1976 Tournament Players Championship

Golf tournament

1976 Tournament Players ChampionshipTournament information

Dates| February 26 –
March 1, 1976
Location| Lauderhill, Florida, U.S.
26°10′23″N 80°14′10″W﻿ / ﻿26.173°N 80.236°W﻿ / 26.173; -80.236
Course(s)| Inverrary Country Club
East Course[1]
Tour(s)| PGA Tour
Statistics
Par| 72
Length| 7,128 yards (6,518 m)[2]
Field| 143 players, 81 after cut
Cut| 145 (+1)
Prize fund| $300,000
Winner's share| $60,000
Champion
Jack Nicklaus
269 (−19)
Location map

Inverrary CC

Location in the United States

Show map of the United States

Inverrary CC

Location in Florida

Show map of Florida

← 1975

1977 →

The 1976 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held February 26 to March 1 at Inverrary Country Club in Lauderhill, northwest of Fort Lauderdale. This was the third Tournament Players Championship;[3] Jack Nicklaus won his second title, three strokes ahead of runner-up J. C. Snead,[2][4] similar to his 1974 win.

Saturday was washed out by a thunderstorm; the third round was on Sunday and the final round on Monday.[5][6]

Defending champion Al Geiberger finished fifteen strokes back, in a tie for 24th place.

The first two editions had been played in late summer, after the major championships; this year's began in late February. This was the final year the Tournament Players Championship name was attached to an established PGA Tour event.[1]

## Venue

[edit]

This was the only Tournament Players Championship held in south Florida; the first was in Georgia and the second in Texas. It relocated to northeast Florida at Ponte Vedra Beach in 1977, where it became a standalone event for the first time. The Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches, which is currently played in the Palm Beach area since 2003, was originally hosted by Inverrary from 1972 through 1983. The tournament recognises the 1976 Players Championship winner as a winner of their tournament, as from 1974-76, an established tournament was given the title with special qualifications.

## Round summaries

[edit]

### First round

[edit]

Thursday, February 26, 1976
Friday, February 27, 1976

Place | Player | Score | To par

|
|
|

T1 |  Fred Marti | 66 | −6
Jack Nicklaus
T3 |  Barry Jaeckel | 67 | −5
Don January
J. C. Snead
Tom Watson
T7 |  George Burns | 68 | −4
Dale Douglass
Bob Gilder
John Mahaffey
Ed Sneed

Source:[7]

### Second round

[edit]

Friday, February 27, 1976

Place | Player | Score | To par

|
|
|

1 |  Don January | 67-68=135 | −9
T2 |  Jack Nicklaus | 66-70=136 | −8
J. C. Snead | 67-69=136
T4 |  Jim Masserio | 69-68=137 | −7
Tom Watson | 67-70=137
T6 |  Butch Baird | 71-67=138 | −6
George Burns | 71-67=138
Dale Douglass | 68-70=138
Mark Hayes | 71-67=138
Hale Irwin | 70-68=138

Source:[8]

### Third round

[edit]

Saturday, February 28, 1976
Sunday, February 29, 1976

Place | Player | Score | To par

|
|
|

T1 |  Jack Nicklaus | 66-70-68=204 | −12
J. C. Snead | 67-69-68=204
T3 |  Roger Maltbie | 70-70-65=205 | −11
Mark Hayes | 71-67-67=205
5 |  Tom Watson | 67-70-70=207 | −9
T6 |  Hale Irwin | 70-68-70=208 | −8
Don January | 67-68-73=208
8 |  Jim Masserio | 69-68-72=209 | −7
T9 |  Butch Baird | 71-67-72=210 | −6
Bob Payne | 69-70-71=210

Source:[9]

### Final round

[edit]

Monday, March 1, 1976

Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($)

|
|
|
|

1 |  Jack Nicklaus | 66-70-68-65=269 | −19 | 60,000
2 |  J. C. Snead | 67-69-68-68=272 | −16 | 34,200
T3 |  Roger Maltbie | 70-70-65-71=276 | −12 | 17,700
Jim Masserio | 69-68-72-67=276
5 |  Mark Hayes | 71-67-67-72=277 | −11 | 12,300
6 |  Lee Elder | 69-72-70-67=278 | −10 | 10,800
T7 |  Butch Baird | 71-67-72-70=280 | −8 | 9,225
Don January | 67-68-73-72=280
T9 |  David Graham | 70-71-71-69=281 | −7 | 7,500
Gary Player | 73-70-71-67=281
Tom Watson | 67-70-70-74=281

Source:[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Martz, Ron (February 26, 1976). "Golf pros create true tourney of champions". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). p. 9C.
2. ^ a b c "Nicklaus' seven-under 65 plenty adequate for title". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 2, 1976. p. 15.
3. ^ Biggers, Don (June 23, 1974). "Move over 'big four,' here comes another". Rome News-Tribune. (Georgia). p. 1C.
4. ^ "Jack quiets cynics, wins TPC golf". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. March 2, 1976. p. 1, sec. 4.
5. ^ "Showers postpone TPC". Chicago Tribune. UPI. February 29, 1976. p. 9, sec. 3.
6. ^ "Thunderstorm puts TPC back a day". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. February 29, 1976. p. 8C.
7. ^ "Marti, Nicklaus share top spot". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. February 27, 1976. p. 4C.
8. ^ "January captures Players golf lead". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. February 28, 1976. p. 3B.
9. ^ "A replay of 1974 Players". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 1, 1976. p. 2C.

## External links

[edit]

* The Players Championship website
* Inverrary Country Club[usurped]

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