Hal Sutton


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

Professional career

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. 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.
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. 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. 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. He has reached the top five of the rankings.
After playing on four U.S. Ryder Cup teams, 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.
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

Sutton is a Republican, having donated money to several GOP causes. He has four children.

Amateur wins (6)

PGA Tour wins (14)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-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 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
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
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 with 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)

Wins (1)

Results timeline

LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half way cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

Wins (2)

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut

WD = withdrew

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Results in World Golf Championships

1Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur
Professional