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.
Early life and amateur career Sutton was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. He 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.
Professional career Sutton 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. It was on the 72nd hole of this tournament as his 6 iron approach was in the air that he uttered what is now one of the most famous lines in golf "Be the right club. Be the right club today!". He also had an additional win — 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 Ranking 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 (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.
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.
In April 2025, Hal Sutton endorsed Makefield Putters.
Personal life Sutton is a Republican, having donated money to several GOP causes. He has five children.
Awards and honors
In 1980, Sutton was selected as Golf Magazines College Player of the Year. In 1982, he was selected as the PGA Tour's Rookie of the Year. In 1983, Sutton led PGA Tour's money list. In 1983, he earned the PGA Player of the Year award. In 1994, Sutton earned the PGA Tour's Comeback Player of the Year award. In 2007, Sutton was selected for the Payne Stewart Award.
Amateur wins 1974 Louisiana Junior Amateur 1979 Western Amateur 1980 North and South Amateur, U.S. Amateur, Western Amateur, Northeast Amateur
Professional wins (15) PGA Tour wins (14) Legend Major championships (1) Players Championships (2) Tour Championships (1) Other PGA Tour (10) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Oct 31, 1982Walt Disney World Golf Classic71-63-68-67=269−19Playoff Bill Britton2Mar 28, 1983Tournament Players Championship73-71-70-69=283−51 stroke Bob Eastwood3Aug 7, 1983PGA Championship65-66-72-71=274−101 stroke Jack Nicklaus4Jun 30, 1985St. Jude Memphis Classic65-76-73-65=279−9Playoff David Ogrin5Sep 22, 1985Southwest Golf Classic68-67-67-71=273−15Playoff Mike Reid6Jan 26, 1986Phoenix Open64-64-68-71=267−172 strokes Calvin Peete, Tony Sills7May 25, 1986Memorial Tournament68-69-66-68=271−174 strokes Don Pooley8Sep 17, 1995B.C. Open71-69-68-61=269−151 stroke Jim McGovern9Sep 27, 1998Westin Texas Open67-68-67-68=270−181 stroke Jay Haas, Justin Leonard10Nov 1, 1998The Tour Championship69-67-68-70=274−6Playoff Vijay Singh11Sep 12, 1999Bell Canadian Open69-67-70-69=275−133 strokes Dennis Paulson12Mar 27, 2000The Players Championship (2)69-69-69-71=278−101 stroke Tiger Woods13Apr 23, 2000Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic67-64-72-71=274−143 strokes Andrew Magee14Apr 22, 2001Shell Houston Open70-68-71-69=278−10 3 strokes Joe Durant, Lee JanzenPGA Tour playoff record (4–2)No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11982Walt Disney World Golf Classic Bill BrittonWon with birdie on fourth extra hole21985St. Jude Memphis Classic David OgrinWon with birdie on first extra hole31985Southwest Golf Classic Mike ReidWon with birdie on first extra hole41989Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic Mike Donald, Tim SimpsonDonald won with birdie on fourth extra holeSutton eliminated by par on third hole51994Federal 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) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunners-up1Dec 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 HochOther playoff record (1–0)No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult11985Chrysler Team Championship(with Raymond Floyd) Charlie Bolling and Brad Fabel, Jim Colbert and Tom Purtzer, John Fought and Pat McGowan, Gary Hallberg and Scott HochWon with birdie on first extra hole
Major championships
Wins (1) YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up 1983 PGA Championship 2 shot lead −10 (65-66-72-71=274) 1 stroke Jack Nicklaus
Results timeline Tournament1980198119821983198419851986198719881989Masters Tournament52CUTT27CUTT31CUTCUTCUTCUTU.S. OpenCUTCUTT196T16T23T4T3164T29The Open ChampionshipT47LACUTT29CUTT11CUTPGA ChampionshipT291T6T65T21T28T66CUT
Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999Masters TournamentCUTCUTCUTCUTCUTU.S. OpenCUTCUTT36T19T7The Open ChampionshipT10PGA ChampionshipT49T7CUTT31T55CUTCUTCUTT27T26
Tournament200020012002200320042005Masters Tournament1036U.S. OpenT23T24CUTThe Open ChampionshipCUTCUTCUTPGA ChampionshipCUTT44T60T39CUT79
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 madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 1 1 16 5U.S. Open 0 0 0 1 3 9 18 13The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 1 2 10 4PGA Championship 1 0 0 1 3 4 24 17Totals 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) YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-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 Tournament19831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005The Players Championship1T41T22T7T24CUTT29CUTT68CUTCUTT19CUTT53T50T18T41T5CUTCUTCUTWD
CUT = missed the halfway cut WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place.
Results in World Golf Championships Tournament19992000200120022003Match PlayR64QFR64R64Championship19NT1InvitationalT15T4T11T42T33 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 appearancesAmateurWalker 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
External links