1961 PGA Tour
The 1961 PGA Tour season was played from January 6 to December 10. The season consisted of 48 official money events. Arnold Palmer won the most tournaments, six, and there were nine first-time winners. Gary Player was the leading money winner with earnings of $64,540. Jerry Barber was voted the PGA Player of the Year[1] and Palmer won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average.
Tournament results
The following table shows all the official money events for the 1961 season. "Date" is the ending date of the tournament. The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names are the number of wins they had on the tour up to and including that event. Majors are shown in bold.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Winner | Score | 1st prize ($) |
|---|
| Jan 9 | Los Angeles Open | California |  Bob Goalby (3) | 275 (−9) | 7,500 |
| Jan 15 | San Diego Open Invitational | California | Arnold Palmer (22) | 271 (−13) | 2,800 |
| Jan 22 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am | California | Bob Rosburg (5) | 282 (−6) | 5,300 |
| Jan 29 | Lucky International | California | .svg.png) Gary Player (3) | 272 (−12) | 9,000 |
| Feb 5 | Palm Springs Golf Classic | California | Billy Maxwell (5) | 345 (−14) | 5,300 |
| Feb 13 | Phoenix Open Invitational[2] | Arizona | Arnold Palmer (23) | 270 (−10) | 4,300 |
| Feb 19 | Home of the Sun Open | Arizona | Dave Hill (1) | 269 (−11) | 2,800 |
| Feb 26 | Baton Rouge Open Invitational | Louisiana | Arnold Palmer (24) | 266 (−14) | 2,800 |
| Mar 5 | Greater New Orleans Open Invitational | Louisiana | Doug Sanders (4) | 272 (−16) | 4,300 |
| Mar 12 | Pensacola Open Invitational | Florida | Tommy Bolt (15) | 275 (−13) | 2,800 |
| Mar 19 | St. Petersburg Open Invitational | Florida | Bob Goalby (4) | 261 (−23) | 2,800 |
| Mar 26 | Sunshine Open Invitational | Florida | Gary Player (4) | 273 (−15) | 3,500 |
| Apr 2 | Azalea Open | North Carolina | Jerry Barber (5) | 213 (−3) | 1,200 |
| Apr 10 | Masters Tournament | Georgia | Gary Player (5) | 280 (−8) | 20,000 |
| Apr 16 | Greater Greensboro Open | North Carolina | Mike Souchak (13) | 276 (−8) | 3,200 |
| Apr 24 | Houston Classic[3] | Texas | Jay Hebert (6) | 276 (−4) | 7,000 |
| Apr 30 | Texas Open Invitational | Texas | Arnold Palmer (25) | 270 (−14) | 4,300 |
| May 7 | Tournament of Champions | Nevada | Sam Snead (81) | 273 (−15) | 10,000 |
| May 7 | Waco Turner Open | Oklahoma | Butch Baird (1) | 281 (−11) | 2,800 |
| May 14 | Colonial National Invitation | Texas | Doug Sanders (5) | 281 (+1) | 7,000 |
| May 21 | Hot Springs Open Invitational | Arkansas | Doug Sanders (6) | 273 (−15) | 2,800 |
| May 28 | 500 Festival Open Invitation | Indiana | Doug Ford (16) | 273 (−11) | 9,000 |
| Jun 4 | Memphis Open Invitational | Tennessee | Cary Middlecoff (39) | 266 (−14) | 4,300 |
| Jun 17 | U.S. Open | Michigan | Gene Littler (17) | 281 (+1) | 14,000 |
| Jun 25 | Western Open | Michigan | Arnold Palmer (26) | 271 (−13) | 5,000 |
| Jul 3 | Buick Open Invitational[4] | Michigan | Jack Burke, Jr. (15) | 284 (−4) | 9,000 |
| Jul 9 | St. Paul Open Invitational | Minnesota | Don January (3) | 269 (−19) | 4,300 |
| Jul 15 | Canadian Open | Canada | Jacky Cupit (1) | 270 (−10) | 4,300 |
| Jul 15 | British Open | England | Arnold Palmer (27) | 284 (−4) | 3,920 |
| Jul 23 | Milwaukee Open Invitational | Wisconsin |  Bruce Crampton (1) | 272 (−8) | 4,300 |
| Jul 31 | PGA Championship | Illinois | Jerry Barber (6) | 277 (−3) | 11,000 |
| Aug 6 | Eastern Open Invitational | Maryland | Doug Sanders (7) | 275 (−13) | 5,300 |
| Aug 13 | Insurance City Open Invitational | Connecticut | Billy Maxwell (6) | 271 (−13) | 4,300 |
| Aug 20 | Carling Open Invitational | Maryland | Gay Brewer (1) | 277 (−3) | 5,300 |
| Aug 27 | American Golf Classic | Ohio | Jay Hebert (7) | 278 (−2) | 9,000 |
| Sep 4 | Dallas Open Invitational | Texas | Earl Stewart (3) | 278 (−2) | 4,300 |
| Sep 10 | Denver Open Invitational | Colorado | Dave Hill (2) | 263 (−21) | 3,500 |
| Sep 17 | Greater Seattle Open Invitational | Washington | Dave Marr (1) | 265 (−15) | 3,500 |
| Sep 24 | Portland Open Invitational | Oregon | Billy Casper (14) | 273 (−15) | 3,500 |
| Oct 1 | Bakersfield Open | California | Jack Fleck (3) | 276 (−8) | 3,500 |
| Oct 15 | Ontario Open | California | Eric Monti (3) | 277 (−3) | 2,800 |
| Oct 22 | Orange County Open Invitational | California | Bob McCallister (1) | 278 (−6) | 2,400 |
| Nov 5 | Almaden Open Invitational | California | Jim Ferrier (18) | 279 (−9) | 1,200 |
| Nov 12 | Beaumont Open Invitational | Texas | Joe Campbell (1) | 277 (−7) | 2,800 |
| Nov 19 | Cajun Classic Open Invitational | Louisiana | Doug Sanders (8) | 270 (−14) | 2,000 |
| Nov 26 | Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational | Alabama | Gay Brewer (2) | 275 (−13) | 2,000 |
| Dec 3 | West Palm Beach Open Invitational | Florida | Gay Brewer (3) | 274 (−14) | 2,800 |
| Dec 10 | Coral Gables Open Invitational | Florida | .svg.png) George Knudson (1) | 273 (−11) | 2,800 |
Source:[5][6]
Money leaders
| Rank | Player | Country | Earnings ($) |
|---|
| 1 | Gary Player | South Africa | 64,540 |
| 2 | Arnold Palmer | United States | 61,091 |
| 3 | Doug Sanders | United States | 57,428 |
| 4 | Billy Casper | United States | 37,767 |
| 5 | Jay Hebert | United States | 35,583 |
| 6 | Johnny Pott | United States | 33,268 |
| 7 | Gay Brewer | United States | 31,150 |
| 8 | Bob Goalby | United States | 30,919 |
| 9 | Gene Littler | United States | 29,246 |
| 10 | Billy Maxwell | United States | 28,335 |
Source:[7]
Awards
References
- ↑ "Pro Golfers Vote Barber Top Player". The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington). AP. October 8, 1961. p. 2. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
- ↑ "Palmer Ruins Sanders, Par To Win At Phoenix". St. Petersburg Times (Florida). AP. February 14, 1961. p. 2-C.
- ↑ "Hebert Wins Houston Golf in Sudden Death". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania). AP. April 25, 1961. p. 23.
- ↑ "Burke Captures Flint Open Golf Playoff". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania). AP. July 4, 1961. p. 38.
- ↑ "1961 winners sorted by age". PGA Tour. July 9, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Gary Player Top Money Winner". The Montreal Gazette (Montreal, Canada). AP. December 15, 1961. p. 32. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
External links