1961 PGA Tour

Last updated

1961 PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 6, 1961 (1961-01-06) – December 10, 1961 (1961-12-10)
Number of official events48
Most wins Flag of the United States.svg Arnold Palmer (6)
Money list Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Gary Player
PGA Player of the Year Flag of the United States.svg Jerry Barber
1960
1962

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

Contents

Schedule

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

DateTournamentLocationPurse
(US$)
Winner [lower-alpha 1] Notes
Jan 9 Los Angeles Open California45,000 Flag of the United States.svg Bob Goalby (3)
Jan 15 San Diego Open Invitational California22,500 Flag of the United States.svg Arnold Palmer (22)
Jan 22 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am California50,000 Flag of the United States.svg Bob Rosburg (5)Pro-Am
Jan 29 Lucky International Open California57,000 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Gary Player (3)New tournament
Feb 5 Palm Springs Golf Classic California52,000 Flag of the United States.svg Billy Maxwell (5)Pro-Am
Feb 13 Phoenix Open Invitational Arizona30,000 Flag of the United States.svg Arnold Palmer (23)
Feb 19 Home of the Sun Open Arizona20,000 Flag of the United States.svg Dave Hill (1)
Feb 26 Baton Rouge Open Invitational Louisiana20,000 Flag of the United States.svg Arnold Palmer (24)
Mar 5 Greater New Orleans Open Invitational Louisiana30,000 Flag of the United States.svg Doug Sanders (4)
Mar 12 Pensacola Open Invitational Florida20,000 Flag of the United States.svg Tommy Bolt (15)
Mar 19 St. Petersburg Open Invitational Florida20,000 Flag of the United States.svg Bob Goalby (4)
Mar 26 Sunshine Open Invitational Florida25,000 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Gary Player (4)New tournament
Apr 2 Azalea Open North Carolina12,000 Flag of the United States.svg Jerry Barber (5)
Apr 10 Masters Tournament Georgia110,000 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Gary Player (5) Major championship
Apr 16 Greater Greensboro Open North Carolina22,500 Flag of the United States.svg Mike Souchak (13)
Apr 24 Houston Classic Texas40,000 Flag of the United States.svg Jay Hebert (6)
Apr 30 Texas Open Invitational Texas30,000 Flag of the United States.svg Arnold Palmer (25)
May 7 Tournament of Champions Nevada52,000 Flag of the United States.svg Sam Snead (81)Winners-only event
May 7 Waco Turner Open Oklahoma20,000 Flag of the United States.svg Butch Baird (1)New tournament
Alternate event
May 14 Colonial National Invitation Texas40,000 Flag of the United States.svg Doug Sanders (5)Invitational
May 21 Hot Springs Open Invitational Arkansas20,000 Flag of the United States.svg Doug Sanders (6)
May 28 500 Festival Open Invitation Indiana50,000 Flag of the United States.svg Doug Ford (16)
Jun 4 Memphis Open Invitational Tennessee30,000 Flag of the United States.svg Cary Middlecoff (39)
Jun 17 U.S. Open Michigan60,000 Flag of the United States.svg Gene Littler (17) Major championship
Jun 25 Western Open Michigan55,000 Flag of the United States.svg Arnold Palmer (26)
Jul 3 Buick Open Invitational Michigan50,000 Flag of the United States.svg Jack Burke Jr. (15)
Jul 9 St. Paul Open Invitational Minnesota30,000 Flag of the United States.svg Don January (3)
Jul 15 The Open Championship England£8,500 Flag of the United States.svg Arnold Palmer (27) Major championship [lower-alpha 2]
Jul 15 Canadian Open Canada30,000 Flag of the United States.svg Jacky Cupit (1)
Jul 23 Milwaukee Open Invitational Wisconsin30,000 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bruce Crampton (1)
Jul 31 PGA Championship Illinois65,000 Flag of the United States.svg Jerry Barber (6) Major championship
Aug 6 Eastern Open Invitational Maryland35,000 Flag of the United States.svg Doug Sanders (7)
Aug 13 Insurance City Open Invitational Connecticut30,000 Flag of the United States.svg Billy Maxwell (6)
Aug 20 Carling Open Invitational Maryland35,000 Flag of the United States.svg Gay Brewer (1)
Aug 27 American Golf Classic Ohio50,000 Flag of the United States.svg Jay Hebert (7)New tournament
Sep 4 Dallas Open Invitational Texas30,000 Flag of the United States.svg Earl Stewart (3)
Sep 10 Denver Open Invitational Colorado25,000 Flag of the United States.svg Dave Hill (2)
Sep 17 Greater Seattle Open Invitational Washington25,000 Flag of the United States.svg Dave Marr (1)
Sep 24 Portland Open Invitational Oregon25,000 Flag of the United States.svg Billy Casper (14)
Oct 1 Bakersfield Open California25,000 Flag of the United States.svg Jack Fleck (3)New tournament
Oct 15 Ontario Open California20,000 Flag of the United States.svg Eric Monti (3)New tournament
Oct 22 Orange County Open Invitational California17,500 Flag of the United States.svg Bob McCallister (1)
Nov 5 Almaden Open Invitational California12,000 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jim Ferrier (18)New to PGA Tour
Nov 12 Beaumont Open Invitational Texas20,000 Flag of the United States.svg Joe Campbell (1)New tournament
Nov 19 Cajun Classic Open Invitational Louisiana15,000 Flag of the United States.svg Doug Sanders (8)
Nov 26 Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational Alabama15,000 Flag of the United States.svg Gay Brewer (2)
Dec 3 West Palm Beach Open Invitational Florida20,000 Flag of the United States.svg Gay Brewer (3)
Dec 10 Coral Gables Open Invitational Florida]20,000 Canadian Red Ensign (1957-1965).svg George Knudson (1)

Unofficial events

The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

DateTournamentLocationPurse
($)
Winner(s)Notes
Oct 14 Ryder Cup Englandn/aFlag of the United States.svg Team USATeam event
Jun 4 Canada Cup Puerto Rico6,300 Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Demaret and
Flag of the United States.svg Sam Snead
Team event
Canada Cup Individual Trophy Flag of the United States.svg 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 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Gary Player 64,540
2 Flag of the United States.svg Arnold Palmer 61,091
3 Flag of the United States.svg Doug Sanders 57,428
4 Flag of the United States.svg Billy Casper 37,767
5 Flag of the United States.svg Jay Hebert 35,583
6 Flag of the United States.svg Johnny Pott 33,268
7 Flag of the United States.svg Gay Brewer 31,150
8 Flag of the United States.svg Bob Goalby 30,919
9 Flag of the United States.svg Gene Littler 29,246
10 Flag of the United States.svg Billy Maxwell 28,335

Awards

AwardWinnerRef.
PGA Player of the Year Flag of the United States.svg Jerry Barber [4]
Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy) Flag of the United States.svg 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.

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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.