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".[1][2] After less than seven months, it reverted to the "PGA Tour" in mid-March 1982.[3][4]
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 ($) | Winner's
share ($) |
|---|
| Jan 11 | Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open | Arizona |  Johnny Miller (20) | 265 (−15) | 300,000 | 54,000 |
| Jan 18 | Bob Hope Desert Classic | California | Bruce Lietzke (6) | 335 (−25) | 250,000 | 50,000 |
| Jan 25 | Phoenix Open | Arizona |  David Graham (6) | 268 (−16) | 300,000 | 54,000 |
| Feb 2 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am | California | John Cook (1) | 209 (−7) | 225,000 | 40,500 |
| Feb 8 | Wickes-Andy Williams San Diego Open | California | Bruce Lietzke (7) | 278 (−10) | 250,000 | 45,000 |
| Feb 14 | Hawaiian Open | Hawaii | Hale Irwin (12) | 265 (−23) | 325,000 | 58,500 |
| Feb 22 | Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open | California | Johnny Miller (21) | 270 (−14) | 300,000 | 54,000 |
| Mar 1 | Bay Hill Classic | Florida | Andy Bean (7) | 266 (−18) | 300,000 | 54,000 |
| Mar 8 | American Motors Inverrary Classic | Florida | Tom Kite (3) | 274 (−14) | 300,000 | 54,000 |
| Mar 15 | Doral-Eastern Open | Florida | Raymond Floyd (13) | 273 (−15) | 250,000 | 45,000 |
| Mar 23 | Tournament Players Championship | Florida | Raymond Floyd (14) | 285 (−3) | 400,000 | 72,000 |
| Mar 29 | Sea Pines Heritage | South Carolina | Bill Rogers (2) | 278 (−6) | 300,000 | 54,000 |
| Apr 5 | Greater Greensboro Open | North Carolina | Larry Nelson (4) | 281 (−7) | 300,000 | 54,000 |
| Apr 12 | Masters Tournament | Georgia | Tom Watson (26) | 280 (−8) | 365,000 | 60,000 |
| Apr 19 | Tallahassee Open | Florida | Dave Eichelberger (4) | 271 (−17) | 100,000 | 18,000 |
| Apr 19 | MONY Tournament of Champions | California | Lee Trevino (28) | 273 (−15) | 300,000 | 54,000 |
| Apr 26 | USF&G New Orleans Open | Louisiana | Tom Watson (27) | 270 (−18) | 350,000 | 63,000 |
| May 2 | Michelob-Houston Open | Texas | Ron Streck (2) | 198 (−15) | 262,500 | 47,250 |
| May 10 | Byron Nelson Golf Classic | Texas | Bruce Lietzke (8) | 281 (+1) | 300,000 | 54,000 |
| May 17 | Colonial National Invitation | Texas | Fuzzy Zoeller (3) | 274 (−6) | 300,000 | 54,000 |
| May 24 | Memorial Tournament | Ohio | Keith Fergus (1) | 284 (−4) | 350,000 | 63,000 |
| May 31 | Kemper Open | Maryland | Craig Stadler (3) | 270 (−18) | 400,000 | 72,000 |
| Jun 7 | Atlanta Classic | Georgia | Tom Watson (28) | 277 (−11) | 300,000 | 54,000 |
| Jun 14 | Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic | New York | Raymond Floyd (15) | 275 (−9) | 400,000 | 72,000 |
| Jun 21 | U.S. Open | Pennsylvania | David Graham (7) | 273 (−7) | 360,000 | 55,000 |
| Jun 28 | Danny Thomas Memphis Classic | Tennessee | Jerry Pate (6) | 274 (−14) | 300,000 | 54,000 |
| Jul 5 | Western Open | Illinois | Ed Fiori (2) | 277 (−11) | 300,000 | 54,000 |
| Jul 12 | Greater Milwaukee Open | Wisconsin | Jay Haas (2) | 274 (−14) | 250,000 | 45,000 |
| Jul 19 | British Open | England | Bill Rogers (3) | 276 (−4) | 400,000 | 50,000 |
| Jul 19 | Quad Cities Open | Illinois |  Dave Barr (1) | 270 (−10) | 200,000 | 36,000 |
| Jul 26 | Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic | Virginia | John Mahaffey (6) | 276 (−8) | 300,000 | 54,000 |
| Aug 2 | Canadian Open | Canada |  Peter Oosterhuis (1) | 280 (−4) | 425,000 | 76,500 |
| Aug 9 | PGA Championship | Georgia | Larry Nelson (5) | 273 (−7) | 400,000 | 60,000 |
| Aug 16 | Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open | Connecticut | Hubert Green (17) | 264 (−20) | 300,000 | 54,000 |
| Aug 23 | Buick Open | Michigan | Hale Irwin (13) | 277 (−11) | 350,000 | 63,000 |
| Aug 30 | World Series of Golf | Ohio | Bill Rogers (4) | 275 (−5) | 400,000 | 100,000 |
| Sep 6 | B.C. Open | New York | Jay Haas (3) | 270 (−14) | 275,000 | 49,500 |
| Sep 13 | Pleasant Valley Jimmy Fund Classic | Massachusetts | Jack Renner (2) | 273 (−11) | 300,000 | 54,000 |
| Sep 20 | LaJet Classic | Texas | Tom Weiskopf (15) | 278 (−10) | 350,000 | 63,000 |
| Sep 27 | Hall of Fame | North Carolina | Morris Hatalsky (1) | 275 (−9) | 250,000 | 45,000 |
| Oct 1 | Texas Open | Texas | Bill Rogers (5) | 266 (−14) | 250,000 | 45,000 |
| Oct 11 | Southern Open | Georgia | J. C. Snead (7) | 271 (−9) | 200,000 | 36,000 |
| Oct 18 | Pensacola Open | Florida | Jerry Pate (7) | 271 (−17) | 200,000 | 36,000 |
| Oct 25 | Walt Disney World National Team Championship | Florida | Vance Heafner (1)
Mike Holland (1) | 246 (−42) | 400,000 | 36,000
(each) |
Source:[5]
Leaders
Scoring Average leaders
Source:[6]
Money List leaders
Source:[7]
Career Money List leaders
| Rank | Player | Country | Earnings ($) | Wins |
|---|
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | United States | 3,759,425 | 70 |
| 2 | Lee Trevino | United States | 2,608,792 | 28 |
| 3 | Tom Watson | United States | 2,549,900 | 28 |
| 4 | Tom Weiskopf | United States | 2,006,810 | 15 |
| 5 | Hale Irwin | United States | 1,966,373 | 13 |
Source:[8]