1991 Players Championship

Golf tournament

TPC Sawgrass

Location in the United States

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TPC Sawgrass

Location in Florida

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The 1991 Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 28–31 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the eighteenth Players Championship.

Steve Elkington birdied the final hole to win the title at 276 (−12), one stroke ahead of runner-up Fuzzy Zoeller.^[2]^[3] Elkington won a second Players six years later in 1997.

Defending champion Jodie Mudd missed the 36-hole cut by five strokes.

Venue

This was the tenth Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course, set at 6,896 yards (6,306 m) for a second year.^[1]

Eligibility requirements

1. The top 125 PGA Tour members from the Final 1990 Official Money List:

John Adams, Fulton Allem, Billy Andrade, Tommy Armour III, Paul Azinger, Ian Baker-Finch, Dave Barr, Andy Bean, Chip Beck, Phil Blackmar, Jay Don Blake, Jim Booros, Bill Britton, Mark Brooks, Billy Ray Brown, Brad Bryant, Tom Byrum, Mark Calcavecchia, David Canipe, Brian Claar, Keith Clearwater, Russ Cochran, John Cook, Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw, Jay Delsing, Mike Donald, Ed Dougherty, Bob Eastwood, David Edwards, Steve Elkington, Bob Estes, Brad Fabel, Brad Faxon, Rick Fehr, Dan Forsman, David Frost, Fred Funk, Jim Gallagher Jr., Robert Gamez, Buddy Gardner, Bob Gilder, Bill Glasson, Wayne Grady, Ken Green, Jay Haas, Gary Hallberg, Jim Hallet, Donnie Hammond, Morris Hatalsky, Nolan Henke, Scott Hoch, Mike Hulbert, John Huston, Hale Irwin, Peter Jacobsen, Lee Janzen, Steve Jones, Tom Kite, Kenny Knox, Wayne Levi, Bruce Lietzke, Bob Lohr, Davis Love III, Mark Lye, Andrew Magee, John Mahaffey, Billy Mayfair, Blaine McCallister, Mark McCumber, Rocco Mediate, Larry Mize , Gil Morgan, Jodie Mudd, Larry Nelson, Greg Norman, Mark O'Meara, Steve Pate, Corey Pavin, David Peoples, Chris Perry, Kenny Perry, Peter Persons, Don Pooley, Nick Price, Tom Purtzer, Larry Rinker, Loren Roberts, Bill Sander, Gene Sauers, Ted Schulz, Tom Sieckmann, Tim Simpson, Joey Sindelar, Mike Smith, Craig Stadler, Ray Stewart, Curtis Strange, Hal Sutton, Brian Tennyson, Doug Tewell, Jim Thorpe, Kirk Triplett, Bob Tway, Howard Twitty, Stan Utley, Scott Verplank, Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins, Tom Watson, D. A. Weibring, Mark Wiebe, Bob Wolcott, Willie Wood, Jim Woodward, Robert Wrenn, Fuzzy Zoeller, Richard Zokol

Emlyn Aubrey, Payne Stewart, Raymond Floyd, Mike Reid, Tony Sills, Scott Simpson, and Jeff Sluman elected not to play

Source:^[4]

2. Designated players:

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

Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam, Nick Faldo, José María Olazábal

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

David Graham, Jerry Pate, Seve Ballesteros, Calvin Peete, Bernhard Langer Andy North, Hubert Green, Roger Maltbie

5. British Open winners since 1990:

6. Six players, not otherwise eligible, designated by The Players Championship Committee as "special selections":

Mark Hayes, Masashi Ozaki, Peter Senior, Craig Parry, Denis Watson, Mark McNulty

7. To complete a field of 144 players, those players in order, not otherwise eligible, from the 1991 Official Money List, as of the completion of the USF&G Classic:

Dan Halldorson, Dave Rummells, Bart Bryant, John Daly, Jeff Maggert, Neal Lancaster, Dan Pohl

Source:^[5]

General Source:^[6]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, March 28, 1991

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Bob Tway	65	−7
T2	Russ Cochran	66	−6
	Bob Eastwood
	Steve Elkington
	Peter Persons
T6	Paul Azinger	67	−5
	Phil Blackmar
	Jay Don Blake
	Blaine McCallister
	Mike Smith
	D. A. Weibring

Source:^[7]

Second round

Friday, March 29, 1991

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Paul Azinger	67-68=135	−9
T2	Steve Elkington	66-70=136	−8
T2	Fuzzy Zoeller	68-68=136	−8
4	Ian Baker-Finch	69-69=138	−6
T5	Billy Andrade	68-71=139	−5
	Phil Blackmar	67-72=139
	Brian Claar	70-69=139
	Bob Lohr	68-71=139
	Chris Perry	68-71=139
	Curtis Strange	71-68=139
	Kirk Triplett	68-71=139
	Willie Wood	71-68=139

Source:^[8]

Third round

Saturday, March 30, 1991

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Paul Azinger	67-68-69=204	−12
2	Fuzzy Zoeller	68-68-69=205	−11
T3	Bob Lohr	68-71-68=207	−9
T3	Tom Watson	68-74-65=207	−9
T5	Phil Blackmar	67-72-69=208	−8
	Brian Claar	70-69-69=208
	Steve Elkington	66-70-72=208
T8	Ian Baker-Finch	69-69-71=209	−7
T8	Curtis Strange	71-68-70=209	−7
T10	Ed Dougherty	71-70-69=210	−6
	Chris Perry	68-71-71=210
	Nick Price	68-75-67=210
	Gene Sauers	68-74-68=210
	Joey Sindelar	68-75-67=210

Source:^[3]^[9]

Final round

Sunday, March 31, 1991

Champion

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Steve Elkington	66-70-72-68=276	−12	288,000
2	Fuzzy Zoeller	68-68-69-72=277	−11	172,800
T3	Paul Azinger	67-68-69-74=278	−10	83,200
	Phil Blackmar	67-72-69-70=278
	John Cook	71-73-69-65=278
T6	Bernhard Langer	70-70-71-69=280	−8	53,600
	Bruce Lietzke	71-72-68-69=280
	Curtis Strange	71-68-70-71=280
T9	Bob Lohr	68-71-68-74=281	−7	41,600
	Nick Price	68-75-67-71=281
	Gene Sauers	68-74-68-71=281
	Bobby Wadkins	68-74-69-70=281

Leaderboard below the top 10
Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
T13	Jay Delsing	71-71-71-69=282	−6	32,000
T13	Mark McCumber (c)	70-72-69-71=282	−6	32,000
T15	Keith Clearwater	72-72-70-69=283	−5	25,600
	John Huston	72-71-70-70=283
	Rocco Mediate	69-74-68-72=283
	Craig Parry	70-74-69-70=283
	Ian Woosnam	72-69-70-72=283
T20	Bob Eastwood	66-74-71-73=284	−4	19,306
	Neal Lancaster	71-73-69-71=284
	Tom Watson	68-74-65-77=284
T23	Fred Couples (c)	70-74-69-72=285	−3	14,720
	Blaine McCallister	67-75-70-73=285
	Mark McNulty	70-72-72-71=285
	Larry Nelson	72-72-70-71=285
T27	Billy Andrade	68-71-74-73=286	−2	9,394
	Jay Don Blake	67-75-75-69=286
	Bill Britton	69-71-74-72=286
	Billy Ray Brown	72-73-69-72=286
	Ed Dougherty	71-70-69-76=286
	Ken Green	69-76-71-70=286
	Hale Irwin	68-74-69-75=286
	Andy North	72-72-70-72=286
	Masashi Ozaki	73-72-72-69=286
	Steve Pate	69-73-70-74=286
	Chris Perry	68-71-71-76=286
	Peter Persons	66-75-71-74=286
	Loren Roberts	69-73-71-73=286
	Robert Wrenn	70-72-73-71=286
T41	Ian Baker-Finch	69-69-71-78=287	−1	5,064
	Brian Claar	70-69-69-79=287
	David Edwards	71-73-70-73=287
	David Frost	69-71-72-75=287
	Buddy Gardner	70-71-74-72=287
	Bill Glasson	72-70-72-73=287
	Steve Jones	71-70-71-75=287
	Corey Pavin	69-76-71-71=287
	Joey Sindelar	68-75-67-77=287
	Bob Tway	65-77-72-73=287
	D. A. Weibring	67-74-72-74=287
T52	John Adams	69-75-72-72=288	E	3,731
	Chip Beck	70-73-71-74=288
	Mark Hayes (c)	71-73-73-71=288
	Larry Rinker	74-71-70-73=288
	Tim Simpson	72-73-67-76=288
T57	Mike Donald	71-72-74-72=289	+1	3,552
	Nick Faldo	72-72-71-74=289
	Kenny Knox	73-71-77-68=289
	Mark Lye	72-73-69-75=289
	Kenny Perry	74-70-75-70=289
62	Lanny Wadkins (c)	70-75-70-75=290	+2	3,456
T63	Seve Ballesteros	72-72-73-74=291	+3	3,360
	Jim Booros	72-72-73-74=291
	Greg Norman	75-70-70-76=291
	Bob Wolcott	69-75-74-73=291
	Willie Wood	71-68-74-78=291
T68	Ray Stewart	70-73-76-73=292	+4	3,232
	Hal Sutton (c)	72-73-73-74=292
	Kirk Triplett	68-71-79-74=292
71	Tommy Armour III	71-74-74-74=293	+5	3,168
72	David Peoples	71-73-75-75=294	+6	3,136
T73	Billy Mayfair	70-75-74-76=295	+7	3,088
T73	Stan Utley	73-71-69-82=295	+7	3,088
75	Dan Forsman	71-74-76-78=299	+11	3,040
76	Calvin Peete (c)	73-72-78-79=302	+14	3,008
CUT	Dave Barr	69-77=146	+2
	Mark Brooks	70-76=146
	Jay Haas	69-77=146
	Jim Hallet	70-76=146
	Andrew Magee	71-75=146
	John Mahaffey (c)	72-74=146
	Roger Maltbie	72-74=146
	Dave Rummells	75-71=146
	Jeff Sluman	69-77=146
	Craig Stadler	72-74=146
	Mark Wiebe	73-73=146
	Fulton Allem	75-72=147	+3
	Brad Bryant	72-75=147
	Brad Faxon	71-76=147
	Fred Funk	73-74=147
	Jim Gallagher Jr.	72-75=147
	Wayne Grady	71-76=147
	Hubert Green	70-77=147
	Donnie Hammond	70-77=147
	Nolan Henke	71-76=147
	Lee Janzen	73-74=147
	Sandy Lyle (c)	72-75=147
	Larry Mize	73-74=147
	Mark O'Meara	71-76=147
	Mike Smith	67-80=147
	Denis Watson	73-74=147
	Mark Calcavecchia	71-77=148	+4
	Ben Crenshaw	73-75=148
	Rick Fehr	70-78=148
	Tom Kite (c)	77-71=148
	José María Olazábal	74-74=148
	Bart Bryant	75-74=149	+5
	Brad Fabel	74-75=149
	Morris Hatalsky	72-77=149
	Scott Hoch	71-78=149
	Dan Pohl	70-79=149
	Tom Purtzer	71-78=149
	Bill Sander	70-79=149
	Brian Tennyson	75-74=149
	Doug Tewell	71-78=149
	David Canipe	76-74=150	+6
	Bob Estes	72-78=150
	Wayne Levi	75-75=150
	Davis Love III	71-79=150
	Jodie Mudd (c)	75-75=150
	Howard Twitty	73-77=150
	Andy Bean	73-78=151	+7
	Tom Byrum	75-76=151
	Robert Gamez	76-75=151
	Dan Halldorson	72-79=151
	Mike Hulbert	72-79=151
	Gil Morgan	72-79=151
	Jerry Pate (c)	72-79=151
	Ted Schulz	72-79=151
	Bob Gilder	69-83=152	+8
	Gary Hallberg	73-79=152
	Jeff Maggert	75-77=152
	Jim Thorpe	76-76=152
	Jim Woodward	73-79=152
	John Daly	73-81=154	+10
	Peter Jacobsen	74-80=154
	Peter Senior	78-76=154
	Tom Sieckmann	75-81=156	+12
	David Graham	76-81=157	+13
Richard Zokol	76-85=161	+17
Scott Verplank	84-79=163	+19
WD	Russ Cochran	66-78-79=223	+7
WD	Don Pooley	72-77=149	+5

Source:^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b "Players Championship". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. April 1, 1991. p. 18.
^ "Last putt puts Aussie in money". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. April 1, 1991. p. 2B.
^ ^a ^b Garrity, John (April 8, 1991). "From shadows to glory". Sports Illustrated. p. 28.
^ "Official Money – 1990". PGA Tour. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
^ "Official Money – 1991 – through USF&G Classic". PGA Tour. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
^ "1991 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. p. 351. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 27, 2020.
^ "Golf: TPC". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). March 29, 1991. p. 2C.
^ "Azinger can't explain his finish". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 30, 1991. p. 8D.
^ "Zoeller, Watson chasing Azinger". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 31, 1991. p. 3E.
^ "Past Results 1974 – present". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.