1983.[2] In addition, Greg Norman, the 1994 champion, withdrew prior to the first round with a shoulder injury.[4]

Lee Janzen, who won the tournament three years previous, held the lead after third round. However, he shot a final round 79 and fell to eighteenth. Journeyman Len Mattiace took advantage, surging into the lead. However, he scored a quintuple-bogey at the par-3 17th hole to end his chances. He birdied the final hole though to finish in the top five.[5][6] Five strokes back, Justin Leonard shot a final round 67 to win at 278 (−10), two ahead of runners-up Glen Day and Tom Lehman.[7]

Venue

Main article: TPC at Sawgrass

This was the seventeenth Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course; it was extended this year to 6,950 yards (6,355 m),[1] an increase of 54 yards (49 m).

Field

1. 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 1997 Players Championship

2. The top 125 PGA Tour players from the final 1997 Official Money List[8]

3. Winners in the last 10 calendar years of The Players Championship, Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, PGA Championship, and NEC World Series of Golf

4. British Open winners since 1990

5. Up to eight players, not otherwise eligible, designated by The Players Championship Committee as "special selections"

6. Any players, not otherwise eligible, who are among the top 10 money winners from the 1998 Official Money List through the Bay Hill Invitational

7. To complete a field of 144 players, those players in order, not otherwise eligible, from the 1998 Official Money List through the Bay Hill Invitational

Source:[9]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, March 26, 1998

Place Player Score To par
1 Glen Day 66 −6
T2 Fred Couples 67 −5
Rocco Mediate
4 Jerry Kelly 68 −4
T5 Mark Calcavecchia 69 −3
Ben Crenshaw
David Duval
David Frost
Nolan Henke
Per-Ulrik Johansson
Bruce Lietzke
Jeff Maggert
Len Mattiace
Billy Mayfair
Phil Mickelson
Naomichi Ozaki

Source:[4][10]

Second round

Friday, March 27, 1998

Place Player Score To par
T1 Lee Janzen 70-67=137 −7
Naomichi Ozaki 69-68=137
2 Tom Kite 72-66=138 −6
T3 Glen Day 66-73=139 −5
Jerry Kelly 68-71=139
Bruce Lietzke 69-70=139
T6 Fred Couples 67-73=140 −4
David Frost 69-71=140
Scott Gump 72-68=140
Jeff Maggert 69-71=140
Len Mattiace 69-71=140
Rocco Mediate 67-73=140

Source:[11]

Third round

Saturday, March 28, 1998

Place Player Score To par
1 Lee Janzen 70-67-69=206 −10
2 Glen Day 66-73-70=209 −7
3 Justin Leonard 72-69-70=211 −5
T4 Mark Calcavecchia 69-75-68=212 −4
Scott Hoch 73-69-70=212
Tom Lehman 72-70-70=212
Len Mattiace 69-71-72=212
Phil Mickelson 69-73-70=212
T9 Fred Couples 67-73-73=213 −3
Ernie Els 71-72-70=213
David Frost 69-71-73=213
Bruce Lietzke 69-70-74=213
Billy Mayfair 69-75-69=213
Naomichi Ozaki 69-68-76=213
Nick Price 71-72-70=213
Craig Stadler 71-70-72=213
Omar Uresti 72-71-70=213
Lee Westwood 74-71-68=213

Source:[12]

Final round

Sunday, March 29, 1998

Champion
(c) = past champion
Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1 Justin Leonard 72-69-70-67=278 −10 720,000
T2 Glen Day 66-73-70-71=280 −8 352,000
Tom Lehman 72-70-70-68=280
4 Mark Calcavecchia 69-75-68-69=281 −7 192,000
T5 Scott Hoch 73-69-70-70=282 −6 146,000
Len Mattiace 69-71-72-70=282
Lee Westwood 74-71-68-69=282
T8 Phil Mickelson 69-73-70-71=283 −5 116,000
Nick Price (c) 71-72-70-70=283
Payne Stewart 72-71-75-65=283

Source:[13]

References

  1. ^ a b "Players Championship". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). Associated Press. March 30, 1998. p. 7C.
  2. ^ a b Smits, Gary (March 25, 1998). "Elkington out". Florida Times-Union. (Jacksonville). Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  3. ^ "Elkington won't defend". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 25, 1998. p. 2B.
  4. ^ a b "Eagle on 19th makes it a great Day for leader". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 27, 1998. p. 5C.
  5. ^ Garrity, John (April 6, 1998). "Sunday Driver". Sports Illustrated. p. 60.
  6. ^ "Leonard rallies from five shots back to win". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). Associated Press. March 30, 1998. p. 7C.
  7. ^ Parascenzo, Marino (March 30, 1998). "Leonard charges to victory in TPC". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. C1.
  8. ^ "Official Money – Season: 1997". PGA Tour. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  9. ^ "1998 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. p. 3-36. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 24, 2020.
  10. ^ "Golf: PGA Tour". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 27, 1998. p. 6C.
  11. ^ "Golf:PGA Tour". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 28, 1998. p. 8D.
  12. ^ "Janzen taking aim at TPC". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 29, 1998. p. 3G.
  13. ^ "Past Results 1974 – present". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
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