Hal Sutton

Lore & Background

Sutton was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was a promising player at 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. His first PGA Tour win was at the 1982 Walt Disney World Golf Classic in a playoff with Bill Britton. His 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 went from 1987 to 1994 without a PGA Tour victory, nearly losing his tour card. He rejuvenated his career in 1995 with a win at the B.C. Open. In 1998, he won the Valero Texas Open and the Tour Championship. In 2000, he beat Tiger Woods in the final group of The Players Championship, uttering 'Be the right club. Be the right club today!' on the 72nd hole. He also won the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic two starts later. In 2001, he won the Shell Houston Open. He played on four U.S. Ryder Cup teams (1985, 1987, 1999, 2002) and was non-playing captain in 2004. He received the Payne Stewart Award in 2007 for charitable efforts, including establishing the Christus Schumpert Sutton Children's Hospital in Shreveport and raising over $2 million for Hurricane Katrina and Rita victims. He also received the Omar N. Bradley Spirit of Independence Award in 2004 and the Golf Writers Association of America's 2006 Charlie Bartlett Award. He became eligible for the Champions Tour in April 2008; his best finish is a tie for third at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am in 2009. In April 2025, he endorsed Makefield Putters.

In Their Own Story

The morning after the final round at Oakmont, the air still tasted of cut fescue and early summer humidity. Sutton stood at the edge of the 18th green, his cap pulled low, watching the last of the spectators file out past the ropes. His caddie was already unclipping the divot tool from his bag, making the small, ritualized sounds of a job finished. Sutton did not raise his arms. He did not run. He simply stood there, hands in his pockets, letting the silence of the empty fairway settle over him like a second skin. Somewhere down the back nine, a groundskeeper was dragging a rake across a worn path, the soft scrape the only sound in a world that had, for one week, belonged to a quiet man from Georgia who had decided, putt by putt, not to lose.

Reader's Guide

Sutton is a Republican and has five children. His amateur wins include the 1974 Louisiana Junior Amateur, 1979 Western Amateur, and 1980 North and South Amateur, U.S. Amateur, Western Amateur, and Northeast Amateur. He has 14 PGA Tour wins and 1 other professional win. His PGA Tour playoff record is 4–2. He ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for over 50 weeks from 1986 to 1987 and again for over 50 weeks between 1999 and 2001, reaching the top five.

Did You Know?

• Sutton's only major championship was the 1983 PGA Championship.
• He won The Players Championship twice, in 1983 and 2000.
• He was the PGA Tour's leading money winner in 1983 and named Player of the Year.
• He uttered the famous line 'Be the right club. Be the right club today!' during the 2000 Players Championship.
• He was the non-playing captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2004.