| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 18–21, 1982 |
| Location | Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida 30°11′53″N 81°23′38″W / 30.198°N 81.394°W |
| Course(s) | TPC Sawgrass, Stadium Course |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 6,857 yards (6,270 m)[1] |
| Field | 147 players, 82 after cut[2] |
| Cut | 148 (+4) |
| Prize fund | $500,000 |
| Winner's share | $90,000 |
| Champion | |
 Jerry Pate | |
| 280 (−8) | |
| Location map | |
  TPC Sawgrass Location in the United States  TPC Sawgrass Location in Florida | |
The 1982 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held March 18–21 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the ninth Tournament Players Championship and the first at the new course.[3][4][5]
Playing an orange ball,[6] Jerry Pate shot a final round 67 (−5) to win by two strokes over runners-up Scott Simpson and Brad Bryant.[7] Pate started the final round three strokes behind the leaders, in a tie for sixth place.[2][8] Following his win, Pate pushed tour commissioner Deane Beman and course designer Pete Dye into the lake along the 18th green, and then joined them.[7][9][10][11]
Notables to miss the cut included hall of famers Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and, Lee Trevino.[12]
Defending champion Raymond Floyd finished eleven strokes back, in a tie for 22nd place.
- ^ "3 share TPC lead with 67s". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. March 19, 1982. p. 12B.
- ^ a b "Lietzke, Bryant battle back to share TPC lead". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). UPI. March 21, 1982. p. 12B.
- ^ "Golf's richest tournament starts today". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). UPI. March 18, 1982. p. 14-B.
- ^ McDermott, Barry (March 15, 1982). "Target golf is the aim". Sports Illustrated. p. 38.
- ^ "Golf's greatest take back seat to TPC course". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 17, 1982. p. 44.
- ^ Kupelian, Vartan (March 21, 2012). "Seeing orange: The story behind Pate's Players-winning ball". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
- ^ a b "Pate takes dive after TPC win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 22, 1982. p. 3B.
- ^ "TPC lead surprises Lietzke, Bryant". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 21, 1982. p. 7C.
- ^ Johnson, Mark (March 22, 1982). "For Pate, a big win and another splash". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). p. 1C.
- ^ Jenkins, Dan (March 29, 1982). "Last one in is a winner". Sports Illustrated. p. 24.
- ^ Van Sickle, Gary (March 23, 2004). "Present at the plunge". Sports Illustrated. p. 32.
- ^ "New course sends top pros packing". Chicago Tribune. March 21, 1982. p. 12, sec. 4.