Mark Hayes
American professional golfer

Mark Hayes

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American professional golfer
Gender:
Male
Places:
United States of America
Is:
AthleteGolfer
Work field:
Sports
Birth:
12 July 1949(Stillwater, Payne County, Oklahoma, USA)
Death:
17 July 2018
Star sign:
Cancer
Education:
Oklahoma State University–Stillwater
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Introduction Early years and amateur career Professional career Business career Death Amateur wins Professional wins (7) Results in major championships The Players Championship U.S. national team appearances
The details
Biography

Introduction

Mark Stephen Hayes (July 12, 1949 – July 17, 2018) was an American professional golfer. He had three victories on the PGA Tour in the 1970s, including the 1977 Tournament Players Championship. He played in the 1979 Ryder Cup as a late replacement for Tom Watson.

Early years and amateur career

Born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Hayes played collegiately at Oklahoma State University, where he was a two-time All-American. He won the Sunnehanna Amateur in 1972.

Professional career

Hayes won three times on the PGA Tour: the Byron Nelson Golf Classic and Pensacola Open in 1976 and the Tournament Players Championship in 1977. He also won the PGA Tour-sponsored Tallahassee Open in 1986 and three Oklahoma Opens.

Hayes had his best finish in a major championship at the U.S. Open in 1980, where he began the final round of play two shots out of the lead but shot a final round 74 to finish T6. He was also the first round leader at the 1975 PGA Championship, but finished T22. In the second round of The Open Championship in 1977, Hayes shot 63 at the Ailsa Course at Turnberry to establish a new single round record at The Open Championship by two strokes. The previous record of 65 was set by Henry Cotton in the second round in 1934 at Royal St. George's.

Hayes played in the 1979 Ryder Cup team after Tom Watson gave up his spot to be with his wife at the birth of their first child. Hayeslost both his matches on the second day but won his singles match against Antonio Garrido on the final day, to help the United States to a 17 to 11 win over the European team.

After turning 50, Hayes joined the Senior PGA Tour. His best finish was T10 at the 2001 Siebel Classic in Silicon Valley.

Hayes was well known for his trademark bucket caps.

Business career

In the late 1980s, Hayes began preparing for a career in golf course design and construction. In 1990, he established a golf course design firm. His projects were built in Oklahoma and neighboring states.

Death

Hayes died on July 17, 2018, from early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Amateur wins

  • 1972 Sunnehanna Amateur

Professional wins (7)

PGA Tour wins (3)

Legend
Players Championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (2)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 May 9, 1976 Byron Nelson Golf Classic 66-67-71-69=273 −11 2 strokes Don Bies
2 Nov 1, 1976 Pensacola Open 68-72-69-66=275 −9 2 strokes Lee Elder
3 Mar 20, 1977 Tournament Players Championship 72-74-71-72=289 +1 2 strokes Mike McCullough

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1979 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am Andy Bean, Lon Hinkle Hinkle won with birdie on third extra hole
Bean eliminated with par on second hole
2 1981 Greater Greensboro Open Larry Nelson Lost to birdie on second extra hole

Other wins (4)

  • 1976 Oklahoma Open
  • 1986 Tallahassee Open
  • 1988 Oklahoma Open
  • 1993 Oklahoma Open

Results in major championships

Tournament 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament T33
U.S. Open CUT T40 T14 T41 T35 CUT
The Open Championship T9 T14 T30
PGA Championship T22 T15 T19 CUT T62
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990
Masters Tournament CUT CUT T10 T20 CUT
U.S. Open T6 T14 CUT T26 T43 CUT CUT
The Open Championship T32
PGA Championship T59 T33 T34 CUT CUT CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

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 2 6 3
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 1 3 13 8
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 1 2 4 4
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 3 11 7
Totals 0 0 0 0 3 10 34 22
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (1974 U.S. Open – 1978 Open Championship)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)

The Players Championship

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1977 Tournament Players Championship Tied for lead +1 (72-74-71-72=289) 2 strokes Mike McCullough

Results timeline

Tournament 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991
The Players Championship T19 CUT 5 1 T28 T60 T45 T34 80 CUT CUT CUT T54 CUT T55 T52
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

  • Eisenhower Trophy: 1972 (winners)

Professional

  • Ryder Cup: 1979 (winners)