1998 Players Championship
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 information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 26–29, 1998 |
| Location | Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida 30.198°N 81.394°W |
| Course(s) | TPC Sawgrass, Stadium Course |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 6,950 yards (6,355 m)[1] |
| Field | 144 players, 72 after cut |
| Cut | 146 (+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 | |
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.[2] Len Mattiace surged into the lead in the final round, but a quintuple-bogey at 17 ended his chances; he birdied the last hole and finished four strokes back. Third round leader and 1995 champion Lee Janzen shot 79 and fell to eighteenth.[3][4] He regrouped and won his second U.S. Open at Olympic in June.
Defending champion Steve Elkington withdrew on Monday night, citing complications after sinus surgery.[5][6] the first not to compete since Jerry Pate in 1983 (neck).[5]
Venue
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
John Adams, Fulton Allem, Stephen Ames, Billy Andrade, Stuart Appleby, Tommy Armour III, Paul Azinger, Doug Barron, Ronnie Black, Phil Blackmar, Jay Don Blake, Guy Boros, Michael Bradley, Mike Brisky, Mark Brooks, Billy Ray Brown, Olin Browne, Tom Byrum, Mark Calcavecchia, Jim Carter, Brandel Chamblee, Michael Christie, Stewart Cink, Darren Clarke, Lennie Clements, Russ Cochran, John Cook, Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw, John Daly, Robert Damron, Glen Day, Trevor Dodds, Joe Durant, David Duval, David Edwards, Ernie Els, Bob Estes, Brad Fabel, Nick Faldo, Brad Faxon, Rick Fehr, Dan Forsman, David Frost, Fred Funk, Jim Furyk, Robert Gamez, Brent Geiberger, Kelly Gibson, Retief Goosen, Paul Goydos, Wayne Grady, Scott Gump, Jay Haas, Donnie Hammond, Dudley Hart, Nolan Henke, Brian Henninger, Tim Herron, Gabriel Hjertstedt, Scott Hoch, P. H. Horgan III, Mike Hulbert, John Huston, Lee Janzen, Per-Ulrik Johansson, Steve Jones, Pete Jordan, Jerry Kelly, Skip Kendall, Tom Kite, Neal Lancaster, Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, Justin Leonard, Frank Lickliter, Bruce Lietzke, Davis Love III, Steve Lowery, Sandy Lyle, Andrew Magee, Jeff Maggert, Doug Martin, Shigeki Maruyama, Len Mattiace, Billy Mayfair, Scott McCarron, Mark McCumber, Rocco Mediate, Phil Mickelson, Larry Mize, Colin Montgomerie, Larry Nelson, Frank Nobilo, Mark O'Meara, David Ogrin, José María Olazábal, Masashi Ozaki, Naomichi Ozaki, Jesper Parnevik, Craig Parry, Steve Pate, Corey Pavin, Chris Perry, Kenny Perry, Don Pooley, Nick Price, Tom Purtzer, Mike Reid, Larry Rinker, Lee Rinker, Loren Roberts, Costantino Rocca, Clarence Rose, Scott Simpson, Joey Sindelar, Vijay Singh, Jeff Sluman, Mike Springer, Craig Stadler, Mike Standly, Paul Stankowski, Payne Stewart, Curtis Strange, Steve Stricker, David Sutherland, Kevin Sutherland, Hal Sutton, Phil Tataurangi, Tommy Tolles, David Toms, Kirk Triplett, Ted Tryba, Bob Tway, Omar Uresti, Scott Verplank, Grant Waite, Duffy Waldorf, Tom Watson, Lee Westwood, Mark Wiebe, Willie Wood, Tiger Woods, Ian Woosnam
- Steve Elkington, the 1991 and 1997 champion, withdrew due to complications after sinus surgery;[5][6] the first defending champion not to compete since Jerry Pate in 1983.[5]
- Greg Norman, the 1994 champion, withdrew prior to the first round with a shoulder injury.[7]
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, March 26, 1998
Second round
Friday, March 27, 1998
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Lee Janzen | United States | 70-67=137 | −7 |
| Naomichi Ozaki |  Japan | 69-68=137 | ||
| 2 | Tom Kite | United States | 72-66=138 | −6 |
| T3 | Glen Day | United States | 66-73=139 | −5 |
| Jerry Kelly | United States | 68-71=139 | ||
| Bruce Lietzke | United States | 69-70=139 | ||
| T6 | Fred Couples | United States | 67-73=140 | −4 |
| David Frost |  South Africa | 69-71=140 | ||
| Scott Gump | United States | 72-68=140 | ||
| Jeff Maggert | United States | 69-71=140 | ||
| Len Mattiace | United States | 69-71=140 | ||
| Rocco Mediate | United States | 67-73=140 |
Source:[9]
Third round
Saturday, March 28, 1998
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee Janzen | United States | 70-67-69=206 | −10 |
| 2 | Glen Day | United States | 66-73-70=209 | −7 |
| 3 | Justin Leonard | United States | 72-69-70=211 | −5 |
| T4 | Mark Calcavecchia | United States | 69-75-68=212 | −4 |
| Scott Hoch | United States | 73-69-70=212 | ||
| Tom Lehman | United States | 72-70-70=212 | ||
| Len Mattiace | United States | 69-71-72=212 | ||
| Phil Mickelson | United States | 69-73-70=212 | ||
| T9 | Fred Couples | United States | 67-73-73=213 | −3 |
| Ernie Els | South Africa | 71-72-70=213 | ||
| David Frost | South Africa | 69-71-73=213 | ||
| Bruce Lietzke | United States | 69-70-74=213 | ||
| Billy Mayfair | United States | 69-75-69=213 | ||
| Naomichi Ozaki | Japan | 69-68-76=213 | ||
| Nick Price |  Zimbabwe | 71-72-70=213 | ||
| Craig Stadler | United States | 71-70-72=213 | ||
| Omar Uresti | United States | 72-71-70=213 | ||
| Lee Westwood |  England | 74-71-68=213 |
Source:[10]
Final round
Sunday, March 29, 1998
| Champion |
| (c) = past champion |
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Leonard | United States | 72-69-70-67=278 | −10 | 720,000 |
| T2 | Glen Day | United States | 66-73-70-71=280 | −8 | 352,000 |
| Tom Lehman | United States | 72-70-70-68=280 | |||
| 4 | Mark Calcavecchia | United States | 69-75-68-69=281 | −7 | 192,000 |
| T5 | Scott Hoch | United States | 73-69-70-70=282 | −6 | 146,000 |
| Len Mattiace | United States | 69-71-72-70=282 | |||
| Lee Westwood | England | 74-71-68-69=282 | |||
| T8 | Phil Mickelson | United States | 69-73-70-71=283 | −5 | 116,000 |
| Nick Price (c) | Zimbabwe | 71-72-70-70=283 | |||
| Payne Stewart | United States | 72-71-75-65=283 |
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Source:[11]
References
- "Players Championship". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). Associated Press. March 30, 1998. p. 7C.
- Parascenzo, Marino (March 30, 1998). "Leonard charges to victory in TPC". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. C1.
- Garrity, John (April 6, 1998). "Sunday Driver". Sports Illustrated. p. 60.
- "Leonard rallies from five shots back to win". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). Associated Press. March 30, 1998. p. 7C.
- Smits, Gary (March 25, 1998). "Elkington out". Florida Times-Union. (Jacksonville). Retrieved May 12, 2017.
- "Elkington won't defend". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 25, 1998. p. 2B.
- "Eagle on 19th makes it a great Day for leader". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 27, 1998. p. 5C.
- "Golf: PGA Tour". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 27, 1998. p. 6C.
- "Golf:PGA Tour". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 28, 1998. p. 8D.
- "Janzen taking aim at TPC". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 29, 1998. p. 3G.
- "Past Results 1974 – present". PGA Tour. Retrieved March 1, 2020.