1984 Tournament 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 1984 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 29 to April 1 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the eleventh Tournament Players Championship.

Fred Couples, age 24, shot a course record 64 in the second round,^[2]^[3] and finished at 277, one stroke ahead of runner-up Lee Trevino.^[4]^[5] It was his second win on tour, and he won this championship twelve years later in 1996.^[6]^[7]^[8] Trevino, the champion in 1980 at adjacent Sawgrass Country Club,^[9]^[10] had missed the cut at the previous two editions, the first two held at the new venue.

Defending champion Hal Sutton finished sixteen strokes back, in a tie for 41st place.

Couples was the youngest champion for twenty years, until Adam Scott won at age 23 in 2004. Sutton had been the youngest, but only for a year; Couples was five months younger at the time of his win.

Eight years later, Couples lowered the course record to 63 in the third round,^[11] but finished eight strokes back.

Venue

This was the third Tournament Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course and it remained at 6,857 yards (6,270 m). In response to player concerns, the course had undergone further refinements: greens were flattened and slowed and most of the waste areas were removed.^[5]

Eligibility requirements

Top 125 players, if PGA Tour members, from Final 1983 Official Money List
Designated players
Any foreign player meeting the requirements of a designated player, whether or not he is a PGA Tour member
Winners in the last 10 calendar years of the Tournament Players Championship, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, Masters Tournament and World Series of Golf (beginning in 1976)
The leader in Senior PGA Tour official earnings of 1983
The three players, not otherwise eligible, designated by the TPC Committee as "special selections"
To complete a field of 144 players, those players in order, not otherwise eligible, from the 1984 Official Money List, as of the completion of the Bay Hill Classic, March 19, 1984

Source:^[12]

Field

John Adams, Isao Aoki, George Archer, Wally Armstrong, Seve Ballesteros, Dave Barr, Andy Bean, Chip Beck, Ronnie Black, Jim Booros, Bob Boyd, Bill Britton, Mark Brooks, Brad Bryant, George Burns, George Cadle, Rex Caldwell, Chen Tze-chung, Bobby Clampett, Lennie Clements, Russ Cochran, Jim Colbert, Frank Conner, John Cook, Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw, Jim Dent, Mike Donald, Bob Eastwood, Danny Edwards, David Edwards, Dave Eichelberger, Lee Elder, Nick Faldo, Brad Faxon, Keith Fergus, Ed Fiori, Bruce Fleisher, Raymond Floyd, Dan Forsman, John Fought, Buddy Gardner, Al Geiberger, Gibby Gilbert, Bob Gilder, David Graham, Lou Graham, Thomas Gray, Hubert Green, Ken Green, Jay Haas, Gary Hallberg, Dan Halldorson, Donnie Hammond, Phil Hancock, Morris Hatalsky, Mark Hayes, Vance Heafner, Lon Hinkle, Scott Hoch, Joe Inman, Hale Irwin, Peter Jacobsen, Barry Jaeckel, Tom Jenkins, Tom Kite, Gary Koch, Ralph Landrum, Bernhard Langer, Wayne Levi, Steven Liebler, Bruce Lietzke, Pat Lindsey, Mark Lye, John Mahaffey, Roger Maltbie, Gary McCord, Mike McCullough, Mark McCumber, Pat McGowan, Allen Miller, Johnny Miller, Jeff Mitchell, Larry Mize, Griff Moody, Gil Morgan, Bob Murphy, Tsuneyuki Nakajima, Jim Nelford, Larry Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Mike Nicolette, Greg Norman, Tim Norris, Andy North, Mac O'Grady, Mark O'Meara, David Ogrin, Peter Oosterhuis, Arnold Palmer, Jerry Pate, Corey Pavin, Mark Pfeil, Gary Player, Dan Pohl, Don Pooley, Greg Powers, Nick Price, Tom Purtzer, Sammy Rachels, Joey Rassett, Victor Regalado, Mike Reid, Jack Renner, Larry Rinker, Bill Rogers, Clarence Rose, Bill Sander, Bob Shearer, Tony Sills, Scott Simpson, Tim Simpson, Joey Sindelar, J. C. Snead, Ed Sneed, Craig Stadler, Payne Stewart, Dave Stockton, Curtis Strange, Ron Streck, Mike Sullivan, Hal Sutton, Doug Tewell, Leonard Thompson, Jim Thorpe, Lee Trevino, Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins, Denis Watson, Tom Watson, D. A. Weibring, Tom Weiskopf, Willie Wood, Richard Zokol

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, March 29, 1984

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Jim Thorpe	68	−4
2	John Mahaffey	69	−3
T3	Seve Ballesteros	70	−2
T3	Johnny Miller	70	−2
T6	John Cook	71	−1
	Fred Couples
	Hubert Green
	Jay Haas
	Wayne Levi
	Bruce Lietzke
	Tim Simpson
	Hal Sutton

Source:^[13]

Second round

Friday, March 30, 1984

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Fred Couples	71-64=135	−9
2	Jim Thorpe	68-69=137	−7
T3	Seve Ballesteros	70-68=138	−6
T3	Lanny Wadkins	72-66=138	−6
5	Johnny Miller	70-69=139	−5
T6	Jay Haas	71-69=140	−4
T6	Larry Rinker	75-67=140	−4
T8	Isao Aoki	72-69=141	−3
	Mark O'Meara	72-69=141
	Hal Sutton	71-70=141

Source:^[14]

Third round

Saturday, March 31, 1984

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Fred Couples	71-64-71=206	−10
2	Seve Ballesteros	70-68-70=208	−8
3	Tom Watson	75-67-67=209	−7
T4	Mark O'Meara	72-69-69=210	−6
	Craig Stadler	74-70-66=210
	Lee Trevino	76-66-68=210
7	John Mahaffey	69-74-69=212	−4
T8	Dan Pohl	71-69-74=214	−2
	Larry Mize	75-72-67=214
	Dan Pohl	74-69-71=214

Source:^[15]

Final round

Sunday, April 1, 1984

Champion

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Fred Couples	71-64-71-71=277	−11	144,000
2	Lee Trevino (c)	76-66-68-68=278	−10	86,400
T3	Seve Ballesteros	70-68-70-74=282	−6	46,400
T3	Craig Stadler	74-70-66-72=282	−6	46,400
T5	Mark O'Meara	72-69-69-73=283	−5	30,400
T5	Lanny Wadkins (c)	72-66-78-67=283	−5	30,400
7	Nick Price	70-72-74-68=284	−4	26,800
T8	Dan Pohl	74-69-71-71=285	−3	24,000
T8	Tom Watson	75-67-67-76=285	−3	24,000
T10	John Mahaffey	69-74-69-74=286	−2	20,800
T10	Jim Thorpe	68-69-78-71=286	−2	20,800

Leaderboard below the top 10
Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
T12	Raymond Floyd (c)	77-71-70-69=287	−1	16,800
	Bruce Lietzke	71-73-74-69=287
	Tim Simpson	71-73-74-69=287
T15	Isao Aoki	72-69-76-71=288	E	12,800
	David Edwards	73-71-78-66=288
	Phil Hancock	76-70-72-70=288
	Hale Irwin	73-74-72-69=288
	Larry Mize	75-72-67-74=288
T20	Jim Colbert	74-75-72-68=289	+1	8,666
	Nick Faldo	73-73-74-69=289
	Keith Fergus	74-73-72-70=289
	Donnie Hammond	77-70-69-73=289
	Wayne Levi	71-71-76-71=289
	Pat Lindsey	73-71-75-70=289
T26	Ben Crenshaw	74-73-73-70=290	+2	6,160
	Peter Oosterhuis	73-69-74-74=290
	Mike Sullivan	75-70-71-74=290
T29	Chip Beck	77-72-73-69=291	+3	5,320
	Jay Haas	71-69-74-77=291
	Bernhard Langer	72-70-75-74=291
	Johnny Miller	70-69-78-74=291
T33	George Archer	76-69-77-70=292	+4	4,050
	Brad Faxon	75-72-77-68=292
	John Fought	75-72-73-72=292
	Barry Jaeckel	72-72-72-76=292
	Jack Nicklaus (c)	78-70-75-69=292
	Clarence Rose	73-72-72-75=292
	Scott Simpson	75-74-72-71=292
	Curtis Strange	74-73-74-71=292
T41	David Graham	76-73-73-71=293	+5	3,120
	Tom Purtzer	76-69-76-72=293
	Hal Sutton (c)	71-70-74-78=293
T44	Russ Cochran	72-74-76-72=294	+6	2,361
	John Cook	71-76-73-74=294
	Dave Eichelberger	74-72-73-75=294
	Scott Hoch	78-71-72-73=294
	Gil Morgan	72-76-73-73=294
	Ron Streck	76-72-73-73=294
	Willie Wood	72-73-77-72=294
T51	Peter Jacobsen	75-73-76-71=295	+7	1,925
	Tom Jenkins	80-69-72-74=295
	Tom Kite	74-70-74-77=295
T54	Gary Hallberg	73-71-78-74=296	+8	1,824
	Gary Koch	77-71-75-73=296
	Allen Miller	76-72-73-75=296
	Tsuneyuki Nakajima	74-71-76-75=296
	Larry Rinker	73-67-85-71=296
T59	Wally Armstrong	76-73-74-74=297	+9	1,768
T59	Gibby Gilbert	76-72-79-70=297	+9	1,768
61	Gary Player	74-73-74-77=298	+10	1,744
T62	Bob Eastwood	74-72-77-76=299	+11	1,720
T62	Larry Nelson	75-72-74-78=299	+11	1,720
T64	Bobby Clampett	73-75-79-73=300	+12	1,688
T64	Payne Stewart	79-70-75-76=300	+12	1,688
T66	Buddy Gardner	73-75-73-80=301	+13	1,640
	Thomas Gray	75-73-79-74=301
	Hubert Green	71-78-81-71=301
	Arnold Palmer	72-76-76-77=301
70	Lennie Clements	72-76-77-77=302	+14	1,600
71	Danny Edwards	76-72-78-79=305	+17	1,584
CUT	Rex Caldwell	75-75=150	+6
	Jim Dent	76-74=150
	Lou Graham	76-74=150
	Mac O'Grady	78-72=150
	Sammy Rachels	77-73=150
	Doug Tewell	75-75=150
	Dave Barr	79-72=151	+7
	Andy Bean	79-72=151
	Mark Brooks	77-74=151
	Frank Conner	78-73=151
	Ralph Landrum	75-76=151
	Greg Norman	72-79=151
	Tim Norris	79-72=151
	Greg Powers	76-75=151
	Joey Rassett	74-77=151
	Joey Sindelar	74-77=151
	Bobby Wadkins	75-76=151
	John Adams	75-77=152	+8
	Mike Donald	80-72=152
	Dan Halldorson	79-73=152
	Mark Lye	78-74=152
	Pat McGowan	74-78=152
	David Ogrin	75-77=152
	Mark Pfeil	79-73=152
	Don Pooley	80-72=152
	Victor Regalado	75-77=152
	Mike Reid	81-71=152
	Jack Renner	75-77=152
	Ed Sneed	74-78=152
	Bill Britton	79-74=153	+9
	Mark Hayes (c)	77-76=153
	Joe Inman	77-76=153
	Griff Moody	78-75=153
	Jerry Pate (c)	79-74=153
	D. A. Weibring	76-77=153
	Ronnie Black	80-74=154	+10
	George Cadle	76-78=154
	Lee Elder	80-74=154
	Al Geiberger (c)	79-75=154
	Steven Liebler	80-74=154
	Jim Nelford	79-75=154
	Bill Rogers	75-79=154
	Tom Weiskopf	78-76=154
	Brad Bryant	81-74=155	+11
	George Burns	81-74=155
	Roger Maltbie	77-78=155
	Richard Zokol	77-78=155
	Bob Gilder	76-80=156	+12
	Gary McCord	79-77=156
	Andy North	81-75=156
	Chen Tze-chung	80-77=157	+13
	Ken Green	85-72=157
	Corey Pavin	75-82=157
	J. C. Snead	85-72=157
	Bob Boyd	80-78=158	+14
	Bruce Fleisher	83-75=158
	Dave Stockton	84-74=158
	Leonard Thompson	79-79=158
	Jim Booros	82-77=159	+15
	Bob Murphy	84-75=159
	Bill Sander	80-79=159
	Tony Sills	81-78=159
	Morris Hatalsky	77-83=160	+16
	Bob Shearer	80-80=160	+16
Denis Watson	82-79=161	+17
Ed Fiori	84-81=165	+21
Dan Forsman	86-80=166	+22
Lon Hinkle	84-85=169	+25
WD	Mike Nicolette	76	+4
	Vance Heafner	79	+7
	Mike McCullough	88	+16
DQ	Mark McCumber	72	E
DQ	Jeff Mitchell

Source:^[16]

References

^ "Golf: Tournament Players". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 2, 1984. p. 15.
^ "Couples grabs TPC lead". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). March 31, 1984. p. 20.
^ "Couples takes advantage of a dying wind with a 64". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 31, 1984. p. 7C.
^ "Two birdies aid Couples' biggest win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. April 2, 1984. p. 3C.
^ ^a ^b Jenkins, Dan (April 9, 1984). "Gone, even with the wind". Sports Illustrated. p. 53.
^ Reilly, Rick (April 8, 1996). "As easy as T-P-C". Sports Illustrated. p. 50.
^ "Wet green helps Couples win 'long green' in TPC". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). Associated Press. April 1, 1996. p. 1C.
^ "Couples takes charge for TPC title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. April 1, 1996. p. 3B.
^ "Trevino beats the best in TPC". Chicago Tribune. wire services. March 24, 1980. p. 5, sec. 3.
^ Jenkins, Dan (March 31, 1980). "Seems like old times". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
^ "Couples rallies, Faldo leads". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 29, 1992. p. 3E.
^ "1984 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. p. 281. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 27, 2020.
^ "Thorpe blows into lead of the wind-swept TPC". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 30, 1984. p. 2C.
^ "Couples takes advantage of dying wind with a 64". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 31, 1984. p. 7C.
^ "Couples leading TPC by a couple". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. April 1, 1984. p. 7B.
^ "Past Results 1974 – present". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.