Mark Hayes (golfer)

Mark Stephen Hayes 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

In 1949, Hayes was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Hayes played collegiately at Oklahoma State University where he was a two-time All-American. In 1972, Hayes won the Sunnehanna Amateur.

In 1973, Hayes turned professional. He won three times on the PGA Tour: the 1976 Byron Nelson Golf Classic, 1976 Pensacola Open, and won the first standalone 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. Hayes lost 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.

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.
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.

No.

Date

Tournament

Winning score

To par

Margin of
victory

Runner-up

May 9, 1976

66-67-71-69=273

−11

2 strokes

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Amateur

Professional