1987 Tournament Players Championship

Golf tournament

TPC Sawgrass

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TPC Sawgrass

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The 1987 Tournament 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 fourteenth Tournament Players Championship.

Sandy Lyle of Scotland defeated Jeff Sluman on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff to become the first international player to win the title.^[2]^[3]^[4] Rains had softened the course and led to favorable scoring;^[5] the 36-hole cut of 143 (−1) was the lowest until 1993.

At the second playoff hole, the par-3 17th "Island Green," an unruly spectator jumped into the water as Sluman was addressing his six-foot (1.8 m) birdie putt for the win. After order was restored, he missed and they went to third extra hole at 18. Both found the fairway with their tee shots but both approaches went deep. Sluman couldn't save par from twelve feet (3.7 m) while Lyle made his from seven feet (2.1 m) to end it.^[2]^[3]^[5]

This was the second playoff at the Tournament Players Championship, but the first at the Stadium Course. This year also marked the championship's first seven-figure purse and its last with "Tournament" in the title.

Defending champion John Mahaffey finished ten strokes back, in a tie for 32nd place.

Venue

This was the sixth Tournament Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course and it remained at 6,857 yards (6,270 m).^[1]

Eligibility requirements

1. Top 126 players, if PGA Tour members, from Final 1986 Official Money List:

Greg Norman, Bob Tway, Payne Stewart, Andy Bean, Dan Pohl, Hal Sutton, Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw, Raymond Floyd, Bernhard Langer, John Mahaffey, Calvin Peete, Fuzzy Zoeller, Joey Sindelar, Jim Thorpe, Ken Green, Larry Mize, Doug Tewell, Corey Pavin, Tom Watson, Mike Hulbert, Don Pooley, Lanny Wadkins, Kenny Knox, Mark Wiebe, John Cook, Donnie Hammond, Paul Azinger, Mark O'Meara, Tim Simpson, Curtis Strange, Bobby Wadkins, Jack Nicklaus, Nick Price, Scott Hoch, Tom Purtzer, Chip Beck, Roger Maltbie, Scott Simpson, Gene Sauers, Phil Blackmar, Clarence Rose, Jay Haas, David Frost, Bruce Lietzke, Jodie Mudd, Bob Murphy, Gary Koch, Steve Pate, Willie Wood, Craig Stadler, Dan Forsman, D. A. Weibring, Ronnie Black, Howard Twitty, Mark Calcavecchia, Wayne Levi, Jeff Sluman, Rick Fehr, J. C. Snead, Sandy Lyle, Pat McGowan, Mike Reid, Danny Edwards, Ernie Gonzalez, Larry Nelson, Dave Barr, David Edwards, Bill Glasson, Hubert Green, Mark Hayes, Brian Claar, Fred Couples, Davis Love III, Peter Jacobsen, Lennie Clements, Mark McCumber, Jim Colbert, Mike Donald, Morris Hatalsky, Bob Gilder, Lon Hinkle, Bobby Clampett, David Graham, Brett Upper, Brad Faxon, Buddy Gardner, Russ Cochran, Tom Byrum, Blaine McCallister, Bobby Cole, Charlie Bolling, TC Chen, Lee Trevino, Bob Lohr, Jack Renner, Dan Halldorson, Leonard Thompson, Dave Rummells, George Archer, Barry Jaeckel, Larry Rinker, Jim Gallagher Jr., Curt Byrum, Dick Mast, Ken Brown, Mark Lye, George Burns, David Ogrin, Chris Perry, Fred Wadsworth, Andy Dillard, Bob Eastwood, Johnny Miller, Ed Fiori, Andrew Magee, Gary Hallberg, Mark Pfeil, Jay Delsing, John Adams, Tom Sieckmann, Antonio Cerda, Jr.

Source:^[6]

Mac O'Grady, Gil Morgan, Mike Sullivan, and Tony Sills elected not to play

2. Designated players

Andy North

3. Any foreign player meeting the requirements of a designated player, whether or not he is a PGA Tour member

Seve Ballesteros

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

Hale Irwin, Bill Rogers

5. The leader in Senior PGA Tour official earnings of 1986

Bruce Crampton elected not to play

Source:^[7]

6. The three players, not otherwise eligible, designated by the TPC Committee as "special selections"

Rodger Davis, Dave Stockton

7. To complete a field of 144 players, those players in order, not otherwise eligible, from the 1987 Official Money List, as of the completion of the USF&G Classic, March 22, 1987

Isao Aoki, Keith Clearwater, Steve Elkington, Sam Randolph, Brad Fabel, Bill Sander, Tsuneyuki Nakajima, Steve Jones, Rick Dalpos, Rocco Mediate, Jay Don Blake, John Inman, Mark Brooks, Denis Watson, Richard Zokol, Mike Nicolette

Source:^[8]

General source:^[9]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, March 26, 1987
Friday, March 27, 1987

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Steve Jones	66	−6
T2	Bob Eastwood	67	−5
	Brad Fabel
	Sandy Lyle
	Greg Norman
T6	Isao Aoki	68	−4
	Paul Azinger
	Mark Brooks
	Hale Irwin
	Wayne Levi
	Blaine McCallister
	Mark O'Meara
	Chris Perry
	Dan Pohl
	Dave Rummells
	Gene Sauers
	Hal Sutton

Source:^[10]^[11]

Second round

Friday, March 27, 1987
Saturday, March 28, 1987

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Steve Jones	66-67=133	−11
T1	Mark O'Meara	68-65=133	−11
T3	Dan Pohl	68-66=134	−10
T3	Scott Simpson	69-65=134	−10
T5	Brad Fabel	67-68=135	−9
T5	Greg Norman	67-68=135	−9
T7	Hale Irwin	68-68=136	−8
	Tom Purtzer	69-67=136
	Jeff Sluman	70-66=136
10	Curt Byrum	69-68=137	−7

Source:^[10]^[12]

Third round

Saturday, March 28, 1987

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Mark O'Meara	68-65-69=202	−14
T1	Scott Simpson	69-65-68=202	−14
T3	Ben Crenshaw	70-68-66=204	−12
T3	Sandy Lyle	67-71-66=204	−12
5	Jeff Sluman	70-66-69=205	−11
6	Paul Azinger	68-70-68=206	−10
	Bill Glasson	69-69-68=206
	Greg Norman	67-68-71=206
9	Nick Price	71-68-68=207	−9
10	Tom Purtzer	69-67-72=208	−8

Source:^[12]

Final round

Sunday, March 29, 1987

On the 72nd hole, Lyle and Sluman both made birdie putts to finish at 274 (−14) and advanced to the playoff.^[2]^[3]^[5]

Champion

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
T1	Sandy Lyle	67-71-66-70=274	−14	Playoff
T1	Jeff Sluman	70-66-69-69=274	−14	Playoff
3	Mark O'Meara	68-65-69-73=275	−13	68,000
T4	Greg Norman	67-68-71-70=276	−12	44,000
T4	Scott Simpson	69-65-68-74=276	−12	44,000
6	Paul Azinger	68-70-68-71=277	−11	36,000
T7	Bill Glasson	69-69-68-72=278	−10	32,250
T7	Dan Pohl	68-66-75-69=278	−10	32,250
T9	Ben Crenshaw	70-68-66-75=279	−9	27,000
	Tom Kite	72-70-67-70=279
	Tom Purtzer	69-67-72-71=279

Leaderboard below the top 10
Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
T12	Brad Fabel	67-68-75-70=280	−8	21,000
	Mark McCumber	69-71-69-71=280
	Larry Mize	70-70-69-71=280
T15	David Frost	70-69-71-71=281	−7	16,000
	Hubert Green	69-71-72-69=281
	Steve Jones	66-67-76-72=281
	Tsuneyuki Nakajima	69-70-70-72=281
	Mike Reid	72-69-69-71=281
T20	Keith Clearwater	73-70-71-68=282	−6	11,650
	Morris Hatalsky	73-69-70-70=282
	Chris Perry	68-71-70-73=282
	Mark Wiebe	70-69-71-72=282
T24	Isao Aoki	68-73-72-70=283	−5	7,737
	Buddy Gardner	69-69-75-70=283
	Ken Green	71-72-69-71=283
	Mike Hulbert	71-71-71-70=283
	Hale Irwin	68-68-74-73=283
	Bernhard Langer	72-71-71-69=283
	Nick Price	71-68-68-76=283
	Hal Sutton (c)	68-74-71-70=283
T32	Curt Byrum	69-68-73-74=284	−4	5,414
	David Edwards	70-70-70-74=284
	Bob Gilder	73-68-72-71=284
	John Mahaffey (c)	70-72-69-73=284
	Jack Renner	70-73-69-72=284
	Dave Rummells	68-71-73-72=284
	Gene Sauers	68-72-72-72=284
T39	Scott Hoch	76-65-70-74=285	−3	4,400
T39	Clarence Rose	73-69-70-73=285	−3	4,400
T41	Bobby Cole	70-70-71-75=286	−2	3,900
	Mike Nicolette	73-69-70-74=286
	Don Pooley	74-68-73-71=286
T44	Chip Beck	71-71-76-69=287	−1	3,023
	Chen Tze-chung	71-69-73-74=287
	Lennie Clements	74-67-72-74=287
	John Inman	73-70-72-72=287
	Bob Murphy	73-70-69-75=287
	Bill Rogers	69-73-69-76=287
T50	Mark Calcavecchia	73-69-73-73=288	E	2,435
	Jay Haas	70-73-74-71=288
	Rocco Mediate	71-72-76-69=288
	Corey Pavin	75-68-70-75=288
T54	Andy Dillard	70-73-73-73=289	+1	2,270
	Bob Eastwood	67-73-74-75=289
	Mark Hayes (c)	70-70-73-76=289
	Barry Jaeckel	72-69-72-76=289
	Andy North	70-69-76-74=289
	Fuzzy Zoeller	75-67-73-74=289
60	Russ Cochran	72-70-76-72=290	+2	2,200
T61	Ken Brown	71-71-69-80=291	+3	2,170
T61	Dan Forsman	71-69-74-77=291	+3	2,170
T63	Mark Brooks	68-75-73-76=292	+4	2,130
T63	Joey Sindelar	72-71-71-78=292	+4	2,130
T65	Seve Ballesteros	70-69-77-77=293	+5	2,080
	George Burns	69-73-84-67=293
	Larry Rinker	75-68-78-72=293
68	Rodger Davis	73-70-76-76=295	+7	2,040
69	Blaine McCallister	68-73-80-75=296	+8	2,020
70	Dave Stockton	68-70-79-80=297	+9	2,000
71	Bob Lohr	72-71-73-82=298	+10	1,980
72	Sam Randolph	71-71-82-78=302	+14	1,960
CUT	John Adams	72-72=144	E
	Tom Byrum	76-68=144
	Bobby Clampett	74-70=144
	John Cook	72-72=144
	Fred Couples (c)	72-72=144
	Steve Elkington	74-70=144
	Jim Gallagher Jr.	71-73=144
	Lon Hinkle	71-73=144
	Kenny Knox	73-71=144
	Andrew Magee	71-73=144
	Roger Maltbie	73-71=144
	Larry Nelson	73-71=144
	Jack Nicklaus (c)	70-74=144
	Steve Pate	71-73=144
	J. C. Snead	71-73=144
	Leonard Thompson	74-70=144
	Bob Tway	71-73=144
	Bobby Wadkins	72-72=144
	D. A. Weibring	72-72=144
	Richard Zokol	74-70=144
	Phil Blackmar	71-74=145	+1
	Charlie Bolling	69-76=145
	Ed Fiori	75-70=145
	Gary Hallberg	77-68=145
	Johnny Miller	73-72=145
	Calvin Peete (c)	71-74=145
	Mark Pfeil	73-72=145
	Tim Simpson	73-72=145
	Payne Stewart	77-68=145
	Doug Tewell	74-71=145
	Lanny Wadkins (c)	70-75=145
	Tom Watson	73-72=145
	Antonio Cerda Jr.	75-71=146	+2
	Danny Edwards	70-76=146
	Donnie Hammond	70-76=146
	Wayne Levi	68-78=146
	Pat McGowan	74-72=146
	Craig Stadler	74-72=146
	Jim Thorpe	76-70=146
	Fred Wadsworth	69-77=146
	Dave Barr	73-74=147	+3
	Ronnie Black	72-75=147
	Mike Donald	78-69=147
	Brad Faxon	76-71=147
	Rick Fehr	73-74=147
	Bruce Lietzke	71-76=147
	Davis Love III	73-74=147
	Mark Lye	73-74=147
	Dick Mast	74-73=147
	Denis Watson	73-74=147
	Jay Don Blake	78-70=148	+4
	Brian Claar	81-67=148
	Rick Dalpos	73-75=148
	Bill Sander	74-74=148
	Brett Upper	71-77=148
	Jay Delsing	73-76=149	+5
	Ernie Gonzalez	76-73=149
	Dan Halldorson	76-73=149
	Raymond Floyd (c)	74-76=150	+6
	Gary Koch	75-75=150
	Curtis Strange	75-75=150
	Howard Twitty	76-74=150
	Lee Trevino (c)	70-81=151	+7
	George Archer	77-75=152	+8
Peter Jacobsen	75-77=152
David Ogrin	73-79=152
Andy Bean	73-80=153	+9
David Graham	76-77=153
Tom Sieckmann	81-72=153
Willie Wood	80-78=158	+14
WD	Jodie Mudd	70	−2
WD	Jim Colbert	75	+3

Source:^[13]

Playoff

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Sandy Lyle	5-3-4=12	E	180,000
2	Jeff Sluman	5-3-5=13	+1	108,000

The sudden-death playoff began on hole 16, went to 17, and ended at 18.

Scorecard

Hole	16	17	18
Par	5	3	4
Lyle	E	E	E
Sluman	E	E	+1

Source:^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b "Tournament Players Championship". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. March 30, 1987. p. 22.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Lyle takes TPC with playoff win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 30, 1987. p. 2C.
^ ^a ^b ^c Loomis, Tom (March 30, 1987). "Lyle ducks rain, competition for extra-hole victory in TPC". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). p. 20.
^ Hanley, Reid (March 30, 1987). "Lyle bags the TPC in playoff". Chicago Tribune. p. 8, sec. 3.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ballard, Sarah (April 6, 1987). "Taming a toothless tiger". Sports Illustrated. p. 128.
^ "Official Money – 1986". PGA Tour. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
^ "Charles Schwab Cup Money List". PGA Tour. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
^ "Official Money | PGA TOUR Stats". PGATour. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
^ "1987 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. p. 305. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 24, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Weather still leads TPC". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 28, 1987. p. 7C.
^ "Norman storms into TPC's lead". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 27, 1987. p. 2B.
^ ^a ^b "O'Meara tramps 27 holes for lead". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 29, 1987. p. 8D.
^ "Past Results 1974 – present". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.