Hal Sutton

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Hal Sutton
Personal information
Full nameHal Evan Sutton
Born (1958-04-28) April 28, 1958 (age 65)
Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight210 lb (95 kg; 15 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceBossier City, Louisiana, U.S.
SpouseStacy Sutton
Children4
Career
CollegeCentenary College
Turned professional1981
Current tour(s)PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins15
Highest ranking4 (April 23, 2000)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour14
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters Tournament10th: 2000
PGA ChampionshipWon: 1983
U.S. OpenT4: 1986
The Open ChampionshipT10: 1999
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour
money list winner
1983
PGA Player of the Year1983
PGA Tour
Comeback Player of the Year
1994
Payne Stewart Award2007

Hal Evan Sutton (born April 28, 1958) is an American professional golfer, currently playing on the PGA Tour Champions, who achieved 14 victories on the PGA Tour, including the 1983 PGA Championship (a major championship) and the 1983 and 2000 Players Championships. Sutton was also the PGA Tour's leading money winner in 1983 and named Player of the Year.

Professional career[edit]

Born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, Sutton was a promising player at its Centenary College, and was named Golf Magazine's 1980 College Player of the Year. At Centenary, Sutton won 14 golf tournaments, was an All American, led the Gents to the NCAA Tournament, and finished ninth nationally.[2] He quickly established himself as one of the PGA Tour's top young stars in the early 1980s. His first win was at the 1982 Walt Disney World Golf Classic in a playoff with Bill Britton after the two had tied at 19-under-par 269 after 72 holes.[3]

Sutton's most notable year came in 1983, when he won the Tournament Players Championship in March, followed by his only major title, the PGA Championship at Riviera in August.[4][5] He entered into a long drought shortly thereafter, going from 1987 to 1994 without a PGA Tour victory. He nearly lost his tour card late in the string, maintaining it only by using a one-time-only exemption for players in the top 50 of the all-time PGA Tour career money list. After this disappointing eight years, Sutton rejuvenated his career in 1995 with a win at the B.C. Open.

In 1998, Sutton won the Valero Texas Open and the prestigious Tour Championship to finish fifth on the PGA Tour money list. Other than his spectacular 1983 season, Sutton had his best year to date in 2000 by beating Tiger Woods in the final group of The Players Championship to win.[6] He also had an additional win to that—the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic two starts later. He would go on to finish fourth on the PGA Tour money list. In 2001, Sutton made the cut in 22 of 26 events with one victory at the Shell Houston Open at TPC at The Woodlands and a season winnings total of $1.7 million.

Sutton ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings for over 50 weeks from their debut in 1986 to 1987 and then again for over 50 weeks between 1999 and 2001.[7] He has reached the top five of the rankings.

After playing on four U.S. Ryder Cup teams (1985, 1987, 1999, 2002), he was named non-playing captain of the team for 2004. The competition, played at Oakland Hills Country Club, saw Europe beat the US by 18½ to 9½ points. Inevitably, Sutton came in for some criticism of his performance as captain, especially for his decision to pair Tiger Woods with Phil Mickelson on the first day of play.[8]

In 2007, Sutton received the Payne Stewart Award for his charitable efforts, which include the establishment of the Christus Schumpert Sutton Children's Hospital in his hometown of Shreveport. He also teamed up with Louisianans Kelly Gibson and David Toms to raise more than $2 million in aid to Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita victims. Sutton was also awarded the Omar N. Bradley Spirit of Independence Award in 2004 and the Golf Writers Association of America's 2006 Charlie Bartlett Award with Gibson and Toms for their relief efforts.

Sutton became eligible to play on the Champions Tour in April 2008 and his best finish is a tie for third at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am in 2009.

Personal life[edit]

Sutton has four children.[9]

Amateur wins (6)[edit]

Professional wins (15)[edit]

PGA Tour wins (14)[edit]

Legend
Major championships (1)
Players Championships (2)
Tour Championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (10)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Oct 31, 1982 Walt Disney World Golf Classic 71-63-68-67=269 −19 Playoff United States Bill Britton
2 Mar 28, 1983 Tournament Players Championship 73-71-70-69=283 −5 1 stroke United States Bob Eastwood
3 Aug 7, 1983 PGA Championship 65-66-72-71=274 −10 1 stroke United States Jack Nicklaus
4 Jun 30, 1985 St. Jude Memphis Classic 65-76-73-65=279 −9 Playoff United States David Ogrin
5 Sep 22, 1985 Southwest Golf Classic 68-67-67-71=273 −15 Playoff United States Mike Reid
6 Jan 26, 1986 Phoenix Open 64-64-68-71=267 −17 2 strokes United States Calvin Peete, United States Tony Sills
7 May 25, 1986 Memorial Tournament 68-69-66-68=271 −17 4 strokes United States Don Pooley
8 Sep 17, 1995 B.C. Open 71-69-68-61=269 −15 1 stroke United States Jim McGovern
9 Sep 27, 1998 Westin Texas Open 67-68-67-68=270 −18 1 stroke United States Jay Haas, United States Justin Leonard
10 Nov 1, 1998 The Tour Championship 69-67-68-70=274 −6 Playoff Fiji Vijay Singh
11 Sep 12, 1999 Bell Canadian Open 69-67-70-69=275 −13 3 strokes United States Dennis Paulson
12 Mar 27, 2000 The Players Championship (2) 69-69-69-71=278 −10 1 stroke United States Tiger Woods
13 Apr 23, 2000 Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic 67-64-72-71=274 −14 3 strokes United States Andrew Magee
14 Apr 22, 2001 Shell Houston Open 70-68-71-69=278 −10 3 strokes United States Joe Durant, United States Lee Janzen

PGA Tour playoff record (4–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1982 Walt Disney World Golf Classic United States Bill Britton Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
2 1985 St. Jude Memphis Classic United States David Ogrin Won with birdie on first extra hole
3 1985 Southwest Golf Classic United States Mike Reid Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 1989 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic United States Mike Donald, United States Tim Simpson Donald won with birdie on fourth extra hole
Sutton eliminated by par on third hole
5 1994 Federal Express St. Jude Classic United States Dicky Pride, United States Gene Sauers Pride won with birdie on first extra hole
6 1998 The Tour Championship Fiji Vijay Singh Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (1)[edit]

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1 Dec 15, 1985 Chrysler Team Championship
(with United States Raymond Floyd)
63-65-68-64=260 −28 Playoff United States Charlie Bolling and United States Brad Fabel,
United States Jim Colbert and United States Tom Purtzer,
United States John Fought and United States Pat McGowan,
United States Gary Hallberg and United States Scott Hoch

Other playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 1985 Chrysler Team Championship
(with United States Raymond Floyd)
United States Charlie Bolling and United States Brad Fabel,
United States Jim Colbert and United States Tom Purtzer,
United States John Fought and United States Pat McGowan,
United States Gary Hallberg and United States Scott Hoch
Won with birdie on first extra hole

Major championships[edit]

Wins (1)[edit]

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1983 PGA Championship 2 shot lead −10 (65-66-72-71=274) 1 stroke United States Jack Nicklaus

Results timeline[edit]

Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament 52 CUT T27 CUT T31 CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT CUT T19 6 T16 T23 T4 T31 64 T29
The Open Championship T47LA CUT T29 CUT T11 CUT
PGA Championship T29 1 T6 T65 T21 T28 T66 CUT
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT CUT T36 T19 T7
The Open Championship T10
PGA Championship T49 T7 CUT T31 T55 CUT CUT CUT T27 T26
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Masters Tournament 10 36
U.S. Open T23 T24 CUT
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT
PGA Championship CUT T44 T60 T39 CUT 79
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary[edit]

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 1 1 16 5
U.S. Open 0 0 0 1 3 9 18 13
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 1 2 10 4
PGA Championship 1 0 0 1 3 4 24 17
Totals 1 0 0 2 8 16 68 39
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (twice)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1999 U.S. Open – 1999 Open Championship)

The Players Championship[edit]

Wins (2)[edit]

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1983 Tournament Players Championship 4 shot deficit −5 (73-71-70-69=283) 1 stroke United States Bob Eastwood
2000 The Players Championship (2) 1 shot lead −10 (69-69-69-71=278) 1 stroke United States Tiger Woods

Results timeline[edit]

Tournament 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
The Players Championship 1 T41 T22 T7 T24 CUT T29 CUT T68 CUT CUT T19 CUT T53 T50 T18 T4 1 T5 CUT CUT CUT WD
  Win
  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Results in World Golf Championships[edit]

Tournament 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Match Play R64 QF R64 R64
Championship 19 NT1
Invitational T15 T4 T11 T42 T33

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

U.S. national team appearances[edit]

Amateur

Professional

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Week 16 2000 Ending 23 Apr 2000" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  2. ^ "Hal Sutton, PGA Present Ryder Cup Gift: $100,000 Each to Centenary College & United Way of Northwest Louisiana". Archived from the original on July 14, 2014.
  3. ^ "Today in Golf History: October 31". Golfonline. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
  4. ^ Jenkins, Dan (August 15, 1983). "There's a new bear on the loose". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
  5. ^ "Golf Major Championships".
  6. ^ Shipnuck, Alan (April 3, 2000). "Punched out". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  7. ^ "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking". Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  8. ^ Hack, Damon (September 18, 2006). "U.S. Turns Its Focus to Playing Like a Team". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  9. ^ "Hal Sutton returns to pro golf after four-year hiatus, prepares for his first 3M Championship". July 8, 2009.

External links[edit]