1981 PGA Tour
The 1981 PGA Tour season was played from January 8 to October 25, with 44 official money events. Bill Rogers won the most tournaments, four, and there were five first-time winners. The tournament results, leaders, and award winners are listed below.
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.
Tournament results
The following table shows all the official money events for the 1981 season. "Date" is the ending date of the tournament. The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names are the number of wins they had on the tour up to and including that event. Majors are shown in bold.Date | Tournament | Location | Winner | Score | Purse | Winner's share | Notes |
Jan 11 | Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open | Arizona | ![]() | 265 | 300,000 | 54,000 | |
Jan 18 | Bob Hope Desert Classic | California | ![]() | 335 | 250,000 | 50,000 | |
Jan 25 | Phoenix Open | Arizona | ![]() | 268 | 300,000 | 54,000 | |
Feb 2 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am | California | ![]() | 209 | 225,000 | 40,500 | |
Feb 8 | Wickes-Andy Williams San Diego Open | California | ![]() | 278 | 250,000 | 45,000 | |
Feb 14 | Hawaiian Open | Hawaii | ![]() | 265 | 325,000 | 58,500 | |
Feb 22 | Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open | California | ![]() | 270 | 300,000 | 54,000 | |
Mar 1 | Bay Hill Classic | Florida | ![]() | 266 | 300,000 | 54,000 | |
Mar 8 | American Motors Inverrary Classic | Florida | ![]() | 274 | 300,000 | 54,000 | |
Mar 15 | Doral-Eastern Open | Florida | ![]() | 273 | 250,000 | 45,000 | |
Mar 23 | Tournament Players Championship | Florida | ![]() | 285 | 400,000 | 72,000 | |
Mar 29 | Sea Pines Heritage | South Carolina | ![]() | 278 | 300,000 | 54,000 | |
Apr 5 | Greater Greensboro Open | North Carolina | ![]() | 281 | 300,000 | 54,000 | |
Apr 12 | Masters Tournament | Georgia | ![]() | 280 | 365,000 | 60,000 | |
Apr 12 | Magnolia State Classic | Mississippi | ![]() | 268 | 75,000 | 13,000 | Satellite event |
Apr 19 | MONY Tournament of Champions | California | ![]() | 273 | 300,000 | 54,000 | |
Apr 19 | Tallahassee Open | Florida | ![]() | 271 | 100,000 | 18,000 | Alternate event |
Apr 26 | USF&G New Orleans Open | Louisiana | ![]() | 270 | 350,000 | 63,000 | |
May 2 | Michelob-Houston Open | Texas | ![]() | 198 | 262,500 | 47,250 | |
May 10 | Byron Nelson Golf Classic | Texas | ![]() | 281 | 300,000 | 54,000 | |
May 17 | Colonial National Invitation | Texas | ![]() | 274 | 300,000 | 54,000 | |
May 24 | Memorial Tournament | Ohio | ![]() | 284 | 350,000 | 63,000 | |
May 31 | Kemper Open | Maryland | ![]() | 270 | 400,000 | 72,000 | |
Jun 7 | Atlanta Classic | Georgia | ![]() | 277 | 300,000 | 54,000 | |
Jun 14 | Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic | New York | ![]() | 275 | 400,000 | 72,000 | |
Jun 21 | U.S. Open | Pennsylvania | ![]() | 273 | 360,000 | 55,000 | |
Jun 28 | Danny Thomas Memphis Classic | Tennessee | ![]() | 274 | 300,000 | 54,000 | |
Jul 5 | Western Open | Illinois | ![]() | 277 | 300,000 | 54,000 | |
Jul 12 | Greater Milwaukee Open | Wisconsin | ![]() | 274 | 250,000 | 45,000 | |
Jul 19 | British Open | England | ![]() | 276 | 400,000 | 50,000 | |
Jul 19 | Quad Cities Open | Illinois | ![]() | 270 | 200,000 | 36,000 | |
Jul 26 | Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic | Virginia | ![]() | 276 | 300,000 | 54,000 | |
Aug 2 | Canadian Open | Canada | ![]() | 280 | 425,000 | 76,500 | |
Aug 9 | PGA Championship | Georgia | ![]() | 273 | 400,000 | 60,000 | |
Aug 16 | Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open | Connecticut | ![]() | 264 | 300,000 | 54,000 | |
Aug 23 | Buick Open | Michigan | ![]() | 277 | 350,000 | 63,000 | |
Aug 30 | World Series of Golf | Ohio | ![]() | 275 | 400,000 | 100,000 | |
Sep 6 | B.C. Open | New York | ![]() | 270 | 275,000 | 49,500 | |
Sep 13 | Pleasant Valley Jimmy Fund Classic | Massachusetts | ![]() | 273 | 300,000 | 54,000 | |
Sep 20 | LaJet Classic | Texas | ![]() | 278 | 350,000 | 63,000 | |
Sep 27 | Hall of Fame | North Carolina | ![]() | 275 | 250,000 | 45,000 | |
Oct 1 | Texas Open | Texas | ![]() | 266 | 250,000 | 45,000 | |
Oct 11 | Southern Open | Georgia | ![]() | 271 | 200,000 | 36,000 | |
Oct 18 | Pensacola Open | Florida | ![]() | 271 | 200,000 | 36,000 | |
Oct 25 | Walt Disney World National Team Championship | Florida | ![]() ![]() | 246 | 400,000 | 36,000 |
Source:
Leaders
Scoring Average leadersRank | Player | Country | Average |
1 | Tom Kite | 69.80 | |
2 | Bruce Lietzke | 70.01 | |
3 | Raymond Floyd | 70.20 | |
4 | Jerry Pate | 70.47 | |
5 | Curtis Strange | 70.60 |
Source:
Money List leaders
Rank | Player | Country | Earnings | Events | Wins |
1 | Tom Kite | 375,699 | 26 | 1 | |
2 | Raymond Floyd | 359,360 | 23 | 3 | |
3 | Tom Watson | 347,660 | 21 | 3 | |
4 | Bruce Lietzke | 343,446 | 24 | 3 | |
5 | Bill Rogers | 315,411 | 26 | 4 |
Source:
Career Money List leaders
Rank | Player | Country | Earnings | Wins |
1 | Jack Nicklaus | 3,759,425 | 70 | |
2 | Lee Trevino | 2,608,792 | 28 | |
3 | Tom Watson | 2,549,900 | 28 | |
4 | Tom Weiskopf | 2,006,810 | 15 | |
5 | Hale Irwin | 1,966,373 | 13 |
Source: