Hal Sutton

Hal Sutton
Personal information
Full name	Hal Evan Sutton
Nickname	Prince Hal, Halimony [1] [2]
Born	(1958-04-28) April 28, 1958 (age 66) Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg; 15 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Bossier City, Louisiana, U.S.
Spouse	Stacy Sutton
Children	4
Career
College	Centenary College
Turned professional	1981
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	15
Highest ranking	4 (April 23, 2000) [3]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	14
Other	1
Best results in major championships (wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	10th: 2000
PGA Championship	Won: 1983
U.S. Open	T4: 1986
The Open Championship	T10: 1999
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour Rookie of the Year 1982 PGA Tour money list winner 1983 PGA Player of the Year 1983 PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year 1994 Payne Stewart Award 2007

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

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. ^[4] 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. ^[5]

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. ^{[6] [7]} 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. ^[8] 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. ^[9] 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. ^[10]

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. ^[11] He has four children. ^[12]

Amateur wins (6)

• 1974 Louisiana Junior Amateur
• 1979 Western Amateur
• 1980 North and South Amateur, U.S. Amateur, Western Amateur, Northeast Amateur, Eisenhower Trophy medalist

Professional wins (15)

PGA Tour wins (14)

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	Bill Britton
2	Mar 28, 1983	Tournament Players Championship	73-71-70-69=283	−5	1 stroke	Bob Eastwood
3	Aug 7, 1983	PGA Championship	65-66-72-71=274	−10	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus
4	Jun 30, 1985	St. Jude Memphis Classic	65-76-73-65=279	−9	Playoff	David Ogrin
5	Sep 22, 1985	Southwest Golf Classic	68-67-67-71=273	−15	Playoff	Mike Reid
6	Jan 26, 1986	Phoenix Open	64-64-68-71=267	−17	2 strokes	Calvin Peete, Tony Sills
7	May 25, 1986	Memorial Tournament	68-69-66-68=271	−17	4 strokes	Don Pooley
8	Sep 17, 1995	B.C. Open	71-69-68-61=269	−15	1 stroke	Jim McGovern
9	Sep 27, 1998	Westin Texas Open	67-68-67-68=270	−18	1 stroke	Jay Haas, Justin Leonard
10	Nov 1, 1998	The Tour Championship	69-67-68-70=274	−6	Playoff	Vijay Singh
11	Sep 12, 1999	Bell Canadian Open	69-67-70-69=275	−13	3 strokes	Dennis Paulson
12	Mar 27, 2000	The Players Championship (2)	69-69-69-71=278	−10	1 stroke	Tiger Woods
13	Apr 23, 2000	Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic	67-64-72-71=274	−14	3 strokes	Andrew Magee
14	Apr 22, 2001	Shell Houston Open	70-68-71-69=278	−10	3 strokes	Joe Durant, Lee Janzen

PGA Tour playoff record (4–2)

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

Other wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runners-up
1	Dec 15, 1985	Chrysler Team Championship (with Raymond Floyd)	63-65-68-64=260	−28	Playoff	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.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	1985	Chrysler 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

Wins (1)

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

Results timeline

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

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

Wins (2)

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

Results timeline

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

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

Amateur

• Walker Cup: 1979 (winners), 1981 (winners)
• Eisenhower Trophy: 1980 (team winners and individual leader)

Professional

• USA vs. Japan: 1983
• Ryder Cup: 1985, 1987, 1999 (winners), 2002, 2004 (captain)
• Nissan Cup: 1986
• Presidents Cup: 1998 (withdrew), 2000 (winners)
• UBS Cup: 2003 (tie), 2004 (winners)

See also

• Fall 1981 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
• List of men's major championships winning golfers

References

1. Diaz, Jaime (June 6, 1988). "The Fall of Prince Hal". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
2. Johnson, Andy (March 19, 2020). "The Bear Apparent". The Fried Egg. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
3. "Week 16 2000 Ending 23 Apr 2000" (pdf). OWGR . Retrieved December 20, 2018.
4. "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.
5. "Today in Golf History: October 31". Golfonline. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
6. Jenkins, Dan (August 15, 1983). "There's a new bear on the loose". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
7. "Golf Major Championships".
8. Shipnuck, Alan (April 3, 2000). "Punched out". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
9. "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking". Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
10. Hack, Damon (September 18, 2006). "U.S. Turns Its Focus to Playing Like a Team". The New York Times . Retrieved March 7, 2012.
11. "OpenSecrets".
12. "Hal Sutton returns to pro golf after four-year hiatus, prepares for his first 3M Championship". July 8, 2009.

External links

• Hal Sutton at the PGA Tour official site
• Hal Sutton at the Official World Golf Ranking official site