1961 PGA Tour

1961 PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 6, 1961 (1961-01-06) – December 10, 1961 (1961-12-10)
Number of official events48
Most wins Arnold Palmer (6)
Money list Gary Player
PGA Player of the Year 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.

Schedule

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

Date Tournament Location Purse
(US$) 		Winner[a] Notes
Jan 9 Los Angeles Open California 45,000 Bob Goalby (3)
Jan 15 San Diego Open Invitational California 22,500 Arnold Palmer (22)
Jan 22 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am California 50,000 Bob Rosburg (5) Pro-Am
Jan 29 Lucky International Open California 57,000 Gary Player (3) New tournament
Feb 5 Palm Springs Golf Classic California 52,000 Billy Maxwell (5) Pro-Am
Feb 13 Phoenix Open Invitational Arizona 30,000 Arnold Palmer (23)
Feb 19 Home of the Sun Open Arizona 20,000 Dave Hill (1)
Feb 26 Baton Rouge Open Invitational Louisiana 20,000 Arnold Palmer (24)
Mar 5 Greater New Orleans Open Invitational Louisiana 30,000 Doug Sanders (4)
Mar 12 Pensacola Open Invitational Florida 20,000 Tommy Bolt (15)
Mar 19 St. Petersburg Open Invitational Florida 20,000 Bob Goalby (4)
Mar 26 Sunshine Open Invitational Florida 25,000 Gary Player (4) New tournament
Apr 2 Azalea Open North Carolina 12,000 Jerry Barber (5)
Apr 10 Masters Tournament Georgia 110,000 Gary Player (5) Major championship
Apr 16 Greater Greensboro Open North Carolina 22,500 Mike Souchak (13)
Apr 24 Houston Classic Texas 40,000 Jay Hebert (6)
Apr 30 Texas Open Invitational Texas 30,000 Arnold Palmer (25)
May 7 Tournament of Champions Nevada 52,000 Sam Snead (81) Winners-only event
May 7 Waco Turner Open Oklahoma 20,000 Butch Baird (1) New tournament
Alternate event
May 14 Colonial National Invitation Texas 40,000 Doug Sanders (5) Invitational
May 21 Hot Springs Open Invitational Arkansas 20,000 Doug Sanders (6)
May 28 500 Festival Open Invitation Indiana 50,000 Doug Ford (16)
Jun 4 Memphis Open Invitational Tennessee 30,000 Cary Middlecoff (39)
Jun 17 U.S. Open Michigan 60,000 Gene Littler (17) Major championship
Jun 25 Western Open Michigan 55,000 Arnold Palmer (26)
Jul 3 Buick Open Invitational Michigan 50,000 Jack Burke Jr. (15)
Jul 9 St. Paul Open Invitational Minnesota 30,000 Don January (3)
Jul 15 The Open Championship England £8,500 Arnold Palmer (27) Major championship[b]
Jul 15 Canadian Open Canada 30,000 Jacky Cupit (1)
Jul 23 Milwaukee Open Invitational Wisconsin 30,000 Bruce Crampton (1)
Jul 31 PGA Championship Illinois 65,000 Jerry Barber (6) Major championship
Aug 6 Eastern Open Invitational Maryland 35,000 Doug Sanders (7)
Aug 13 Insurance City Open Invitational Connecticut 30,000 Billy Maxwell (6)
Aug 20 Carling Open Invitational Maryland 35,000 Gay Brewer (1)
Aug 27 American Golf Classic Ohio 50,000 Jay Hebert (7) New tournament
Sep 4 Dallas Open Invitational Texas 30,000 Earl Stewart (3)
Sep 10 Denver Open Invitational Colorado 25,000 Dave Hill (2)
Sep 17 Greater Seattle Open Invitational Washington 25,000 Dave Marr (1)
Sep 24 Portland Open Invitational Oregon 25,000 Billy Casper (14)
Oct 1 Bakersfield Open California 25,000 Jack Fleck (3) New tournament
Oct 15 Ontario Open California 20,000 Eric Monti (3) New tournament
Oct 22 Orange County Open Invitational California 17,500 Bob McCallister (1)
Nov 5 Almaden Open Invitational California 12,000 Jim Ferrier (18) New to PGA Tour
Nov 12 Beaumont Open Invitational Texas 20,000 Joe Campbell (1) New tournament
Nov 19 Cajun Classic Open Invitational Louisiana 15,000 Doug Sanders (8)
Nov 26 Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational Alabama 15,000 Gay Brewer (2)
Dec 3 West Palm Beach Open Invitational Florida 20,000 Gay Brewer (3)
Dec 10 Coral Gables Open Invitational Florida] 20,000 George Knudson (1)

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
Oct 14 Ryder Cup England n/a Team USA Team event
Jun 4 Canada Cup Puerto Rico 6,300 Jimmy Demaret and
Sam Snead 		Team event
Canada Cup Individual Trophy Sam Snead

Money list

The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[3]

Position Player Prize money ($)
1 Gary Player 64,540
2 Arnold Palmer 61,091
3 Doug Sanders 57,428
4 Billy Casper 37,767
5 Jay Hebert 35,583
6 Johnny Pott 33,268
7 Gay Brewer 31,150
8 Bob Goalby 30,919
9 Gene Littler 29,246
10 Billy Maxwell 28,335

Awards

Award Winner Ref.
PGA Player of the Year Jerry Barber [4]
Scoring leader (Vardon Trophy) 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.

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.
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