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.

Hal Sutton
Personal information
Full nameHal Evan Sutton
Born (1958-04-28) April 28, 1958 (age 66)
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

Professional career

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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

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Sutton has four children.[9]

Amateur wins (6)

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Professional wins (15)

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PGA Tour wins (14)

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Legend
Major championships (1)
Players Championships (2)
Tour Championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (10)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1Oct 31, 1982Walt Disney World Golf Classic71-63-68-67=269−19Playoff Bill Britton
2Mar 28, 1983Tournament Players Championship73-71-70-69=283−51 stroke Bob Eastwood
3Aug 7, 1983PGA Championship65-66-72-71=274−101 stroke Jack Nicklaus
4Jun 30, 1985St. Jude Memphis Classic65-76-73-65=279−9Playoff David Ogrin
5Sep 22, 1985Southwest Golf Classic68-67-67-71=273−15Playoff Mike Reid
6Jan 26, 1986Phoenix Open64-64-68-71=267−172 strokes Calvin Peete, Tony Sills
7May 25, 1986Memorial Tournament68-69-66-68=271−174 strokes Don Pooley
8Sep 17, 1995B.C. Open71-69-68-61=269−151 stroke Jim McGovern
9Sep 27, 1998Westin Texas Open67-68-67-68=270−181 stroke Jay Haas, Justin Leonard
10Nov 1, 1998The Tour Championship69-67-68-70=274−6Playoff Vijay Singh
11Sep 12, 1999Bell Canadian Open69-67-70-69=275−133 strokes Dennis Paulson
12Mar 27, 2000The Players Championship (2)69-69-69-71=278−101 stroke Tiger Woods
13Apr 23, 2000Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic67-64-72-71=274−143 strokes Andrew Magee
14Apr 22, 2001Shell Houston Open70-68-71-69=278−103 strokes Joe Durant, Lee Janzen

PGA Tour playoff record (4–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
11982Walt Disney World Golf Classic Bill BrittonWon with birdie on fourth extra hole
21985St. Jude Memphis Classic David OgrinWon with birdie on first extra hole
31985Southwest Golf Classic Mike ReidWon with birdie on first extra hole
41989Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic Mike Donald, Tim SimpsonDonald won with birdie on fourth extra hole
Sutton eliminated by par on third hole
51994Federal Express St. Jude Classic Dicky Pride, Gene SauersPride won with birdie on first extra hole
61998The Tour Championship Vijay SinghWon with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (1)

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No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runners-up
1Dec 15, 1985Chrysler Team Championship
(with Raymond Floyd)
63-65-68-64=260−28Playoff Charlie Bolling and Brad Fabel,
Jim Colbert and Tom Purtzer,
John Fought and Pat McGowan,
Gary Hallberg and Scott Hoch

Other playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
11985Chrysler Team Championship
(with Raymond Floyd)
Charlie Bolling and Brad Fabel,
Jim Colbert and Tom Purtzer,
John Fought and Pat McGowan,
Gary Hallberg and Scott Hoch
Won with birdie on first extra hole

Major championships

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Wins (1)

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YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
1983PGA Championship2 shot lead−10 (65-66-72-71=274)1 stroke Jack Nicklaus

Results timeline

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Tournament1980198119821983198419851986198719881989
Masters Tournament52CUTT27CUTT31CUTCUTCUTCUT
U.S. OpenCUTCUTT196T16T23T4T3164T29
The Open ChampionshipT47LACUTT29CUTT11CUT
PGA ChampionshipT291T6T65T21T28T66CUT
Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999
Masters TournamentCUTCUTCUTCUTCUT
U.S. OpenCUTCUTT36T19T7
The Open ChampionshipT10
PGA ChampionshipT49T7CUTT31T55CUTCUTCUTT27T26
Tournament200020012002200320042005
Masters Tournament1036
U.S. OpenT23T24CUT
The Open ChampionshipCUTCUTCUT
PGA ChampionshipCUTT44T60T39CUT79
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Summary

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TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament000011165
U.S. Open0001391813
The Open Championship000012104
PGA Championship1001342417
Totals10028166839
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (twice)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1999 U.S. Open – 1999 Open Championship)

The Players Championship

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Wins (2)

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YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
1983Tournament Players Championship4 shot deficit−5 (73-71-70-69=283)1 stroke Bob Eastwood
2000The Players Championship (2)1 shot lead−10 (69-69-69-71=278)1 stroke Tiger Woods

Results timeline

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Tournament19831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005
The Players Championship1T41T22T7T24CUTT29CUTT68CUTCUTT19CUTT53T50T18T41T5CUTCUTCUTWD
  Win
  Top 10

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

Results in World Golf Championships

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Tournament19992000200120022003
Match PlayR64QFR64R64
Championship19NT1
InvitationalT15T4T11T42T33

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

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Amateur

Professional

See also

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References

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  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.
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