The 1976 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held February 26 to March 1 at Inverrary Country Club in Lauderhill, northwest of Fort Lauderdale. This was the third Tournament Players Championship; Jack Nicklaus won his second title, three strokes ahead of runner-up J. C. Snead, similar to his 1974 win.

Saturday was washed out by a thunderstorm; the third round was on Sunday and the final round on Monday.

Defending champion Al Geiberger finished fifteen strokes back, in a tie for 24th place.

The first two editions had been played in late summer, after the major championships; this year's began in late February. This was the final year the Tournament Players Championship name was attached to an established PGA Tour event.

Venue This was the only Tournament Players Championship held in south Florida; the first was in Georgia and the second in Texas. It relocated to northeast Florida at Ponte Vedra Beach in 1977, where it became a standalone event for the first time. The Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches, which is currently played in the Palm Beach area since 2003, was originally hosted by Inverrary from 1972 through 1983. The tournament recognises the 1976 Players Championship winner as a winner of their tournament, as from 1974-76, an established tournament was given the title with special qualifications.

Round summaries First round Thursday, February 26, 1976 Friday, February 27, 1976 PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Fred Marti 66 −6 Jack Nicklaus T3 Barry Jaeckel 67 −5 Don January J. C. Snead Tom Watson T7 George Burns 68 −4 Dale Douglass Bob Gilder John Mahaffey Ed Sneed Source:

Second round Friday, February 27, 1976 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Don January 67-68=135 −9 T2 Jack Nicklaus 66-70=136 −8 J. C. Snead 67-69=136 T4 Jim Masserio 69-68=137 −7 Tom Watson 67-70=137T6 Butch Baird 71-67=138 −6 George Burns 71-67=138 Dale Douglass 68-70=138 Mark Hayes 71-67=138 Hale Irwin 70-68=138 Source:

Third round Saturday, February 28, 1976 Sunday, February 29, 1976 PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Jack Nicklaus 66-70-68=204 −12 J. C. Snead 67-69-68=204 T3 Roger Maltbie 70-70-65=205 −11 Mark Hayes 71-67-67=205 5 Tom Watson 67-70-70=207 −9 T6 Hale Irwin 70-68-70=208 −8 Don January 67-68-73=208 8 Jim Masserio 69-68-72=209 −7 T9 Butch Baird 71-67-72=210 −6 Bob Payne 69-70-71=210 Source:

Final round Monday, March 1, 1976 PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 Jack Nicklaus 66-70-68-65=269 −19 60,0002 J. C. Snead 67-69-68-68=272 −16 34,200T3 Roger Maltbie 70-70-65-71=276 −12 17,700 Jim Masserio 69-68-72-67=276 5 Mark Hayes 71-67-67-72=277 −11 12,3006 Lee Elder 69-72-70-67=278 −10 10,800T7 Butch Baird 71-67-72-70=280 −8 9,225 Don January 67-68-73-72=280 T9 David Graham 70-71-71-69=281 −7 7,500 Gary Player 73-70-71-67=281 Tom Watson 67-70-70-74=281 Source:

References

External links The Players Championship website