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Hal Sutton

United States · born , Shreveport, Louisiana

1major championship

Summary

  • First major 1983 PGA Championship
  • Ryder Cup 4 Cups · 7-5-4 · 9 points (56.2%)
  • Ryder Cup captain 2004
  • Other titles 1980 U.S. Amateur

Wins

  1. 1980 U.S. Amateur Country Club of North Carolina · 9 & 8
  2. 1983 PGA Championship Riviera Country Club · 274 (-10) · by 1 stroke from Jack Nicklaus

Near misses

  1. 1999 The Open Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course) · finished T10 · 295 (+11)

Ryder Cup

4 Cups, 16 matches: 7 won, 5 lost, 4 halved, 9 points. Foursomes 5-1-1, four-ball 1-2-2, singles 1-2-1.

  1. 1985 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · Europe won 16.5–11.5 · 1-2-1, 1.5 points · automatic
  2. 1987 Muirfield Village Golf Club USA · Europe won 15–13 · 2-1-2, 3 points · automatic
  3. 1999 The Country Club (Championship/Composite Course) USA · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 3-1-1, 3.5 points · automatic
  4. 2002 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · Europe won 15.5–12.5 · 1-1-0, 1 point · automatic
  5. 2004 Captain USA · lost 9.5–18.5

Rivals

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Craig Stadler's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1983 PGA Championship Hal Sutton, who had blown a six-shot final-round lead two weeks earlier, led wire to wire at Riviera for his only major.
  2. 1983 PGA Championship Jack Nicklaus started the final round six back, shot 66 and finished one stroke short, his fourth PGA runner-up finish.

Records and firsts

  1. 1983 PGA Championship Wire-to-wire PGA champion: outright

Results by championship

    Best day

    1983 PGA Championship

    Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, California · 274 (-10) · by 1 stroke from Jack Nicklaus

    Hal Sutton, who had blown a six-shot final-round lead two weeks earlier, led wire to wire at Riviera for his only major.

    Jack Nicklaus started the final round six back, shot 66 and finished one stroke short, his fourth PGA runner-up finish.

    Record: outright

    Chosen by rule: the major win our record tables single out. Year page: 1983.

    Career line, 1980–2002

    PGA Championship
    1983 PGA Championship: won
    The Open
    1999 The Open: finished T10
    Ryder Cup
    1985 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-2-11987 Ryder Cup (USA): 2-1-21999 Ryder Cup (USA): 3-1-12002 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-1-0
    U.S. Amateur
    1980 U.S. Amateur: won
    19801985199019952000

    7 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Other win
    • Top 10
    • Ryder Cup, USA

    Hal Sutton was born on April 28, 1958, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Sutton won one major championship: the 1983 PGA Championship. Sutton played in 4 Ryder Cups for USA (1985, 1987, 1999, 2002), winning 7, losing 5 and halving 4 of 16 matches for 9 points, and captained the side in 2004.

    See Hal Sutton in our rooms: The Masters, The Open, Greatest Golfer by State and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (1)

    1. 1980 U.S. Amateur Country Club of North Carolina · 9 & 8
    2. 1983 PGA Championship Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, California · 274 (-10) · by 1 stroke from Jack Nicklaus

    Near misses

    Top-10 finishes are listed for The Open, the one championship with a full top 10 every year.

    1. 1999 The Open Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course) · finished T10 · 295 (+11)

    Ryder Cup

    Sutton played 4 Ryder Cups for USA: 16 matches, 7 won, 5 lost, 4 halved, 9 points (56.2% of those available). By format: foursomes 5-1-1, four-ball 1-2-2, singles 1-2-1 (won-lost-halved).

    1. 1985 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · Europe won 16.5–11.5 · 1-2-1, 1.5 points · automatic
    2. 1987 Muirfield Village Golf Club USA · Europe won 15–13 · 2-1-2, 3 points · automatic
    3. 1999 The Country Club (Championship/Composite Course) USA · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 3-1-1, 3.5 points · automatic
    4. 2002 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · Europe won 15.5–12.5 · 1-1-0, 1 point · automatic
    5. 2004 Captain USA · lost 9.5–18.5

    Partners, with matches played together: Craig Stadler (3), Jeff Maggert (3), Dan Pohl (2), Larry Mize (2), Justin Leonard (1), Scott Verplank (1).

    Other wins in championships we cover

    1. 1980 U.S. Amateur Country Club of North Carolina · 9 & 8

    Records and firsts

    Rows from our record tables that name this player, worded as the tables word them.

    1. 1983 PGA Championship Wire-to-wire PGA champion: outright

    Sources

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. where2golf
    2. Golf Compendium PGA Tour career wins
    3. Golf Compendium winners list
    4. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
    5. rydercup.com — link no longer works (checked October 17, 2026): https://rydercup.com/news-media/usa/ryder-cup-team-usa-past-captains
    6. Golf Compendium
    7. Golf Compendium 1983
    8. PGA of America 2012 media guide
    9. The Golf News Net history table (2026)
    10. Today's Golfer purse history
    11. PGA of America 1983 leaderboard
    12. PGA of America club pros who made the cut
    13. Golf Digest Middle East prize-money history
    14. PGA of America 2013 media guide, p. 47
    15. R&A 1999
    16. GC: 1985 ryder cup
    17. Wikipedia: 1985 Ryder Cup
    18. GC: 1987 ryder cup
    19. Wikipedia: 1987 Ryder Cup
    20. GC: 1999 ryder cup
    21. Wikipedia: 1999 Ryder Cup
    22. CBS News 1999
    23. Golf Channel
    24. GC: 2002 ryder cup
    25. SI Vault 2001 — link no longer works (checked October 17, 2026): https://vault.si.com/vault/2001/08/27/tough-calls-picking-the-ryder-cup-wild-cards-was-a-difficult-job-but-somebody-namely-curtis-strange-had-to-do-it
    26. Deseret News 2001
    27. Golf Today tournament records
    28. PGA of America history
    29. Wikipedia: U.S. Amateur
    30. championships-plt.usga.org: u s amateur champions
    31. Wikipedia: Country Club of North Carolina