1981 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.

1981 PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 8, 1981 (1981-01-08) – October 25, 1981 (1981-10-25)
Number of official events44
Most wins Bill Rogers (4)
Money list Tom Kite
PGA Player of the Year Bill Rogers
← 1980
1982 →

Changes for 1981

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

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

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

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

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

Awards
AwardWinnerRef.
PGA Player of the Year Bill Rogers[8]
Scoring leader (PGA Tour – Byron Nelson Award) Tom Kite[9]
Scoring leader (PGA – Vardon Trophy) Tom Kite[7]

See also

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. Official money; unofficial win.
  3. Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.

References
  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. "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. "2022–23 PGA Tour Media guide | Awards". PGA Tour. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
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