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 United States Bob Goalby (3) 275 (−9) 7,500
Jan 15 San Diego Open Invitational California United States Arnold Palmer (22) 271 (−13) 2,800
Jan 22 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am California United States Bob Rosburg (5) 282 (−6) 5,300
Jan 29 Lucky International California South Africa Gary Player (3) 272 (−12) 9,000
Feb 5 Palm Springs Golf Classic California United States Billy Maxwell (5) 345 (−14) 5,300
Feb 13 Phoenix Open Invitational[2] Arizona United States Arnold Palmer (23) 270 (−10) 4,300
Feb 19 Home of the Sun Open Arizona United States Dave Hill (1) 269 (−11) 2,800
Feb 26 Baton Rouge Open Invitational Louisiana United States Arnold Palmer (24) 266 (−14) 2,800
Mar 5 Greater New Orleans Open Invitational Louisiana United States Doug Sanders (4) 272 (−16) 4,300
Mar 12 Pensacola Open Invitational Florida United States Tommy Bolt (15) 275 (−13) 2,800
Mar 19 St. Petersburg Open Invitational Florida United States Bob Goalby (4) 261 (−23) 2,800
Mar 26 Sunshine Open Invitational Florida South Africa Gary Player (4) 273 (−15) 3,500
Apr 2 Azalea Open North Carolina United States Jerry Barber (5) 213 (−3) 1,200
Apr 10 Masters Tournament Georgia South Africa Gary Player (5) 280 (−8) 20,000
Apr 16 Greater Greensboro Open North Carolina United States Mike Souchak (13) 276 (−8) 3,200
Apr 24 Houston Classic[3] Texas United States Jay Hebert (6) 276 (−4) 7,000
Apr 30 Texas Open Invitational Texas United States Arnold Palmer (25) 270 (−14) 4,300
May 7 Tournament of Champions Nevada United States Sam Snead (81) 273 (−15) 10,000
May 7 Waco Turner Open Oklahoma United States Butch Baird (1) 281 (−11) 2,800
May 14 Colonial National Invitation Texas United States Doug Sanders (5) 281 (+1) 7,000
May 21 Hot Springs Open Invitational Arkansas United States Doug Sanders (6) 273 (−15) 2,800
May 28 500 Festival Open Invitation Indiana United States Doug Ford (16) 273 (−11) 9,000
Jun 4 Memphis Open Invitational Tennessee United States Cary Middlecoff (39) 266 (−14) 4,300
Jun 17 U.S. Open Michigan United States Gene Littler (17) 281 (+1) 14,000
Jun 25 Western Open Michigan United States Arnold Palmer (26) 271 (−13) 5,000
Jul 3 Buick Open Invitational[4] Michigan United States Jack Burke, Jr. (15) 284 (−4) 9,000
Jul 9 St. Paul Open Invitational Minnesota United States Don January (3) 269 (−19) 4,300
Jul 15 Canadian Open Canada United States Jacky Cupit (1) 270 (−10) 4,300
Jul 15 British Open England United States Arnold Palmer (27) 284 (−4) 3,920
Jul 23 Milwaukee Open Invitational Wisconsin Australia Bruce Crampton (1) 272 (−8) 4,300
Jul 31 PGA Championship Illinois United States Jerry Barber (6) 277 (−3) 11,000
Aug 6 Eastern Open Invitational Maryland United States Doug Sanders (7) 275 (−13) 5,300
Aug 13 Insurance City Open Invitational Connecticut United States Billy Maxwell (6) 271 (−13) 4,300
Aug 20 Carling Open Invitational Maryland United States Gay Brewer (1) 277 (−3) 5,300
Aug 27 American Golf Classic Ohio United States Jay Hebert (7) 278 (−2) 9,000
Sep 4 Dallas Open Invitational Texas United States Earl Stewart (3) 278 (−2) 4,300
Sep 10 Denver Open Invitational Colorado United States Dave Hill (2) 263 (−21) 3,500
Sep 17 Greater Seattle Open Invitational Washington United States Dave Marr (1) 265 (−15) 3,500
Sep 24 Portland Open Invitational Oregon United States Billy Casper (14) 273 (−15) 3,500
Oct 1 Bakersfield Open California United States Jack Fleck (3) 276 (−8) 3,500
Oct 15 Ontario Open California United States Eric Monti (3) 277 (−3) 2,800
Oct 22 Orange County Open Invitational California United States Bob McCallister (1) 278 (−6) 2,400
Nov 5 Almaden Open Invitational California Australia Jim Ferrier (18) 279 (−9) 1,200
Nov 12 Beaumont Open Invitational Texas United States Joe Campbell (1) 277 (−7) 2,800
Nov 19 Cajun Classic Open Invitational Louisiana United States Doug Sanders (8) 270 (−14) 2,000
Nov 26 Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational Alabama United States Gay Brewer (2) 275 (−13) 2,000
Dec 3 West Palm Beach Open Invitational Florida United States Gay Brewer (3) 274 (−14) 2,800
Dec 10 Coral Gables Open Invitational Florida Canada George Knudson (1) 273 (−11) 2,800

Source:[5][6]

Money leaders

RankPlayerCountryEarnings ($)
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

AwardWinnerCountry
Money winner Gary Player  South Africa
PGA Player of the Year Jerry Barber  United States
Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy) Arnold Palmer  United States

References

  1. "Pro Golfers Vote Barber Top Player". The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington). AP. October 8, 1961. p. 2. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  2. "Palmer Ruins Sanders, Par To Win At Phoenix". St. Petersburg Times (Florida). AP. February 14, 1961. p. 2-C.
  3. "Hebert Wins Houston Golf in Sudden Death". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania). AP. April 25, 1961. p. 23.
  4. "Burke Captures Flint Open Golf Playoff". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania). AP. July 4, 1961. p. 38.
  5. "1961 winners sorted by age". PGA Tour. July 9, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  6. 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.
  7. "Gary Player Top Money Winner". The Montreal Gazette (Montreal, Canada). AP. December 15, 1961. p. 32. Retrieved March 19, 2013.

External links

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