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.
Later 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. 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. ==Personal life==