The 1981 PGA Tour, titled as the 1981 TPA Tour, was the 66th season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was also the 13th season since separating from the PGA of America.

1981 PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 8, 1981 (1981-01-08) – October 25, 1981 (1981-10-25)
Number of official events44
Most winsUnited States Bill Rogers (4)
Money listUnited States Tom Kite
PGA Player of the YearUnited States Bill Rogers
Rookie of the YearUnited States Mark O'Meara
1980
1982

Changes for 1981

edit

The tour changed its name to the TPA Tour in late August, for the "Tournament Players Association".[1][2] After less than seven months, it reverted to the PGA Tour in mid-March 1982.[3]

Schedule

edit

The following table lists official events during the 1981 season.[4][5]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(US$)
Winner(s)[a] Notes
Jan 11 Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open Arizona 300,000   Johnny Miller (20)
Jan 18 Bob Hope Desert Classic California 250,000   Bruce Lietzke (6) Pro-Am
Jan 25 Phoenix Open Arizona 300,000   David Graham (6)
Feb 2 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am California 225,000   John Cook (1) Pro-Am
Feb 8 Wickes-Andy Williams San Diego Open California 250,000   Bruce Lietzke (7)
Feb 14 Hawaiian Open Hawaii 325,000   Hale Irwin (12)
Feb 22 Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open California 300,000   Johnny Miller (21)
Mar 1 Bay Hill Classic Florida 300,000   Andy Bean (7)
Mar 8 American Motors Inverrary Classic Florida 300,000   Tom Kite (3)
Mar 15 Doral-Eastern Open Florida 250,000   Raymond Floyd (13)
Mar 23 Tournament Players Championship Florida 400,000   Raymond Floyd (14) Special event
Mar 29 Sea Pines Heritage South Carolina 300,000   Bill Rogers (2) Invitational
Apr 5 Greater Greensboro Open North Carolina 300,000   Larry Nelson (4)
Apr 12 Masters Tournament Georgia 365,000   Tom Watson (26) Major championship
Apr 12 Magnolia Classic Mississippi 75,000   Tom Jones (n/a) Second Tour[b]
Apr 19 MONY Tournament of Champions California 300,000   Lee Trevino (28) Winners-only event
Apr 19 Tallahassee Open Florida 100,000   Dave Eichelberger (4) Alternate event
Apr 26 USF&G New Orleans Open Louisiana 350,000   Tom Watson (27)
May 2 Michelob-Houston Open Texas 262,500   Ron Streck (2)
May 10 Byron Nelson Golf Classic Texas 300,000   Bruce Lietzke (8)
May 17 Colonial National Invitation Texas 300,000   Fuzzy Zoeller (3) Invitational
May 24 Memorial Tournament Ohio 350,000   Keith Fergus (1) Invitational
May 31 Kemper Open Maryland 400,000   Craig Stadler (3)
Jun 7 Atlanta Classic Georgia 300,000   Tom Watson (28)
Jun 14 Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic New York 400,000   Raymond Floyd (15)
Jun 21 U.S. Open Pennsylvania 360,000   David Graham (7) Major championship
Jun 28 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic Tennessee 300,000   Jerry Pate (6)
Jul 5 Western Open Illinois 300,000   Ed Fiori (2)
Jul 12 Greater Milwaukee Open Wisconsin 250,000   Jay Haas (2)
Jul 19 The Open Championship England £200,000   Bill Rogers (3) Major championship[c]
Jul 19 Quad Cities Open Illinois 200,000   Dave Barr (1) Alternate event
Jul 26 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic Virginia 300,000   John Mahaffey (6)
Aug 2 Canadian Open Canada 425,000   Peter Oosterhuis (1)
Aug 9 PGA Championship Georgia 400,000   Larry Nelson (5) Major championship
Aug 16 Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open Connecticut 300,000   Hubert Green (17)
Aug 23 Buick Open Michigan 350,000   Hale Irwin (13)
Aug 30 World Series of Golf Ohio 400,000   Bill Rogers (4) Limited-field event
Sep 6 B.C. Open New York 275,000   Jay Haas (3)
Sep 13 Pleasant Valley Jimmy Fund Classic Massachusetts 300,000   Jack Renner (2)
Sep 20 LaJet Classic Texas 350,000   Tom Weiskopf (15) New tournament
Sep 27 Hall of Fame North Carolina 250,000   Morris Hatalsky (1)
Oct 1 Texas Open Texas 250,000   Bill Rogers (5)
Oct 11 Southern Open Georgia 200,000   J. C. Snead (7)
Oct 18 Pensacola Open Florida 200,000   Jerry Pate (7)
Oct 25 Walt Disney World National Team Championship Florida 400,000   Vance Heafner (1) and
  Mike Holland (1)
Team event

Unofficial events

edit

The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

Date Tournament Location Purse
($)
Winner(s) Notes
Sep 20 Ryder Cup England n/a   Team USA Team event
Dec 6 JCPenney Mixed Team Classic Florida 550,000   Beth Daniel and
  Tom Kite
Team event

Money list

edit

The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[6][7]

Position Player Prize money ($)
1   Tom Kite 375,699
2   Raymond Floyd 359,360
3   Tom Watson 347,660
4   Bruce Lietzke 343,446
5   Bill Rogers 315,411
6   Jerry Pate 280,627
7   Hale Irwin 276,499
8   Craig Stadler 218,829
9   Curtis Strange 201,513
10   Larry Nelson 193,342

Awards

edit
Award Winner Ref.
PGA Player of the Year   Bill Rogers [8]
Rookie of the Year   Mark O'Meara [9]
Scoring leader (PGA Tour – Byron Nelson Award)   Tom Kite [10]
Scoring leader (PGA – Vardon Trophy)   Tom Kite [7]

See also

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^ The number in parentheses after each winner's name is the number of PGA Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for PGA Tour members.
  2. ^ Official money; unofficial win.
  3. ^ Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Pro golf tour changes name". The New York Times. August 31, 1981. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  2. ^ "Touring pros get new name - TPA". Eugene Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. Associated Press. August 31, 1981. p. 2B.
  3. ^ "Tour changes its name again". The New York Times. March 20, 1982. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  4. ^ "1981 Tournament schedule". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 8, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  5. ^ "1982 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  6. ^ "1981 Official money". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Kite Hoping For Penney Golf Win". The Tampa Tribune. Tampa, Florida. November 30, 1981. p. 29 (7-C in paper). Retrieved November 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Rogers, Player of Year, Will Be Honored Jan. 25". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. December 27, 1981. p. 48. Retrieved November 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Diaz, Jaime (December 7, 1998). "Making Waves By winning big, Mark O'Meara finally blew his cover as just another run-of-the-mill pro". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 21, 2024. A nice player is one who has won as often as O'Meara (16 times on Tour) over a long career (he was rookie of the year in 1981).
  10. ^ "2022–23 PGA Tour Media guide | Awards". PGA Tour. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
edit