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1981 PGA Tour

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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 →

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

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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

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

Date Tournament Location Purse
(US$)		 Winner(s)[a] Notes
Jan 11Joe Garagiola-Tucson OpenArizona300,000United States Johnny Miller (20)
Jan 18Bob Hope Desert ClassicCalifornia250,000United States Bruce Lietzke (6)Pro-Am
Jan 25Phoenix OpenArizona300,000Australia David Graham (6)
Feb 2Bing Crosby National Pro-AmCalifornia225,000United States John Cook (1)Pro-Am
Feb 8Wickes-Andy Williams San Diego OpenCalifornia250,000United States Bruce Lietzke (7)
Feb 14Hawaiian OpenHawaii325,000United States Hale Irwin (12)
Feb 22Glen Campbell-Los Angeles OpenCalifornia300,000United States Johnny Miller (21)
Mar 1Bay Hill ClassicFlorida300,000United States Andy Bean (7)
Mar 8American Motors Inverrary ClassicFlorida300,000United States Tom Kite (3)
Mar 15Doral-Eastern OpenFlorida250,000United States Raymond Floyd (13)
Mar 23Tournament Players ChampionshipFlorida400,000United States Raymond Floyd (14)Special event
Mar 29Sea Pines HeritageSouth Carolina300,000United States Bill Rogers (2)Invitational
Apr 5Greater Greensboro OpenNorth Carolina300,000United States Larry Nelson (4)
Apr 12Masters TournamentGeorgia365,000United States Tom Watson (26)Major championship
Apr 12Magnolia ClassicMississippi75,000United States Tom Jones (n/a)Second Tour[b]
Apr 19MONY Tournament of ChampionsCalifornia300,000United States Lee Trevino (28)Winners-only event
Apr 19Tallahassee OpenFlorida100,000United States Dave Eichelberger (4)Alternate event
Apr 26USF&G New Orleans OpenLouisiana350,000United States Tom Watson (27)
May 2Michelob-Houston OpenTexas262,500United States Ron Streck (2)
May 10Byron Nelson Golf ClassicTexas300,000United States Bruce Lietzke (8)
May 17Colonial National InvitationTexas300,000United States Fuzzy Zoeller (3)Invitational
May 24Memorial TournamentOhio350,000United States Keith Fergus (1)Invitational
May 31Kemper OpenMaryland400,000United States Craig Stadler (3)
Jun 7Atlanta ClassicGeorgia300,000United States Tom Watson (28)
Jun 14Manufacturers Hanover Westchester ClassicNew York400,000United States Raymond Floyd (15)
Jun 21U.S. OpenPennsylvania360,000Australia David Graham (7)Major championship
Jun 28Danny Thomas Memphis ClassicTennessee300,000United States Jerry Pate (6)
Jul 5Western OpenIllinois300,000United States Ed Fiori (2)
Jul 12Greater Milwaukee OpenWisconsin250,000United States Jay Haas (2)
Jul 19The Open ChampionshipEngland£200,000United States Bill Rogers (3)Major championship[c]
Jul 19Quad Cities OpenIllinois200,000Canada Dave Barr (1)Alternate event
Jul 26Anheuser-Busch Golf ClassicVirginia300,000United States John Mahaffey (6)
Aug 2Canadian OpenCanada425,000England Peter Oosterhuis (1)
Aug 9PGA ChampionshipGeorgia400,000United States Larry Nelson (5)Major championship
Aug 16Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford OpenConnecticut300,000United States Hubert Green (17)
Aug 23Buick OpenMichigan350,000United States Hale Irwin (13)
Aug 30World Series of GolfOhio400,000United States Bill Rogers (4)Limited-field event
Sep 6B.C. OpenNew York275,000United States Jay Haas (3)
Sep 13Pleasant Valley Jimmy Fund ClassicMassachusetts300,000United States Jack Renner (2)
Sep 20LaJet ClassicTexas350,000United States Tom Weiskopf (15)New tournament
Sep 27Hall of FameNorth Carolina250,000United States Morris Hatalsky (1)
Oct 1Texas OpenTexas250,000United States Bill Rogers (5)
Oct 11Southern OpenGeorgia200,000United States J. C. Snead (7)
Oct 18Pensacola OpenFlorida200,000United States Jerry Pate (7)
Oct 25Walt Disney World National Team ChampionshipFlorida400,000United States Vance Heafner (1) and
United States Mike Holland (1)		Team event

Unofficial events

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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 BERJAYA Team USA Team event
Dec 6 JCPenney Mixed Team Classic Florida 550,000 United States Beth Daniel and
United States Tom Kite		 Team event

Money list

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

PositionPlayerPrize money ($)
1United States Tom Kite375,699
2United States Raymond Floyd359,360
3United States Tom Watson347,660
4United States Bruce Lietzke343,446
5United States Bill Rogers315,411
6United States Jerry Pate280,627
7United States Hale Irwin276,499
8United States Craig Stadler218,829
9United States Curtis Strange201,513
10United States Larry Nelson193,342

Awards

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AwardWinnerRef.
PGA Player of the YearUnited States Bill Rogers[8]
Rookie of the YearUnited States Mark O'Meara[9]
Scoring leader (PGA Tour – Byron Nelson Award)United States Tom Kite[10]
Scoring leader (PGA – Vardon Trophy)United States Tom Kite[7]

See also

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Notes

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  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

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  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. 1 2 "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.
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