1998 Players Championship

Defending champion Steve Elkington withdrew on Monday night, citing complications after sinus surgery.[2][3] He was the first defending champion that did not compete since Jerry Pate in 1983.[2] In addition, Greg Norman, the 1994 champion, withdrew prior to the first round with a shoulder injury.[4]

Lee Janzen, who won the tournament three years previous, held the lead after third round. However, he shot a final round 79 and fell to eighteenth. Journeyman Len Mattiace took advantage, surging into the lead. However, he scored a quintuple-bogey at the par-3 17th hole to end his chances. He birdied the final hole though to finish in the top five.[5][6] Five strokes back, Justin Leonard shot a final round 67 to win at 278 (−10), two ahead of runners-up Glen Day and Tom Lehman.[7]

This was the seventeenth Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course; it was extended this year to 6,950 yards (6,355 m),[1] an increase of 54 yards (49 m).

1. All winners of PGA Tour events awarding official money and official victory status in the preceding 12 months, concluding with the Bay Hill Invitational and dating from the 1997 Players Championship

Brad Faxon, Tiger Woods, Nick Price, Frank Nobilo, Phil Blackmar, Scott McCarron, David Frost, Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard, Ernie Els, David Toms, Billy Ray Brown, Stewart Cink, Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III, Mark Calcavecchia, Scott Hoch, Steve Jones, Loren Roberts, Tim Herron, Gabriel Hjertstedt, David Duval, Fred Couples, Jesper Parnevik, Scott Simpson, John Huston, Billy Mayfair, Michael Bradley

2. The top 125 PGA Tour players from the final 1997 Official Money List

Jim Furyk, Mark O'Meara, Stuart Appleby, Tom Lehman, Paul Stankowski, Lee Janzen, Jeff Maggert, Tommy Tolles, John Cook, Andrew Magee, Billy Andrade, Jeff Sluman, Tom Kite, David Ogrin, Colin Montgomerie, Fred Funk, Kirk Triplett, Payne Stewart, Craig Stadler, Tom Byrum, Bob Tway, Steve Lowery, Tom Watson, Russ Cochran, Chris Perry, Duffy Waldorf, Kevin Sutherland, Robert Damron, Hal Sutton, Dan Forsman, Jay Haas, Nick Faldo, Lee Rinker, Dudley Hart, Paul Goydos, Brent Geiberger, Craig Parry, Doug Martin, Jay Don Blake, Brad Fabel, Mike Brisky, Grant Waite, Bob Estes, Brandel Chamblee, Brian Henninger, Rick Fehr, Mike Reid, Skip Kendall, Mike Standly, Mike Hulbert, Len Mattiace, Don Pooley, Ted Tryba, David Edwards, David Sutherland, Mark Wiebe, Robert Gamez, Darren Clarke, Jim Carter, Kenny Perry, Kelly Gibson, Paul Azinger, Olin Browne, Steve Pate, Phil Tataurangi, Clarence Rose, Glen Day, Larry Mize, Joe Durant, Rocco Mediate, Fulton Allem, Jerry Kelly, Ronnie Black, P. H. Horgan III, Donnie Hammond, Frank Lickliter, Mark Brooks, Scott Gump, Pete Jordan, Nolan Henke, Michael Christie, Omar Uresti, Joey Sindelar, Joe Ozaki, Doug Barron, Larry Nelson, Mike Springer, Guy Boros, Willie Wood, Lennie Clements, John Adams, Larry Rinker, Neal Lancaster

3. Winners in the last 10 calendar years of The Players Championship, Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, PGA Championship, and NEC World Series of Golf

Mark McCumber, Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam, Bernhard Langer, José María Olazábal, Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange, Corey Pavin, Wayne Grady, John Daly, Tom Purtzer

4. British Open winners since 1990

5. Up to eight players, not otherwise eligible, designated by The Players Championship Committee as "special selections"

Retief Goosen, Per-Ulrik Johansson, Shigeki Maruyama, Masashi Ozaki, Costantino Rocca, Lee Westwood

6. Any players, not otherwise eligible, who are among the top 10 money winners from the 1998 Official Money List through the Bay Hill Invitational

7. To complete a field of 144 players, those players in order, not otherwise eligible, from the 1998 Official Money List through the Bay Hill Invitational

Tommy Armour III, Bruce Lietzke, Trevor Dodds, Stephen Ames, Steve Stricker, Scott Verplank

Source:[8][9]

• The Players Championship website