1997 Players Championship

The 1997 Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 27–30 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the 24th Players Championship.

Tournament summary
Steve Elkington led wire-to-wire, with all four rounds in the sixties, to win his second Players at 272 (−16), a record seven strokes ahead of runner-up Scott Hoch. Elkington's previous win was six years earlier in 1991.

In his first Players, 21-year-old Tiger Woods tied for 31st at 289 (+1); two weeks later, he won the Masters by a record margin.

Defending champion Fred Couples finished thirteen strokes back, in a tie for tenth place.

Venue
This was the sixteenth Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course, and it remained at 6896 yd.

Eligibility requirements
All winners of PGA Tour events awarding official money and official victory status in the preceding 12 months, concluding with the Bay Hill Invitational and dating from the 1996 Players Championship.

Fred Couples, Paul Stankowski, Nick Faldo, Loren Roberts, Mark O'Meara, Mark Brooks, Phil Mickelson, Corey Pavin, Steve Stricker, Tom Watson, Ernie Els, Steve Jones, John Cook, D. A. Weibring, Scott Hoch, Tom Lehman, Willie Wood, Justin Leonard, Clarence Rose, Guy Boros, Dudley Hart, Ed Fiori???, Fred Funk, Michael Bradley, Tiger Woods, David Ogrin, Jeff Sluman, Steve Elkington, Stuart Appleby

The top 125 PGA Tour members from the final 1996 Official Money List.

Davis Love III, Brad Faxon, David Duval, Kenny Perry, Greg Norman, Tommy Tolles, Vijay Singh, Jeff Maggert, Jim Furyk, Mark Calcavecchia, Duffy Waldorf, Lee Janzen, Woody Austin, Payne Stewart, Bob Tway, Jay Haas, John Huston, Mark McCumber, Tim Herron, Rocco Mediate, Craig Parry, Paul Goydos, Billy Andrade, Colin Montgomerie, Scott McCarron, Nick Price, Tom Purtzer, Jesper Parnevik, David Frost, Billy Mayfair, Fuzzy Zoeller, Jay Don Blake, Craig Stadler, Jerry Kelly, Andrew Magee, Greg Kraft, Russ Cochran, Lennie Clements, John Morse, Kirk Triplett, Tom Kite, Larry Mize, Scott Simpson, Kelly Gibson, Larry Nelson, Nolan Henke, Grant Waite, Glen Day, Emlyn Aubrey, Jim Gallagher Jr., Joey Sindelar, Rick Fehr, Patrick Burke, Steve Lowery, Frank Nobilo, Marco Dawson, Mike Brisky, Gil Morgan, John Adams, Brad Bryant, Robert Gamez, Joel Edwards, Ronnie Black, Len Mattiace, Mike Hulbert, Brandel Chamblee, Paul Azinger, Phil Blackmar, Brad Fabel, Chip Beck, Joe Ozaki, Olin Browne, Jim Carter, Taylor Smith, Doug Martin, Neal Lancaster, David Toms, David Edwards, Mark Wiebe, Wayne Levi, Hal Sutton, Pete Jordan, Lee Rinker, Chris Perry, John Maginnes, Hugh Royer III, John Wilson, Curtis Strange, Blaine McCallister, Scott Gump, Ben Crenshaw, Dave Stockton Jr., John Daly, Omar Uresti, Dan Forsman, Scott Dunlap, Dicky Pride

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

Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam, Bernhard Langer, Wayne Grady, Mike Reid, Fulton Allem

British Open winners since 1990.

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

Costantino Rocca, Sam Torrance, Robert Allenby, Mark McNulty, Masashi Ozaki, Brian Watts

Any players, not otherwise eligible, who are among the top 10 money winners from the 1997 Official Money List through the Bay Hill Invitational

To complete a field of 144 players, those players in order, not otherwise eligible, from the 1997 Official Money List through the Bay Hill Invitational.

Source:

Field
Robert Damron, Joe Durant, Donnie Hammond, Brian Henninger, Peter Jacobsen, Don Pooley, Ted Tryba

First round
Thursday, March 27, 1997 Source:

Second round
Friday, March 28, 1997 Source:

Third round
Saturday, March 29, 1997 Source:

Final round
Sunday, March 30, 1997 Source: