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1981 PGA Tour
Golf tour season
Golf tour season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| year | 1981 |
| tour | PGA Tour |
| regular_season | – |
| no_of_events | 44 |
| most_wins | USA Bill Rogers (4) |
| honor1 | Money list |
| honoree1 | USA Tom Kite |
| honor2 | PGA Player of the Year |
| honoree2 | USA Bill Rogers |
| honor3 | Rookie of the Year |
| honoree3 | USA Mark O'Meara |
| prevseason | [1980](1980-pga-tour) |
| nextseason | [1982](1982-pga-tour) |
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.
Changes for 1981
The tour changed its name to the TPA Tour in late August, for the "Tournament Players Association". After less than seven months, it reverted to the PGA Tour in mid-March 1982.
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 1981 season.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (US$) | Winner(s) | Notes | |||
| Jan 11 | Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open | Arizona | 300,000 | USA Johnny Miller (20) | |
| Jan 18 | Bob Hope Desert Classic | California | 250,000 | USA Bruce Lietzke (6) | Pro-Am |
| Jan 25 | Phoenix Open | Arizona | 300,000 | AUS David Graham (6) | |
| Feb 2 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am | California | 225,000 | USA John Cook (1) | Pro-Am |
| Feb 8 | Wickes-Andy Williams San Diego Open | California | 250,000 | USA Bruce Lietzke (7) | |
| Feb 14 | Hawaiian Open | Hawaii | 325,000 | USA Hale Irwin (12) | |
| Feb 22 | Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open | California | 300,000 | USA Johnny Miller (21) | |
| Mar 1 | Bay Hill Classic | Florida | 300,000 | USA Andy Bean (7) | |
| Mar 8 | American Motors Inverrary Classic | Florida | 300,000 | USA Tom Kite (3) | |
| Mar 15 | Doral-Eastern Open | Florida | 250,000 | USA Raymond Floyd (13) | |
| Mar 23 | [Tournament Players Championship](1981-tournament-players-championship) | Florida | 400,000 | USA Raymond Floyd (14) | Special event |
| Mar 29 | Sea Pines Heritage | South Carolina | 300,000 | USA Bill Rogers (2) | Invitational |
| Apr 5 | Greater Greensboro Open | North Carolina | 300,000 | USA Larry Nelson (4) | |
| Apr 12 | **[Masters Tournament](1981-masters-tournament)** | Georgia | 365,000 | USA **Tom Watson** (26) | Major championship |
| Apr 12 | Magnolia Classic | Mississippi | 75,000 | USA Tom Jones (n/a) | Second Tour |
| Apr 19 | MONY Tournament of Champions | California | 300,000 | USA Lee Trevino (28) | Winners-only event |
| Apr 19 | Tallahassee Open | Florida | 100,000 | USA Dave Eichelberger (4) | Alternate event |
| Apr 26 | USF&G New Orleans Open | Louisiana | 350,000 | USA Tom Watson (27) | |
| May 2 | Michelob-Houston Open | Texas | 262,500 | USA Ron Streck (2) | |
| May 10 | Byron Nelson Golf Classic | Texas | 300,000 | USA Bruce Lietzke (8) | |
| May 17 | Colonial National Invitation | Texas | 300,000 | USA Fuzzy Zoeller (3) | Invitational |
| May 24 | Memorial Tournament | Ohio | 350,000 | USA Keith Fergus (1) | Invitational |
| May 31 | Kemper Open | Maryland | 400,000 | USA Craig Stadler (3) | |
| Jun 7 | Atlanta Classic | Georgia | 300,000 | USA Tom Watson (28) | |
| Jun 14 | Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic | New York | 400,000 | USA Raymond Floyd (15) | |
| Jun 21 | **[U.S. Open](1981-u-s-open-golf)** | Pennsylvania | 360,000 | AUS **David Graham** (7) | Major championship |
| Jun 28 | Danny Thomas Memphis Classic | Tennessee | 300,000 | USA Jerry Pate (6) | |
| Jul 5 | Western Open | Illinois | 300,000 | USA Ed Fiori (2) | |
| Jul 12 | Greater Milwaukee Open | Wisconsin | 250,000 | USA Jay Haas (2) | |
| Jul 19 | **[The Open Championship](1981-open-championship)** | England | £200,000 | USA **Bill Rogers** (3) | Major championship |
| Jul 19 | Quad Cities Open | Illinois | 200,000 | CAN Dave Barr (1) | Alternate event |
| Jul 26 | Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic | Virginia | 300,000 | USA John Mahaffey (6) | |
| Aug 2 | Canadian Open | Canada | 425,000 | ENG Peter Oosterhuis (1) | |
| Aug 9 | **[PGA Championship](1981-pga-championship)** | Georgia | 400,000 | USA **Larry Nelson** (5) | Major championship |
| Aug 16 | Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open | Connecticut | 300,000 | USA Hubert Green (17) | |
| Aug 23 | Buick Open | Michigan | 350,000 | USA Hale Irwin (13) | |
| Aug 30 | World Series of Golf | Ohio | 400,000 | USA Bill Rogers (4) | Limited-field event |
| Sep 6 | B.C. Open | New York | 275,000 | USA Jay Haas (3) | |
| Sep 13 | Pleasant Valley Jimmy Fund Classic | Massachusetts | 300,000 | USA Jack Renner (2) | |
| Sep 20 | LaJet Classic | Texas | 350,000 | USA Tom Weiskopf (15) | New tournament |
| Sep 27 | Hall of Fame | North Carolina | 250,000 | USA Morris Hatalsky (1) | |
| Oct 1 | Texas Open | Texas | 250,000 | USA Bill Rogers (5) | |
| Oct 11 | Southern Open | Georgia | 200,000 | USA J. C. Snead (7) | |
| Oct 18 | Pensacola Open | Florida | 200,000 | USA Jerry Pate (7) | |
| Oct 25 | Walt Disney World National Team Championship | Florida | 400,000 | USA Vance Heafner (1) and | |
| USA Mike Holland (1) | Team event |
Unofficial events
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](1981-ryder-cup) | England | n/a | USA Team USA | Team event |
| Dec 6 | JCPenney Mixed Team Classic | Florida | 550,000 | USA Beth Daniel and | |
| USA Tom Kite | Team event |
Money list
The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.
| Position | Player | Prize money ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA Tom Kite | 375,699 |
| 2 | USA Raymond Floyd | 359,360 |
| 3 | USA Tom Watson | 347,660 |
| 4 | USA Bruce Lietzke | 343,446 |
| 5 | USA Bill Rogers | 315,411 |
| 6 | USA Jerry Pate | 280,627 |
| 7 | USA Hale Irwin | 276,499 |
| 8 | USA Craig Stadler | 218,829 |
| 9 | USA Curtis Strange | 201,513 |
| 10 | USA Larry Nelson | 193,342 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Ref. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGA Player of the Year | USA Bill Rogers | |||||||||
| Rookie of the Year | USA Mark O'Meara | |||||||||
| Scoring leader (PGA Tour – Byron Nelson Award) | USA Tom Kite | |||||||||
| Scoring leader (PGA – Vardon Trophy) | USA Tom Kite | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/335541700/ | title=Kite Hoping For Penney Golf Win | newspaper=The Tampa Tribune | location=Tampa, Florida | date=30 November 1981 | access-date=6 November 2023 | page=29 (7-C in paper) | via=Newspapers.com | url-access=subscription}} |
Notes
References
References
- (August 31, 1981). "Pro golf tour changes name". The New York Times.
- (August 31, 1981). "Touring pros get new name - TPA". Eugene Register-Guard.
- (March 20, 1982). "Tour changes its name again". The New York Times.
- "1981 Tournament schedule". PGA Tour.
- "1982 PGA Tour Media Guide". PGA Tour.
- "1981 Official money". PGA Tour.
- (27 December 1981). "Rogers, Player of Year, Will Be Honored Jan. 25". The Los Angeles Times.
- Diaz, Jaime. (7 December 1998). "Making Waves By winning big, Mark O'Meara finally blew his cover as just another run-of-the-mill pro".
- "2022–23 PGA Tour Media guide {{!}} Awards". PGA Tour.
- (30 November 1981). "Kite Hoping For Penney Golf Win". The Tampa Tribune.
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