1961 PGA Tour

The 1961 PGA Tour was the 46th season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States.

1961 PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 6, 1961 (1961-01-06) – December 10, 1961 (1961-12-10)
Number of official events48
Most wins Arnold Palmer (6)
Money list Gary Player
PGA Player of the Year Jerry Barber
← 1960
1962 →

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1961 season.[1][2]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(US$)		 Winner[lower-alpha 1] Notes
Jan 9Los Angeles OpenCalifornia45,000 Bob Goalby (3)
Jan 15San Diego Open InvitationalCalifornia22,500 Arnold Palmer (22)
Jan 22Bing Crosby National Pro-AmCalifornia50,000 Bob Rosburg (5)Pro-Am
Jan 29Lucky International OpenCalifornia57,000 Gary Player (3)New tournament
Feb 5Palm Springs Golf ClassicCalifornia52,000 Billy Maxwell (5)Pro-Am
Feb 13Phoenix Open InvitationalArizona30,000 Arnold Palmer (23)
Feb 19Home of the Sun OpenArizona20,000 Dave Hill (1)
Feb 26Baton Rouge Open InvitationalLouisiana20,000 Arnold Palmer (24)
Mar 5Greater New Orleans Open InvitationalLouisiana30,000 Doug Sanders (4)
Mar 12Pensacola Open InvitationalFlorida20,000 Tommy Bolt (15)
Mar 19St. Petersburg Open InvitationalFlorida20,000 Bob Goalby (4)
Mar 26Sunshine Open InvitationalFlorida25,000 Gary Player (4)New tournament
Apr 2Azalea OpenNorth Carolina12,000 Jerry Barber (5)
Apr 10Masters TournamentGeorgia110,000 Gary Player (5)Major championship
Apr 16Greater Greensboro OpenNorth Carolina22,500 Mike Souchak (13)
Apr 24Houston ClassicTexas40,000 Jay Hebert (6)
Apr 30Texas Open InvitationalTexas30,000 Arnold Palmer (25)
May 7Tournament of ChampionsNevada52,000 Sam Snead (81)Winners-only event
May 7Waco Turner OpenOklahoma20,000 Butch Baird (1)New tournament
Alternate event
May 14Colonial National InvitationTexas40,000 Doug Sanders (5)Invitational
May 21Hot Springs Open InvitationalArkansas20,000 Doug Sanders (6)
May 28500 Festival Open InvitationIndiana50,000 Doug Ford (16)
Jun 4Memphis Open InvitationalTennessee30,000 Cary Middlecoff (39)
Jun 17U.S. OpenMichigan60,000 Gene Littler (17)Major championship
Jun 25Western OpenMichigan55,000 Arnold Palmer (26)
Jul 3Buick Open InvitationalMichigan50,000 Jack Burke Jr. (15)
Jul 9St. Paul Open InvitationalMinnesota30,000 Don January (3)
Jul 15The Open ChampionshipEngland£8,500 Arnold Palmer (27)Major championship[lower-alpha 2]
Jul 15Canadian OpenCanada30,000 Jacky Cupit (1)
Jul 23Milwaukee Open InvitationalWisconsin30,000 Bruce Crampton (1)
Jul 31PGA ChampionshipIllinois65,000 Jerry Barber (6)Major championship
Aug 6Eastern Open InvitationalMaryland35,000 Doug Sanders (7)
Aug 13Insurance City Open InvitationalConnecticut30,000 Billy Maxwell (6)
Aug 20Carling Open InvitationalMaryland35,000 Gay Brewer (1)
Aug 27American Golf ClassicOhio50,000 Jay Hebert (7)New tournament
Sep 4Dallas Open InvitationalTexas30,000 Earl Stewart (3)
Sep 10Denver Open InvitationalColorado25,000 Dave Hill (2)
Sep 17Greater Seattle Open InvitationalWashington25,000 Dave Marr (1)
Sep 24Portland Open InvitationalOregon25,000 Billy Casper (14)
Oct 1Bakersfield OpenCalifornia25,000 Jack Fleck (3)New tournament
Oct 15Ontario OpenCalifornia20,000 Eric Monti (3)New tournament
Oct 22Orange County Open InvitationalCalifornia17,500 Bob McCallister (1)
Nov 5Almaden Open InvitationalCalifornia12,000 Jim Ferrier (18)New to PGA Tour
Nov 12Beaumont Open InvitationalTexas20,000 Joe Campbell (1)New tournament
Nov 19Cajun Classic Open InvitationalLouisiana15,000 Doug Sanders (8)
Nov 26Mobile Sertoma Open InvitationalAlabama15,000 Gay Brewer (2)
Dec 3West Palm Beach Open InvitationalFlorida20,000 Gay Brewer (3)
Dec 10Coral Gables Open InvitationalFlorida]20,000 George Knudson (1)

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
Oct 14 Ryder Cup England n/a Team USA Team event
Jun 4 Canada Cup Puerto Rico 6,300 Jimmy Demaret and
Sam Snead		 Team event
Canada Cup Individual Trophy Sam Snead

Money list

The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[3]

PositionPlayerPrize money ($)
1 Gary Player64,540
2 Arnold Palmer61,091
3 Doug Sanders57,428
4 Billy Casper37,767
5 Jay Hebert35,583
6 Johnny Pott33,268
7 Gay Brewer31,150
8 Bob Goalby30,919
9 Gene Littler29,246
10 Billy Maxwell28,335

Awards
AwardWinnerRef.
PGA Player of the Year Jerry Barber[4]
Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy) Arnold Palmer[5]

Notes
  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. Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

References
  1. "1961 winners sorted by age". PGA Tour. July 9, 2008. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  2. Johnson, Sal; Seanor, Dave, eds. (2009). The USA Today Golfers Encyclopedia. New York, New York: Skyhorse Publishing. pp. 623–30. ISBN 978-1-60239-302-8.
  3. "Gary Player Top Money Winner". The Montreal Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Associated Press. December 15, 1961. p. 32. Retrieved March 19, 2013 – via Google News Archive.
  4. "Pro Golfers Vote Barber Top Player". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. October 8, 1961. p. 2. Retrieved March 19, 2013 – via Google News Archive.
  5. "Arnold Palmer Wins Golf's Vardon Trophy". The Independent-Record. Helena, Montana. December 24, 1961. p. 13. Retrieved November 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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