Editing Hal Sutton (section)

==Professional career==
Born and raised in [[Shreveport, Louisiana]], Sutton was a promising player at its [[Centenary College of Louisiana|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.centenary.edu/news/2000/March/halsutto.html |title=Hal Sutton, PGA Present Ryder Cup Gift: $100,000 Each to Centenary College & United Way of Northwest Louisiana |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714162709/http://www.centenary.edu/news/2000/March/halsutto.html |archive-date=2014-07-14 }}</ref> He quickly established himself as one of the [[PGA Tour]]'s top young stars in the early 1980s. His first win was at the 1982 [[Walt Disney World Golf Classic]] in a playoff with [[Bill Britton]] after the two had tied at 19-under-par 269 after 72 holes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Today in Golf History: October 31 |publisher=Golfonline |url=http://www.golfonline.com/golfonline/features/history/article/0,17742,468236,00.html |access-date=November 30, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011204340/http://www.golfonline.com/golfonline/features/history/article/0,17742,468236,00.html |archive-date=October 11, 2007}}</ref>

Sutton's most notable year came in [[1983 PGA Tour|1983]], when he won the [[1983 Tournament Players Championship|Tournament Players Championship]] in March, followed by his only major title, the [[1983 PGA Championship|PGA Championship]] at [[Riviera Country Club|Riviera]] in August.<ref name=siag83>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1983/08/15/618972/theres-a-new-bear-on-the-loose |magazine=Sports Illustrated |last=Jenkins |first=Dan |author-link=Dan Jenkins |title=There's a new bear on the loose |date=August 15, 1983 |page=16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Golf Major Championships |url=http://golfmajorchampionships.com/players?player=91}}</ref> He entered into a long drought shortly thereafter, going from 1987 to 1994 without a PGA Tour victory. He nearly lost his tour card late in the string, maintaining it only by using a one-time-only exemption for players in the top 50 of the all-time PGA Tour career money list. After this disappointing eight years, Sutton rejuvenated his career in [[1995 PGA Tour|1995]] with a win at the [[B.C. Open]].

In [[1998 PGA Tour|1998]], Sutton won the [[Valero Texas Open]] and the prestigious [[Tour Championship]] to finish fifth on the PGA Tour money list. Other than his spectacular 1983 season, Sutton had his best year to date in 2000 by beating [[Tiger Woods]] in the final group of [[2000 Players Championship|The Players Championship]] to win.<ref name=pnchout>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.si.com/vault/2000/04/03/277588/punched-out-unlike-some-of-his-fellow-tour-pros-who-seemed-resigned-to-defeat-hal-sutton-couldnt-wait-to-knock-off-tiger-woods-at-the-players-championship |magazine=Sports Illustrated |last=Shipnuck |first=Alan |title=Punched out |date=April 3, 2000 |access-date=May 11, 2017}}</ref> It was on the 72nd hole of this tournament as his 6 iron approach was in the air that he uttered what is now one of the most famous lines in golf "Be the right club. Be the right club today!".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-01 |title=The club behind Hal Sutton’s 'Be the right club today!' moment |url=https://golf.com/gear/irons/hal-sutton-custom-hogan-6-iron-be-the-right-club-today/?amp=1 |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=Golf}}</ref> He also had an additional win — the [[Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic]] two starts later. He would go on to finish fourth on the PGA Tour money list. In 2001, Sutton made the cut in 22 of 26 events with one victory at the [[Shell Houston Open]] at [[TPC at The Woodlands]] and a season winnings total of $1.7 million.

Sutton ranked in the top 10 of the [[Official World Golf Rankings]] for over 50 weeks from their debut in [[1986 PGA Tour|1986]] to [[1987 PGA Tour|1987]] and then again for over 50 weeks between [[1999 PGA Tour|1999]] and [[2001 PGA Tour|2001]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://dps.endavadigital.net/owgr/doc/content/2007%20Stats/86TO0810.pdf |title=69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking |access-date=2011-07-15 |archive-date=2015-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017160152/http://dps.endavadigital.net/owgr/doc/content/2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He has reached the top five of the rankings.

After playing on four U.S. [[Ryder Cup]] teams ([[1985 Ryder Cup|1985]], [[1987 Ryder Cup|1987]], [[1999 Ryder Cup|1999]], [[2002 Ryder Cup|2002]]), he was named non-playing captain of the team for [[2004 Ryder Cup|2004]]. The competition, played at [[Oakland Hills Country Club]], saw Europe beat the US by 18½ to 9½ points. Inevitably, Sutton came in for some criticism of his performance as captain, especially for his decision to pair [[Tiger Woods]] with [[Phil Mickelson]] on the first day of play.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/18/sports/golf/18ryder.html?_r=1&ref=halsutton |title=U.S. Turns Its Focus to Playing Like a Team |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 18, 2006 |first=Damon |last=Hack |access-date=March 7, 2012}}</ref>

In 2007, Sutton received the [[Payne Stewart Award]] for his charitable efforts, which include the establishment of the Christus Schumpert Sutton Children's Hospital in his hometown of Shreveport. He also teamed up with Louisianans [[Kelly Gibson]] and [[David Toms]] to raise more than $2 million in aid to [[Hurricane Katrina]] and [[Hurricane Rita]] victims. Sutton was also awarded the Omar N. Bradley Spirit of Independence Award in 2004 and the Golf Writers Association of America's 2006 Charlie Bartlett Award with Gibson and Toms for their relief efforts.

Sutton became eligible to play on the [[Champions Tour]] in April [[2008 Champions Tour|2008]] and his best finish is a tie for third at the [[Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am]] in [[2009 Champions Tour|2009]].